In a reciprocating piston engine, the stroke ratio, defined by either bore/stroke ratio or stroke/bore ratio, is a term to describe the ratio between

cylinder bore In a piston engine, the bore (or cylinder bore) is the diameter of each cylinder. Engine displacement is calculated based on bore, stroke length and the number of cylinders: displacement = The stroke ratio, determined by dividing the bore by ...

diameter and

piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tig ...

stroke length. This can be used for either an

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...

, where the fuel is burned within the cylinders of the engine, or

external combustion engine An external combustion engine (EC engine) is a reciprocating heat engine where a working fluid, contained internally, is heated by combustion in an external source, through the engine wall or a heat exchanger. The fluid then, by expanding an ...

, such as a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

, where the combustion of the fuel takes place ''outside'' the working cylinders of the engine. A fairly comprehensive yet understandable study of stroke/bore effects was published in ''Horseless Age'', 1916.

Conventions

In a piston engine, there are two different ways of describing the ''stroke ratio'' of its cylinders, namely: ''bore/stroke'' ratio, and ''stroke/bore'' ratio.

Bore/stroke ratio

Bore/stroke is the more commonly used term, with usage in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The diameter of the

is divided by the length of the

stroke to give the ratio.

Square, oversquare and undersquare engines

The following terms describe the naming conventions for the configurations of the various bore/stroke ratio:

Square engine

A square engine has equal bore ''and'' stroke dimensions, giving a bore/stroke value of exactly 1:1.

Square engine examples

1953 – Ferrari 250 Europa had Lampredi V12 with bore and stroke. 1967 – FIAT 125, 124Sport engine 125A000-90 hp, 125B000-100 hp, 125BC000-110 hp, 1608 ccm, DOHC, bore and stroke. 1970 – Ford 400 had a bore and stroke. 1973 –

Kawasaki Z1 The Kawasaki Z1 is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, double-overhead camshaft, carbureted, chain-drive motorcycle introduced in 1972 by Kawasaki. Following the introduction of Honda's CB750 in 1968, the Z1 helped popularize the in-line, across-the ...

and KZ(Z)900 had a bore and stroke. 1973 – British Leyland's Australian division created a 4.4-litre version of the

Rover V8 The Rover V8 engine is a compact V8 internal combustion engine with aluminium cylinder block and cylinder heads, originally designed by General Motors and later re-designed and produced by Rover in the United Kingdom. It has been used in a wide ...

engine, with bore and stroke both measuring 88.9 mm. This engine was exclusively used in the

Leyland P76 The Leyland P76 is a large car that was produced by Leyland Australia, the Australian subsidiary of British Leyland. Featuring what was described at the time as the "standard Australian wheelbase of 111 inches", it was intended to provide the ...

. 1982 -

Honda Nighthawk 250 The Honda Nighthawk 250 is a Honda standard motorcycle. It has a air-cooled parallel-twin engine. While the first Nighthawk (CB650) was manufactured in 1982, the first 250 Nighthawk was manufactured in 1991. It utilized the 1985–87 CMX250 R ...

and

Honda CMX250C The Honda CMX250, or Rebel 250 or Honda Peronist, is a cruiser-style motorcycle made by Honda on and off since 1985. It uses the same straight-twin engine as the Honda Nighthawk 250 standard. The Rebel is part of the CM series of cruisers. It ...

Rebel have a bore and stroke, making it a square engine. 1983 –

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

FE 2.0L inline four-cylinder engine with a perfectly squared bore and stroke. This engine also features the ideal 1.75:1 rod/stroke ratio. 1987 – The Opel/Vauxhall 2.0 L GM Family II engines are square at bore and stroke; example as C20XE C20NE C20LET X20A X20XEV X20XER Z20LET Z20LEH Z20LER A20NHT A20NFT. 1989 – Nissan's

SR20DE The SR engine is a series of , or Inline-four engine, straight-four, four-stroke engine, four-stroke gasoline internal combustion engine, engines manufactured by Nissan Motors, Nissan. It has an aluminum head and cast-iron block with steel Cyli ...

is a square engine, with an bore and stroke. 1990 –

Maserati Shamal The Maserati Shamal (''Tipo AM339'') is a two-door grand touring coupé produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati from 1990 to 1996. In keeping with an established Maserati tradition, it is named after a wind: shamal (Arabic for ‘no ...

had biturbo

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...

