Van's Air Force
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ECi O-340/IO-340
- Thread starter cjensen
- Start date
Scott Will
Well Known Member
Check the weight on these engines... the 7 series tend to be a little tail heavy. You might want to see how a change in weight affects your CG depending on the prop you choose.
captainron
Well Known Member
General question
Gil, it also has the thicker prop flange of the 360 instead of the 320. A good trade-off?
Gil, it also has the thicker prop flange of the 360 instead of the 320. A good trade-off?
captainron
Well Known Member
Seems like just a de-stroked 360; shouldn't cause any unusual problems or concerns. I think they rate it for 185hp in the IO model.
captainron
Well Known Member
seems so....
I really don't know the advantage of this engine over a 360, except they seem to get the same or a little more HP out of it by compression, and careful porting. I'd say it is an improvement over the 320.
I really don't know the advantage of this engine over a 360, except they seem to get the same or a little more HP out of it by compression, and careful porting. I'd say it is an improvement over the 320.
captainron
Well Known Member
Gil, do you think that not having roller cam-followers makes this line of engines less desireable?
ECI had the engine at Van's Homecoming this year. I talked with the ECI rep about it. It is a different crank than the O-320 and O-360 with a stroke between the two. I was told that the 340 uses the 320 cylinders and the 150 HP 320 pistons so that it has a 9:1 compression ratio.az_gila said:
Info on the ENGINES can be found at: http://www.eci2fly.com/exp/kitEngine_exp.aspx
They compare engines here and list HP of the different configurations:
http://www.eci2fly.com/exp/eng_comparisons11x17.pdf
Note that the Cold Air Induction and fuel inject adds about 3.5 - 4% more horsepower to any of the engines we use in our airplanes.
I asked the ECI rep the following questions:
Q: Can I put the 340 crank in my 320 Narrow deck engine? A: Yes.
Q: Does it use special pistons? A: No. They are the same ones used in the 150 HP 320 engine.
Q: Is the crank set up with O-320 or O-360 Constant Speed drive lugs? A: Can be either depending on what the customer wants.
Q: Can the Cold Air Induction be retrofited onto my existing Narrow Deck O-320? A: Yes.
Q: Is the fuel injection retrofitable onto my Narrow Deck O-320? A: Yes. The FI kit comes with accessory case and drive gear and will work on 320, 340, or 360.
I still need to call Larry Veterman to find out if the existing Crossover Exhaust that I have will work on a converted O-320 using the ECI Cold Air Induction and Fuel Injection system. Looks like I could add it to my flying RV for around $5,500 but may need new exhaust.
captainron
Well Known Member
Gary, Thanks for all that good info on this engine. Any opinions on the roller / non-roller cam issue? I'm trying to decide between the ECI and Superior engines.
I like the roller cam and when talking to ECI, he pointed out that it was not proven. It is a solution to a problem that is not wide spread. I agree that the cam / valve tappet issue is only an issue on engines that are not run and stored in a damp environment.captainron said:
The roller cam is not proven and could have the same RUST issues in the same environment.
I would prefer the roller cam and am willing to pay a little more money for it.
My engine was built in 1961, has over 5,000 hours total time, and there has been NO cam or tappet issues with it. I do not need a roller cam but I would like to have one in a new engine.
Gary, was just down at VVS over the weekend. We have three RV's there, RV-7, RV-6a, and a RV-4. If you ever get back this way let us know, or maybe your the same guy I talked to at a VVS fly-in a couple of years ago.....
Anyway how about keeping me informed on your progress with the 340. I want to try and over haul my 320 this winter. My e-mail is [email protected]
Thanks.
Shine'r ...... in sunny, warm, Pittsburgh,Pa......
Anyway how about keeping me informed on your progress with the 340. I want to try and over haul my 320 this winter. My e-mail is [email protected]
Thanks.
Shine'r ...... in sunny, warm, Pittsburgh,Pa......
rv9aviator
Well Known Member
Does anyone know if you will be able to run premium auto fuel in the 340? I think some other engines with 9-1 compression can run auto gas.
smithhb
Well Known Member
America's Aircraft Engines
I spoke with Richard Fowler a couple of weeks ago and here was his reply:
"The IOX-340 is only $500.00 more than the IOX-320. I'll keep you informed of the performance figures from ECi. Your cost will be $23,800.00 for the IOX-340-Stroker."
