ROTARY ENGINES FOI DNS VEHICLES
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IT IS MORE THAN A POSSIBILITY IN THE MIND OF TOY() KOGYO OF HIROSHIMA
Part V of a series on Japan by ALAN HAVARD, M inst T T the time 1 visited Ihern. I felt that TOY° KOGY0 CO. LTD. Of Hiroshima. were the outstanding c pany of my whole Japanese trip. The passing of time since then has not altered my opinion. Their origins are among the most unlikely I have come .acrosst Toro Kogyo was .set up in 1920 to manufacture cork items: They -subsequently entered the machine-tool field in 1930, produced their first three-wheeler in 1931. and four years later *vent into the production of rock drills and gauge blocks. Production of four-wheeled goods vehicles did not start until 1958. All the road vehicles are produced under the name Mazda.
It is impossible for the visitor to Hiroshima not to become emotionally impressed by the cataclysm which virtually wiped it out 20 years ago—indeed. I think it is no had thing to be reminded of this. , However,. Hiroshima bids fair now for a new and less sombre_notoriety—it could well be the city which leads the world in rotary engine development.
In 1961 Toyo Kogyo reached an agreement with NSU and Wankel for development of the petrol versions of the NSU/ Wankel rotary piston engine, and at the Tokyo Motor Show last October exhibited a twoand a four-rotor engine.
Having ridden in the NSU Spider, which has the singlerotor Wankel engine, and the Mazda Como, which has a twin-rotor Wankel engine, I feel quite confident that the Japanese company are more advanced than are NSU.
-At the moment Mazda are concentrating on developing the engine for use in their private cars. Their longer-term plans. however, include installation of a rotary engine on 2-ton trucks; whether this will be a twinor a four-rotor unit they arc not yet prepared to say. In common with everyone else, Mazda are not sure on which basis to rate their rotary engine. Their executive director. Tokinosuke Murao, told me that he thought rating by capacity was unreasonable and that this would become particularly so if turbines were used.
Be that as it may, the combustion chambers of the Mazda rotary engine have a capacity of 4410 c.c. each. Considering them on the basis of air consumption, this makes the two-rotor engine roughly equivalent to a 1.600 c.c. conventional power unit. In the car. that 1 rode in whilst at Hiroshima, the engine delivered approximately 70 h.h.p. at 6,000 r.p.m. The unit weighs only about 180 lb. without accessories.
Toyo.Kogyo have introduced a new arrangement for inlet and exhaust ports which has obviously resulted in a considerable improvement in low speed characteristic. In the Wankel ii26 engine the ports enter the periphery of the rotor casing side by side. Mazda have put one port in the end well of the chambers, leaving one in the periphery, and they see no difficulty in adopting this layout with bigger engines having three or more rotors in line. Currently Mazda have the exhaust in the periphery and the inlet in the side, although, said Mr. Murata, the reverse layout had also been tried.
They say that fuel consumption is now satisfactory and they have overcome seal wear problems by using chromium plating on the inner wearing surfaces.
On a test bed in the research station I saw one two-rotory engine which had been running continuously for the equivalent of 50.0110 miles at 4,700 r.p.m. (75 per cent load) and which was going to continue running until it had completed exo
s. I saw a second engine which was indicating 711b.ift. tie at 1.800 r.p.m.
3yo Kogyo keep very quiet about the .way in which they their multi-rotor engines, except to saYthat they use a s of separate eccentric shafts and do OPVdiVide the gears. far as cost is _concerned, Mazda compare the fOur-rotor ne with a conventional V8 of Comparable:horsepower and that the prOduetion cost .would be about the same as the but that the cost of the rotary._engirte could be *ought n sharply with .volume production mereis incidentally a seCond rotary eiigne development apanby lIsitzu.-7-of whom I spll write:later in this article. r entitie4S of their ovi,n.,dosigo.and. was..-Sliown at the 1963 yo Motcit Show very fltkcoj.tluLhe topnd out about this
rue and it differs ftorhrpost..c:OntempOrary„ititary engines • • .• .
laving a rotary piston Mil& -Li • rotating casing. Isuzu
emplate using it in commercial vehicles; my impression that it was not at the head of their development list.