''AM 479'' with bore and stroke. This engine, after modifications, was later installed in Quattroporte IV and 3200 GT. 1990–2010 Saab B234/B235 is a square engine, with a bore and stroke. 1991 – Ford's 4.6 V8 OHC engine has a bore and stroke. It has been the backbone of Ford V8-powered cars and trucks in different power levels and head designs for two decades. 1995 – The BMW M52 engine with a displacement of 2793 cubic centimeters is an example of a perfect square engine with an bore and stroke. 1996 – Jaguar's AJ-V8 engine in 4.0-litre form has an 86.0 mm bore and stroke. 2000 –

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

4.0-litre () OM628 V8 diesel engine is an example of a square engine – with an bore and stroke. The

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

's 2005

W16 engine A W16 engine is a sixteen-cylinder piston engine with four banks of four cylinders in a W configuration. W16 engines are rarely produced, with the notable exception of the Volkswagen Group 8.0 WR16 engine, which has been used since 2005 in the ...

as used in the

Bugatti Veyron The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car, designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver P ...

also using a bore and stroke. The Peugeot XU10 engine line – with a displacement of 1998 cubic centimeters – is an example of a perfect square engine with an bore and stroke. Toyota's 2JZ and 4U are square engines, with bore and stroke.

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

1G is a square engine with an bore and stroke. Honda's J30A engine has an bore and stroke. Suzuki AX100 engine has a bore and stroke. Yamaha YBR125 engine has a bore and stroke.

Oversquare or short-stroke engine

An engine is described as oversquare or short-stroke if its cylinders have a greater bore diameter than its stroke length, giving a bore/stroke ratio greater than 1:1. An oversquare engine allows for more and larger valves in the head of the cylinder, higher possible rpm by lowering maximum piston speed, and lower crank stress due to the lower peak piston acceleration for the same engine (rotational) speed. Because these characteristics favor higher engine speeds, oversquare engines are often tuned to develop peak torque at a relatively high speed. Due to the increased piston and head surface area, the heat loss increases as the bore/stroke ratio is increased. Thus an excessively high ratio can lead to a decreased thermal efficiency compared to other engine geometries. The large size/width of the combustion chamber at ignition can cause increased inhomogeneity in the air/fuel mixture during combustion, resulting in higher emissions. The reduced stroke length allows for a shorter cylinder and sometimes a shorter connecting rod, generally making oversquare engines less tall but wider than undersquare engines of similar

engine displacement Engine displacement is the measure of the cylinder volume swept by all of the pistons of a piston engine, excluding the combustion chambers. It is commonly used as an expression of an engine's size, and by extension as a loose indicator of the ...

Oversquare engine examples

Oversquare engines (a.k.a. "short stroke engines") are very common, as they allow higher

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

(and thus more power), without excessive piston speed. Examples include both Chevrolet and Ford small-block V8s; the GMC 478 V6 has a bore/stroke ratio of 1.33. The 1.6 litre version of the

BMW N45 The BMW N45 is a naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine which replaced the BMW N40 and was produced from 2004-2011. It was produced alongside the BMW N46 engine and only sold in several countries, where vehicle taxes favoured small-displ ...

gasoline engine has a bore/stroke ratio of 1.167. Horizontally opposed, also known as "Boxer" or "flat", engines typically feature oversquare designs since any increase in stroke length would result in twice the increase in overall engine width. This is particularly so in

Subaru ( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...

’s front-engine layout, where the steering angle of the front wheels is constrained by the width of the engine. The Subaru EJ181 engine develops peak torque at speeds as low as 3200 rpm. Nissan's RB, VQ, VK, VH and VR38DETT engines are all oversquare. Additionally, SR16VE engine found in

Nissan Pulsar The is a line of automobiles produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1978 until 2000, when it was replaced by the Nissan Bluebird Sylphy in the Japanese market. Between 2000 and 2005, the name "Pulsar" has been used in Australia and New ...

