The Lambda was the first in a long line of narrow angle V4 Lancias. Did the V4 generate more vibration than the standard four? And how were they balanced? Geoff Goldberg wanted to know. Photo by Jonathan Sharp
By Pete Vack with Geoff Goldberg and Jonathan Sharp
NOTE: To order either of Geoff Goldberg’s books and avoid confusion, go directly to the author at gg@g2a2.com. He will provide the method best for you and apply the VeloceToday discount.
The display of Lancia Lambdas at the London Classic was a wonderful outing for this rare Lancia. In a serendipitous moment, while ace photographer Jonathan Sharp was snapping at every Lambda he could, back in Chicago Geoffrey Goldberg emailed and asked if we would like a copy of his latest publication, a booklet entitled Balancing the Lancia V4. Since the Lambda was the first production V4, a good opportunity.
Colin Wise’s Lancia Lambda 8th series Long Torpedo (Tipo 224/225/226). Photo by Jonathan Sharp
Many of you are familiar with Geoffrey through his last book on Lancias, At the Center, about Francesco De Virgilio and the Lancia V6, which we will mention right now is available in its new, second edition for only $100 plus $15 media mail for domestic US VeloceToday readers. Balancing the Lancia V4 is a short paperback, only $25 plus $10 shipping for VeloceToday readers.
Balancing the Lancia V4 could be viewed as an engineering exercise, but since Lancia enthusiasts are traditionally engineering oriented, this should be par for the course. For the rest of us, Goldberg’s effort sheds light on the complexities of balancing the crankshaft, particularly the strange narrow angle V4. After all, the piston engine is a natural vibrating machine and the efforts to reconcile a variety of forces in order to make the engine perform smoothly require some complex math formulas and precise balancing that was not available until the early 1920s. But beyond polishing or turning the crankpins or flushing out oil passages, few of us ever thought in depth about the process of balancing the heart of the engine.
The goal of the book is to determine what Lancia did to balance their V4 engines. So if anyone ever wanted to know –
– do the V4s have more vibration?
– what did Lancia do about it? How did they do it? On which cars?
– did they ever improve or change their approach?
Unlike the straight four, Lancia’s V4 had splayed and staggered pistons, and this resulted in a unusual crankpin angle. It shows the two major geometries in the Lancia engines: the red line is the cylinder bore angle; the crankshaft is located higher up in the block (to reduce overall engine height) and thus the crankpin angle “ß” (beta) is not the same as the cylinder bore angle. This solution, common to all Lancia V4s, raises a number of complicating issues.
From their initial use of the V4 in the 1922 Lambda, Lancia developed their own approach to balancing their engines. The V4 has some unique offset loads and the response to these were built into the factory’s crankshaft design; as a result, any V4 crankshafts, if spun bare on a balancing machine, will wobble. They are balanced with use of colletti (bob weights), temporarily attached for balancing, which simulate these engine loads.
The colletti (bob weights) are seen here attached to the crank before putting it on a dynamic balancing machine. The colletti had to accurately reflect the rotational and a percentage of the reciprocal weight to be effective.
The sizing of these colletti has long been a mystery. This information was never published by the factory. Goldberg solves that puzzle by meticulously reviewing the factory crankshaft drawings from the Lambda up through the Fulvia, and using a variety of different methods, including modeling using the factory’s methodology, to assess what they did.
The Aprilia, Appia and Fulvia all used both rotational and reciprocal balancing. The V4 cranks produced for the Lambda, Artena and Ardea were balanced using rotational weights only. Note the development of counterweights over the years.
Many factors were involved in sizing the colletti; initially, only rotating weights, those of the lower end of the piston/connecting rod assembly, were considered. De Virgilio developed his own approach, with a more complex formula to include some of the reciprocating weight of the piston rod, piston and rings. His formula varied the amount of reciprocating weight in each V4 engine design.
Aluminum pistons and piston rods (!) reduced reciprocating weight. This is from a 1st series Aprilia.
In addition, Lancia reduced the amount of reciprocating weight by using aluminum pistons; using a longer piston rod length helped as well. Finally, any other vibrations were dealt with by the use of specially designed motor mounts.
Goldberg says that his book is a story about Lancia developing a new line of thought (the narrow angle V4) and how they created new solutions and theories to improve the product. And that was the hallmark of the Lancia company, until they were purchased by Fiat. Balancing the Lancia V4 deserves a place on the Lancia enthusiasts bookshelf.
Here again is how you can obtain copies of both books:
At the Center list price $150, VeloceToday price $100, plus shipping (CONUS only – European sales to be handled by Gilena, in Italy)
Read VeloceToday review by Nigel Trow
At the Center was awarded a SAH Cugnot Award, deserved a mention in the New York Times, and the first edition is completely sold out.
Balancing the V4 small 100 pg. booklet, list price $30, VeloceToday price: $25, plus shipping.
To apply your VeloceToday discount, go directly to the author at gg@g2a2.com and tell him you read about the book in VeloceToday.
Shipping is by media mail typically, unless requested by purchaser.
Order directly from author at:
Payment by Paypal, CC, or check to:
Geoffrey Goldberg
G. Goldberg + Associates
Architecture and Urban Design
311 W. Superior Street
Suite 405
Chicago, IL 60654
Or, go to this website: lanciaaurelia.info
In all cases, to get your discount, just say VeloceToday sent you!
Does the Veloce Today discount also count when ordered from Gilena?
I’m located in Holland.
Cheers,
William
Sadly no. Gilena is handling distribution of “At the Center” in Europe.
Distribution of “Balancing” overseas is not yet determined. If interested please contact the author directly.