) return to conventional in-line engines. Mazda also have int development agreement with our own Perkins company are beginning to work on an engine to be. manufactured liroshima, based largely on Perkins'---deSign.. This engine Id be of about 2,500 c.c. capacity...and1Fould produce about
b.h.p. from its four cylinders. ..fitted first into
new Mazda E23.00..two-ton truck., ., . le company produce various small pick-ups. vans and trucks ip to -1-ton • capacity, based largely. on their private car pis.. They. also produce a ..b.onile;,ed 1-ton-pick-up. semi aorI control and 2-ion trucks and a • Intl -forward-control !nor of quite.adVanced design. MLtZcla also produce three
I buses. ''•. • "' .
le smaller vehicles. are -pinvered -feitir-Cycje. twoder, o.h.v. air-cooled engine of 356 c.c. displacement which
produces 13 b.h.p. at 4,800 r.p.m. From 1-ton capacity upwards they use a 2,000 c.c. four-cylinder petrol engine which produces 81 b.h.p, at 4,600 r.p.m. and a torque of 112 lb. ft. at 2.000 r.p.m.
In an earlier article in this series a drawing of a Mazda 2-ton three-wheeler was reproduced and I do not propose to say much more now about these vehicles except to record biielly that I drove one of them loaded for a short while. Nearly all the load on these vehicles goes through the back axle and little more' than 10 cwL, is transmitted to the single wheel at the front which has coil-spring suspension. It Was, as one would expect, an adequate but functional vehicle with no seat adjustment but surprisingly good steering-column-mounted synchromesh gearchange. Top speed was about 65 m.p.h. and my most remarkable memory of the vehicle is its supreme mannouvrahility.
The forward-control 24onner was introduced last year and a new version has recently been announced which has exactly the same-sized body but a slightly more powerful engine than its predecessor. The original vehicles of this type had the 2.000 c.c. engine: the new version has a 2,300 c.c. engine which produces 86 b.h.p. at 4,000 r.p.m. and is, in fact, a bored-out
version of the earlier unit. .
Road Impressions I drove the original version of this forward-cOntrol vehicle and was impressed particularly by • its good, road-holding capability. The three-seat cab was roomy. comfortable and provided plenty of .seat adjustment. There was good visibility and the column-mounted gearchange (as in the three-wheeler) .was-of a very high order. 1 was able to move the fully loaded vehicle away from a stationary position in third gear with only the slightest of clutch slip and could accelerate, in top gear from 13 m.p.h. without gear snatch.
The three small buses all use the 2.00(1 c.c. petrol engine. Two are 24-seat vehicles and one is a 21-seat version.. This, of course, is Japanese-style seating!
The newest version of these is the AEVA(C), which costs about f1.450 in Japan. Of all the Japanese' small buses f saw, this was the outstanding one. It has excellent vis'blity. lively acceleration and a very modern appearance. It has the same gearbox and column-mounted gear lever as itused in the trucks: and as with those vehicles it 'proved to be it very smooth transmission.
The brakes were smooth and progressive and did not pull to either side. There *as not much headroom-r -a common fault in Japanese small buses-,--and the p.v.c.-covered seats were a trifle narrim for my bulk, ,Began In 1918
Founded in 1916. Isuzu MOtors Ltd. are the doyen of the Japanese autornotiVe industry. As long ago as 1918 they were 'prciducing Wolseley lorries under licence. It was under the Isuiu roof that Hino began their life when, in May, 1942, the Isuzu 1-lino factory became a separate concern.
They build a range of engines-from -50 to 230 h.h.p. and currently produce about 3,000 heavy trucks and buses and neatly 7,500 light commercialvehicles amonth. Until 1959 they concentrated mainly on 5-ton trucks and buses. Then they introduced an 8-tanner. The following year Isuzu 'expanded into 1.75and 2-ton ranges; recently they produced a three-axle 10-tonner. '
The first Isuzu diesel engine, an air-cooled, in-line fourcylinder unit was built in 1936 (two years after they began research into diesels). They now produce 97.9 per cent of all Japanese diesel-engined, light commercials. 50.4 per cent of the -diesel-engined trucks and 37.1 per cent of all diesel-powered buses. This is their range:— In addition they are experimenting with the rotary I mentioned. A Roots-type turbocharger of Isuzu manufacture can be Specified; when fitted it produces an extra 40 h.p. on the two six-cylinder engines. Main use of the blower is on p.s.v. applications. They also produce Ion the good old knife-andfork principle) a few V8s for bus use if art adamant customer is prepared to pay for them.
