What is 1.3 liters in a Suzuki samauri?

Answer 1

Well, I don't know if I understand the question. 1.3 liters is the engine displacement...basically the volume swept by all 4 pistons in one revolution of the engine. Generally speaking, the larger displacements have more power but also burn more gasoline. This is a general statement however, because based on engineering technology some very small engines are extremely powerful, like those in an Indy 500 race car. Don't worry, the Suzuki Samurai is NOT one of those extremely powerful engines! IIRC it has about 70 or 75 horsepower, and the 1st ones imported in any significant quantiies (the 1986 model), was possible (barely) of 80mph on a long flat road with a bit of a tail wind. Other ways to get an idea of how big (or small) a 1.3 liter engine like the Suzuiki is. Another way to think of displacement is to think of a car engine like a strange sort of air pump...where it sucks a volume of air in through it's intake, and pushes that same volume (about) out the tailpipe. Each time the Suzuki engine goes around once it "pumps" 1.3 liters of air through it. That's why bigger engines give more power...they 'pump' more air on every revolution. And since the ratio of fuel to air stays about the same, ideally, for peak efficiency, if you pump twice as much air you will also have burnt twice as much gasoline for twice as much power. Take for example two engines, one displacing 2 liters (like an average 4 cylinder) and the other displacing 4 liters (like a largish 6 cylinder or small V-8.) The 4 cylinder needs to run twice as fast to get the same volume of air and gas burnt up as the larger engine. That's another reason why a 4 cylinder might run on the highway at around 4000RPM, and a V-8 car engine might be geared to only run around 2000 or 2500RPM at that same highway speed. A "5.0" liter Ford Mustang has an engine almost 4 times as big in displacement! A 2 liter soda bottle gives you an idea of how much volume we're talking about here: The Samurai displaces slightly under 3/4 of a 2 liter soda bottle every revolution. That 5.0 liter Ford Mustang displaces 2.5 of those 2 liter bottles each revolution. So where does the Sammy fit with other vehicles? Well, the GEO Metro used a 3 cylinder variant of the Samurai engine...displacing only 1.0 liter. But it was lighter and much more aerodynamic than the Samurai. 1.3 liters is the same as 1300cc, cubic centimeters, that motorcycles are often measured by. I have the smaller version of a Harley Davidson Sportster, with an 883cc engine. Bigger HD Sportster motorcycles have 1200cc, and other large Harleys or big Hondas and the like might have up to 1600 ccs. I also have a big BMW motorcycle, one of the ones with two cylinders, one each pointing out of each side. That engine is 1100cc...almost as big as a Samurai but with only two cylinders instead of 4. (And my BMW engine is rated at around 90 horse power, whereas as I said I think the Samurai is around 70 or 75. Hope that helps! Paul