Hope this helps...
I spoke with Richard Fowler a couple of weeks ago and here was his reply:
"The IOX-340 is only $500.00 more than the IOX-320. I'll keep you informed of the performance figures from ECi. Your cost will be $23,800.00 for the IOX-340-Stroker."
Hope this helps...
az_gila
Well Known Member
Kit...
Brett... the original question was for the ECI kit.
Americas Aircraft Engines seemed to be over $1000 more for an ECI kit than A.E.R.O. when I spoke to them at LOE06....
As I mentioned earlier, I believe the extra price of $500 is in the crank. All other parts are either O-320 or O-360 parts...
gil in Tucson
smithhb said:
Brett... the original question was for the ECI kit.
Americas Aircraft Engines seemed to be over $1000 more for an ECI kit than A.E.R.O. when I spoke to them at LOE06....
As I mentioned earlier, I believe the extra price of $500 is in the crank. All other parts are either O-320 or O-360 parts...
gil in Tucson
captainron said:
Ron,
Roller cams are most useful on high revving, race engines, where there are extremely high lifter to lobe loads. The failures of Lycoming camshafts is related to lack of use and rusting. This occurs more in Lycomings than Continentals, due to the "high in the crankcase" location of the camshaft. I personnally think that roller lifters on a 2700 RPM engine are a "fix" for a non existant problem.
Add to that, the fact that these cam/lifter combinations don't have much of a track record (being made by Lycoming or Superior) makes me leary of using them. Save your money and stick with the standard cam and lifter design.
Charlie Kuss
Shine'r said:
Gary stated that ECI told him that the 340 uses 320 cylinders and pistons. When you stroke an engine you must either increase the deck height of the cylinders (in this case 1/4"), or relocate the wrist pin location in the piston and/or change the length of the connecting rods.
Therefore, you'll need the special connecting rods and possibly the pistons (if the wrist pin location has been changed) You can't increase the stroke a 1/4" without making changes elsewhere too.
Charlie Kuss
az_gila said:
Gil,
My discussions with the ECI folks at Sun N' Fun this past April included my question as to why they brought back the 340 (Lycoming also produced a 340, but they are rare). I was told that the 320/360 LancAir guys are having problems with the 360 engines contacting the cowl. It seems that some owners have found that under high loads (acro ??) the valve covers of the 360 engines will rub on their cowlings. The 340 engine is 1/2" narrower than the 360 (and 1/2" wider than the 320). The extra 1/4" clearance on each side cures this contact problem.
Charlie Kuss
chaskuss said:
Well, according to this, it would seem the 340 uses unique cylinders as well. Kind of conflicts with the report that they use the same cylinders as a 320 if the thing is 1/2" wider than a 320. You'd think using a shorter connecting rod would be the easiest way to go about this...
As yes, the oringial question was for the kit. I would call a distributor, but I hate getting someone on the phone and asking prices on something you have no intention of buying for a LONG time. Reminds of me of me in high school sitting down with car dealers talking numbers on a car I knew I coudln't afford
If you go look at post #17 you will find the answer. It is the same cylinder as the 320.xl1200r said:Well, according to this, it would seem the 340 uses unique cylinders as well. Kind of conflicts with the report that they use the same cylinders as a 320 if the thing is 1/2" wider than a 320.
The length width height and weight for the 320 340 and 360 can be found on the ECI web site.
RV6_flyer said:
Interesting when you look at the ECi website, the 320, 340 and 360 are all the same width.
If the engine is just as wide as either the 320 or the 360, and the cylinder bore is the same, what's the difference in the cylinders?
(even between a 320 and a 360 for that matter?)The difference I see dimesionally is the injected engines are 3" longer.
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Paul Walter
Active Member
340
I have also been watching the site with interest to see if projects are popping up with 340's bolted up front - dont see them much, not here or the First Flights on Vans Site. Not much on the engine sites either. The bottom line for me is how much lighter is it than a 360. If it is 320 weight or close then I cant see why we are not on a winner, maybe in time projects will surface.
Paul
I have also been watching the site with interest to see if projects are popping up with 340's bolted up front - dont see them much, not here or the First Flights on Vans Site. Not much on the engine sites either. The bottom line for me is how much lighter is it than a 360. If it is 320 weight or close then I cant see why we are not on a winner, maybe in time projects will surface.
Paul