Because, as' I • have mentioned in earlier articles, the emerging user-demands are for high-speed coaches and 8-ion (instead of 6-ton) capacity goods vehicles,' Isuzu are currently engaged on a search for more h.p. They are stilLinvestigating vee configurations, . but give the impression of being firmly wedded to straight engines. They are now moving towards a square boreistroke configuration in-line engine, aiming to reduce piston speed by some 10 percent. Whether by larger bore. or shorter stroke remains to he seen.
' They are ako experimenting with distributor-type injector pumps.-,-one of the few Japanese' nittnitfacturers doing so.
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Between 1and 2-ton capacities, Isuzu offer three car-type pick-ups. Their main light vehicle is the Elf 2-tanner, which has a forward-control 3-seat cab. Either the C220 diesel or the GL201 petrol engine can be specified. In common with the latest Japanese goods vehicles of this size, the Elf uses a mixture of leaf and Aeon-type rubber springing. I saw it in a great variety of guises--as a tipper, tanker, cement-mixer and refuse vehicle, to mention a few,
The Elf appears as a 12or 2I-passenger small bus as well, the engine being removed from under the front bench seat to a full-forward, beside-driver position in the 21-seater.
Two Heavy Ranges Two heavy goods vehicle ranges are offered, each with bonneted or forward-control cabs tilting to an angle of 50°. The smaller vehicles are the TX range of 34-, 5-, 6and 64-tanners. using one or other of two versions of the 6-litre diesel engine (one produces 133 h.p., the other 138 h.p.), The larger range is the and TP 71-, 8and 10-ton vehicles (the IQ-tonners being six-wheelers, with tandem bogie at the rear, either.single or double drive). These vehicles have the 10-litre diesel engine.
Isuzu also make the TW range of 4 x 4, 5-1-tormers and 6 x 6, 6-tanners, which are square-bonneted and distinctly military in appearance. A photograph of one of these was published on July 16.
Malty, Isuzu produce a full range of single-deck (there are no Japanese double-deckers). A nal-control chassis in three wheelbases gives
teen 49 and 62 passengers (29 or 37 seated).
the same chassis is used for a central-entrance, /ard-control, 62-passenger (35 seated, 27
ding).bus with engine beside the driver. The er unit in all these chassis is the DA640 diesel. fonocoque construction is used a lot in Japan for p.s.v. main (and very popular) Isuzu range are four monocoque des with the DA640 engine mounted longitudinally at the : two versions are naturally aspirated, whilst two have the u turbocharger. In passenger capacities they vary between ind 75. Air suspension is optional on all four vehicles, :11 are fitted as standard with a butterfly-type exhaust brake.' rail lengths of the four models vary between 28 ft. 21 in. 30 ft., all being 8 ft. wide.
here are also a range of passenger vehicles with the 10-litre el engine mounted horizontally (inclined at an angle of 8Y) le rear. These are usually air-suspension vehicles, although springs can he specified. One version is a 40-seat luxury :h, 37 ft. 1 in. long, which has a top speed of nearly 80 m.p.h. remaining six versions in this range carry between 69 and .assengers, depending upon seating layout and door position. lthough they produce a full range of goods and passenger cks, Mitsubishi are best known for their Fuso vehicles (the IT lorries and p.s..v.)., In the over 7-ton capacity class of des Fuso have 33 per cent of the total market, compared 1suzu's 30 per cent. Hino's 25 per cent ahd Nissan Diesel's er cent.
'itsubishi's smallest goods vehicle is the 7-cwt. Colt pick-up, is powered with a forced air-cooled, two-cylinder. two359 c.c. petrol engine. Next in size. are their Jupiter des, which are normal-control vehicles of 2and 3-Ion oad ratings. One Jupiter 2-tonner is a car-type pick-up g either a 2.000 c.c. diesel engine giving 70 b.h.p. at 4.200 n. (with distributor-type fuel injection pump) or .a 90 b.h.p. at engine of the same capacity.
acre is also..a 2-ton Jupiter truck. with. 61 b.h.p. diesel ne of 2,199 c.c. displacement. In long-wheelbase form it is tonnei and can be bought with either a four-cylinder (76 ). at 4.000 r.p.m.) or a six-cylinder (85 b.h.p. at 3500 r.p.m.)