VZ-R and VZ-R N1 is an oversquare engine with bore and stroke, giving it but relatively small torque of Extreme oversquare engines are found in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racing cars, where strict rules limit displacement, thereby necessitating that power be achieved through high engine speeds. Stroke ratios approaching 2.5:1 are allowed, enabling engine speeds of 18,000 rpm while remaining reliable for multiple races. The Ducati Panigale

motorcycle engine A motorcycle engine is an engine that powers a motorcycle. Motorcycle engines are typically two-stroke or four-stroke internal combustion engines, but other engine types, such as Wankels and electric motors, have been used. Although some moped ...

is extremely oversquare with a bore/stroke ratio of 1.84:1. It was given the name "SuperQuadro" by Ducati, roughly translated as "super-square" from Italian. The

side-valve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...

Belgian

D-Motor LF26 The D-Motor LF26 is a lightweight liquid cooled side-valve four-stroke flat four, 2.7 litre petrol aircraft engine, produced by D-Motor in Deerlijk, Belgium. Design and development This direct-drive aero-engine is unusual in two respects: it is ...

aero-engine has a bore/stroke ratio of 1.4:1. Early

Mercedes-Benz M116 engine The Mercedes-Benz M116 was automotive V8 engine made in several versions by Mercedes-Benz between 1969 and 1991. All models were gasoline powered, and utilized a single overhead camshaft with 2 valves per cylinder and Bosch Jetronic fuel injec ...

s had a bore and a stroke for a 3.5 litre V8.

Undersquare or long-stroke engine

An engine is described as undersquare or long-stroke if its cylinders have a smaller bore (width, diameter) than its stroke (length of piston travel) - giving a ratio value of less than 1:1. At a given engine speed, a longer stroke increases engine friction and increases stress on the crankshaft due to the higher peak piston acceleration. The smaller bore also reduces the area available for valves in the cylinder head, requiring them to be smaller or fewer in number. Undersquare engines often exhibit peak torque at lower rpm than an oversquare engine due to their smaller valves and high piston speed limiting their potential to rev higher. Undersquare engines have become more common lately, as manufacturers push for more and more efficient engines and higher fuel economy.

Undersquare engine examples

Many inline engines, particularly those mounted transversely in front-wheel-drive cars, utilize an undersquare design. The smaller bore allows for a shorter engine that increases room available for the front wheels to steer. Examples of this include many

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

, and

engines. The 1KR-FE-engine used in the

Toyota Aygo The Toyota Aygo is a city car ( A-segment) marketed by Toyota mainly in the European market between 2005 and 2021 across two generations. The Aygo was first displayed at the 2005 Geneva International Motor Show. It was built alongside the relat ...

Citroën C1 The Citroën C1 is a city car marketed by Citroën from June 2005 to January 2022, originally developed as part of the B-Zero project by PSA Peugeot Citroën in a joint venture with Toyota, with two generations produced. The C1 was developed a ...

and

Peugeot 107 The Peugeot 107 is a city car produced by French automaker Peugeot, launched in June 2005, and produced until 2014. The 107 was developed by the B-Zero project of PSA Peugeot Citroën in a joint venture with Toyota; the Citroën C1 and Toyota A ...

amongst others is an example of a modern long-stroke engine widely used in

FF layout In automotive design, a front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FWD) layout, or FF layout, places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle. Usage implications Historically, this designation was used reg ...

cars. This engine has a bore and stroke of stroke giving it a bore/stroke ratio of 0.845:1. Some rear-wheel-drive cars that borrow engines from front-wheel-drive cars (such as the

Mazda MX-5 The Mazda MX-5 is a lightweight two-passenger roadster sports car manufactured and marketed by Mazda with a front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. The convertible is marketed as the or in Japan, and as the Mazda Miata () in the United St ...

) use an undersquare design. BMW's acclaimed S54B32 engine was undersquare with a bore and stroke of ), offering a world record torque-per-litre figure () for normally-aspirated production engines at the time; this record stood until Ferrari unveiled the 458 Italia. Many

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

automobile companies used undersquare designs until the 1950s, largely because of a motor tax system that taxed cars by their cylinder bore. This includes the BMC A-Series engine, and many

derivatives. The Trojan Car used an undersquare, split piston,

two stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

, two-cylinder inline engine; this was partly for this tax advantage and partly because its proportions allowed flexing V-shaped connecting rods for the two pistons of each U-shaped cylinder, which was cheaper and simpler than two connecting rods joined with an additional bearing. The 225 cu in (3.7

litre The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...

