I knew this before but seem to have forgot why they call it a boxer and I have done all the search stuff but nothing has been found. Can any one answer the question? of course you can.

Cheers

 

Quote:-

"Owning a Subaru means enjoying the balanced performance of Subaru's specially developed Boxer engine. The Boxer engine has a symmetrical, horizontally opposed layout. With all its pistons moving on the same plane, the engine enjoys better balance when running. It also sits lower in the engine bay, giving your vehicle the extra stability of a lower centre of gravity."

"In a boxer engine, the cylinders are horizontally opposed. When you look straight down on the engine, the pistons look like a boxer's fists going back and forth towards the other pistons, one side against the other."

Pete

 

I don't think (I may be wrong..I usually am!!) It is strictly a boxer engine. The L10 multifuel engine that was used in a chieften tank was a true boxer engine insomuch that it had two crankshafts and the pistons met in the middle like a boxer hiiting his gloves together. I think any flat engine after that took on the name "boxer" when really it is a flat 4/6/8 whatever.
dave

 

Dave & Plewis,
I think your both correct IIRC the first might have been

1923 Bayerische Motoren Werke - BMW - (Germany) makes its first motorcycle, the 500cc R32 twin, powered by a boxer engine and using shaft drive, designed by Chief Engineer Max Fritz.

Tony

 

cheers for the info lads.

 

thats how you get the amazin 'burble' sound

 

Kind of....

The Scooby burble is a secondary consequence of the engine layout, it's actually the exhaust headers that create the noise due to the fact that the headers are much shorter on the RH side of the car than on the left, as th LH ones have to travel across to the right to join up. Because of this, although the firing intervals are perfectly even, the actual exhaust pulses reach the tailpipe with uneven spacing, 2 very close together then a pause then another 2 close together - pop pop........pop pop......pop pop, it's this that makes the burble.

If you fit equal length headers the exhaust pulses come out the tail pipe evenly spaced and the exhaust note sound completly different - apparently it's very similar to a big motor bike engine.