rec.autos.simulators

Can anyone point me to a good source for information, regarding the
simulation of an 4 stroke engine. I have seen many programs for sale on the
net to simulate the output from an engine given various inputs, and was
thinking about writting a simple one myself.

Any help would be great.
Mike

Try a sim called Burnout PCE.  It is a drag racing sim, but models a full
engine..  with just about every single charachterist editable..and U can
modify.

James

  I wrote a simple engine simulator called "QuickEngine Builder" that is now
sold as part of Straightline Acceleration Simulator (drag racing prediction
software) at http://PerformanceSimulations.com .  If you're looking for a
really excellent package solely for simulating engines, I recommend Dyno2000
from http://motionsoftware.com  They are a competitor of mine, so I shouldn't
mention it, but their engine package is better than my QuickEngine Builder!
Hopefully I can release something better, but that's a long way off and not on
my high priority list right now.
  If you're interested in writing a simple program like QuickEngine Builder,
I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have, and give you some tips if
you'd like.  
Otherwise, I think Dyno2000 is around $40 (super cheap, most high quality
packages are $400-600, but use a different modeling approach).  One guy I
chatted with said it predicted his engine power to within 4HP.  IMO, that's
VERY good!
Todd Wasson
http://PerformanceSimulations.com

  Oh yeah, one more thing.  You were really asking for information on how to
simulate an engine, and I ranted on about my wonderful product instead!  This
book is a must have if you are writing an engine model:  "Internal Combustion
Engine Fundamentals" by John B. Heywood.  It's extremely mathematical and
thorough, but does cover engine modeling.  Personally, the calculus matrix
equations it provided for flow modelling in engines were beyond me, but it does
show how to calculate all kinds of things most people never think of, and you
ought to be able to derive your own approaches to doing things from it.  This
book is the Bible of many automotive engineers.  Available at Amazon.com for
about $85.
Todd
http://PerformanceSimulations.com