) Chrysler Slant-6 engine is undersquare, with a bore and stroke of stroke (bore/stroke ratio = 0.819:1). The Ford 5.4L Modular Engine features a bore and stroke of , which makes a bore/stroke ratio of 0.852:1. Since the stroke is significantly longer than the bore, the SOHC 16V (2-valve per cylinder) version of this engine is able to generate a peak torque of 350 lb·ft as low as 2501 rpm. The Willys Jeep L134 and F134 engines were undersquare, with a bore and stroke of stroke (bore/stroke ratio = 0.714:1). The

Dodge Power Wagon The Dodge Power Wagon is a four-wheel drive medium duty truck that was produced in various model series from 1945 to 1980 by Dodge.Press Kit: 2005 Dodge Ram Power Wagon - Legendary Dodge Ram Power Wagon Returns. Chrysler Corporation, DaimlerChrys ...

used a straight-six

Chrysler Flathead engine The Chrysler flathead engine is a flathead automotive engine manufactured by the Chrysler Corporation from 1924 through the early 1960s. The flathead engine came in four-,six-, and eight-cylinder configurations and varying displacement, with both ...

of 230 cu in (3.8 L) with a bore and stroke of , yielding a substantially undersquare bore/stroke ratio of 0.709:1. The 4-litre Barra Inline 6 engine from the Australian

Ford Falcon Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991. * Fo ...

, uses a bore and stroke of stroke, which equates to a 0.929:1 bore-stroke ratio. The 292 Chevrolet I6 is also undersquare, with a bore and stroke of in (bore/stroke ratio = 0.939:1). Mitsubishi's 4G63T engine found primarily in many generations of

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, popularly referred to as the 'Evo', is a sports sedan and rally car based on the Lancer that was manufactured by Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors from 1992 until 2016. There have been ten official versio ...

is an undersquare engine with a bore and stroke of . The

Jaguar XK6 engine The Jaguar XK is an inline 6-cylinder dual overhead camshaft (DOHC) engine produced by Jaguar Cars between 1949 and 1992. Introduced as a 3.4-litre, it earned fame on both the road and track, being produced in five displacements between 2. ...

, used in all 6-cylinder Jaguars from 1949 to 1987 was undersquare. For example, the 4.2 litre engine had a bore and stroke of , providing a bore/stroke ratio of 0.869:1. Virtually all piston engines used in military aircraft were long-stroke engines. The PW R-2800, Wright R-3350,

Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major The Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major is an American 28-cylinder four-row radial piston aircraft engine designed and built during World War II. First run in 1944, at , it is the largest-displacement aviation piston engine to be mass-produced in ...

, Rolls-Royce Merlin (1650), Allison V-1710, and Hispano-Suiza 12Y-Z are only a few of more than a hundred examples. All diesel-powered ships have massively undersquare marine engines, usually using crossheads. A

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include technolo ...

two-stroke marine diesel engine has a bore and stroke of , (bore/stroke ratio = 0.384:1). While most modern

s are square or oversquare, some are undersquare. The

Kawasaki Z1300 The Kawasaki Z1300 is a standard motorcycle unusual for its large-displacement ''1,300 cc'' straight-six engine made by Kawasaki from 1979 to 1989. Performance Kawasaki Z1300's length is 89.1 inches, and its width is 30.9 inches, its hei ...

's straight-six engine was made undersquare to minimise engine width, more recently, a new

straight-twin engine A straight-twin engine, also known as an inline-twin, vertical-twin, or parallel-twin, is a two-cylinder piston engine whose cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. Straight-twin engines are primarily used in motorcycles; ot ...

for the

Honda NC700 series The Honda NC700 series is a family of motorcycles produced by Honda since 2012. NC700 series was a 'new concept', being unlike conventional motorcycles, a bike designed for commuters, new or veteran riders. The series also includes the motorcycle/ ...

used an undersquare design to achieve better combustion efficiency in order to reduce fuel consumption.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroke Ratio Engine technology Piston engines Engineering ratios