A engine. • hove these vehicles in sue are the main Fuso ranges. Rest is the 2-ton Canter, a forward-control vehicle remarksimilar to the lsuzu Elf—and of about equal popularity. t twin headlamps. wrapround windscreen and three-scat it presents a pleasing. modern 'appearance and is used for ariety of bodies. I drove one briefly, when visiting ubishi's Kawasaki works, near Yokohama. and was essed particularly by its 32-ft. turning circle and lively leration. There was plenty of fore-and-aft adjustment to driver's seat. Visibility was good, except out of the door 'ow, which was rather high-waisted. The column-mounted :harige was smooth and positive. Access to the 2-litre 1 engine (68 b.h.p. at 4,200 r.p.m.). sited under the centre was good. As with most of these little Japanese vehicles.
xed leafs and rubber for the suspension. , st autumn Fuso announced. a tilt-cab 4-tonner and this. I was able to drive. At the moment 400 of these a month' iroduced. 1 was slightly surprised to discover that it • had lumn-mounted gearchange lever,-but it and the synchro mesh proved to be excellent. Acceleration was a notable feature of the vehicle, which grosses a little under 74. tons. The engine is a six-cylinder 4,678 c.c. diesel, giving 110 b.h.p. at 3,200 r.p.m. Top speed was 65 m.p.h. Cab access was adequate without being exceptional, a grab handle situated on the door tending to make the door close on anyone entering the cab.
A normal-control 6-Hornier is next in size. using a sixcylinder, 81-litre diesel engine, giving 165 b.h.p. at 2,300 r.p.m.
The same basic engine chassis and cab appears as a and 8-tonner. I drove one of these and was a little disappointed. The engine cowl took up a disproportionately large amount of space and the unit was somewhat noisy. Both I and a Mitsubishi test driver had great difficulty with the gears—perhaps because the vehicle had only five miles on the speedometer. The gear lever was very floppy. The handbrake was situated between the driver's seat and the door—just right for catching in trouser legs! Visibility through the high-waisted split windscreen was only fair and Mitsubishi told Me they will improve on this.
Their heaviest goods vehicle is an 11-1-tonner with tandem back axle. tilt cab and the 8-Hitre engine with turbocharger, giving 220 b.h.p. at 2.300 r.p.m. The Fuso tilt cab is counterbalanced and has two external securing clamps. Nothing inside the cab needs to be touched before tilting.
F-uso also produce heavy-duty 4 x 4 and 6 x 6 vehicles and their largest is a 6 x 4, used for up to 300-ton abnormal load movements. This tractor has a six-cylinder. 13-7-litre engine of 135-mm. bore. and I60-mm. stroke which.. naturally aspirated, produces 200 b.h.p, at 2.000 r.p.m. They make a 21-passenger small bus based on the Canter chassis and a 25and 29-passenger bus. the Ithsa.
Their main p.s.v, range is a series of chassis powered with a -165-b.h.p. engine mounted longitudinally at the rear in a stepped. down frame. These are leaf-sprung and are offered with . Mitsubishi-built coach bodies seating between 32 and 45.
A second range of V8-engined coaches have ,air suspension and integral steel bodies. As service buses they carry 69 passengers. as coaches 41 fall seated). The power units are rear-mounted and produce 220 b.h.p. at 2,300 r.p.m. or 290 b.h.p. 'with an exhaust turbocharger. Top speed of this range is in excess of 80 m.p.h. I rode in one and drove another. This I shall write about next week.
Mitsubishi. who make a tremendous range of diesels for all purposes. have five basic automotive engines. The 4DQ11 produces 68 b.h.p. at 4.200 r.p.m. and is their only four-cylinder unit for truck use. Next is the 6DS10. which gives 110 b.h.p. at 3.200 r.p.m.: another straight six is the 6DB10, which produces 165 b.h.p. at 2.300 r.p.m. (or 220 b.h.p. with exhaust turbo blower). In common with all Mitsubishi diesels except the small four-cylinder unit, they have ore-combustion chamber firing: the four uses a swirl chamber design. A third straight six is. the DH21 (210 b.h.p. or 290 b.h.p..when blown, at 2.000 r.p.m.). The fifth unit is the 8DB20. a 90° V8 engine giving 220 b.h p. (290 v,hen turbocharged) at 2.300 r.p.m.