No offense intended, but you are misinformed.

 

Many auto makers have been researching cameless variable valve timing by electric lift for some time and Valeo will be implementing electromagnetic actuators possibly in 08'. Yes, I was speaking out of my *** about them being able to last long and spin higher revs than cam systems, but they do offer less moving parts and friction. Therefore I just assumed that electromagnetically controlled valves would be more reliable and able to spin faster than conventional camshaft designs. Given that, I think that's a fair assumption.
http://www.valeo.com/automotive-supp...ng/en/pid/1317
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...7/ai_n15865061

The design Valeo's working on uses springs to open the valve. They could use an em actuator on opposite polar ends and alternate the switches so a spring wouldn't be necessary, then it would be possible to open the valve much faster than a spring would allow. It looks like there's enough room in the pick if it's to scale. I suppose they're not concerned with it in an economy car; infinitely variable valve timing is still achieved. IMO it would be cool to do it just from the technological stand point.

 

20% more torque, 20% fewer emissions, and 20% reduction in fuel consumption! Wow, where else can you gain 75 lb-ft, and 5 mpg by just changing the valve timing/actuation method on 5-6L engines?

OEMs must be all over this by now. Heck DOD (or whatever the different manufacturers call shutting down half the cylinders) only nets about 8% better fuel economy in real world testing.

Perhaps these are just claims. As of Nov 05, about 15 months ago:

"Thierry Morin, chairman and CEO of Valeo (www.valeo.com) says electromechanical valve actuation is--at most--16 months away from full production feasibility."

' "The diesel-like clatter is gone," he claims, "and the system is designed to fit under current valve covers." This has been accomplished through the use of small damper springs that soften the deceleration of the valve at each end of its stroke.'

So much for instantaneous valve action.

Could this system work? Probably. Will it give the 20%-20%-20% results promised? I'll be watching AutoWeek or Ward's for breaking news of this coming to market.

Count me among the skeptics.

 

for the last about 2yrs CAT has had a deisel engine that uses solenoids instead of a camshaft. i worked on them in a class it is awsome ideal i think. think of all you can do with a tune. i beleive the engine still had a cam but it was used with the fuel system. sorry i dont know more its been alittle while. if you want to know more i can research my old paper work.

 

I think WhiteKnightZ28 is on the right track as to the logic you could use and the potential still left in the internal combustion engine. With the use of infinitely-adjustable valve events combined with a continuously variable transmission the possibilities are almost endless. If you think about it, the reason why most of us LSx (and all other cam-in-block) engines can't have our cake (high horsepower) and eat it too (big torque and good gas mileage) is due to the limitations imposed by the single pattern camshaft. Thus, we’re either given the choice of power or efficiency (these two aren’t always mutually exclusive, but at the power levels we all like they usually are).

The variable valve timing in overhead cam engines gets you part of the way there, but is still limited to usually two different cam profiles. So there is still some “optimization” left on the table. These variable valve events have allowed lowly 1.6L engines to make 160 horsepower and 4.2L V8 (Audi) to make 420 horsepower and still accomplish reasonable gas mileage and have great manners. With that in mind, imagine what could be done with infinitely-variable valve events. All of us would be driving our 5.7L V8s that made 600 peak horsepower and still got 25 mpg city mileage and were as mild mannered as a plush Mercedes.

Combine all that with a CVT and you really start seeing some huge gains being made in internal combustion engines. It’s exciting to think about. I agree with 1CAMWNDR. The infinite abilities of such a system almost require a number of “presets” for the user to choose from. Towing, cruising, max efficiency, max power, and max torque – they would all be attainable from a single-size engine. You would basically be choosing the engine size based on your required maximum output (say 500 horsepower or 500 ft/lb torque) and working backwards on everything else from there.

Now would somebody please design a reliable system and get it into production ASAP!

 

I don't see it happening anytime ever. By the time this becomes affordable I bet electric engines would have displaced the mechanical ones almost completely.

Didn't it take something like 30 years for dual camshafts to become affordable and we still don't have them affordable in V8's yet. <- that's actually a question btw not just a statement