Firing After Top Dead Center Is Counter-Intuitive to Engine Design

Even though firing after top dead center (ATC) is an important feature of the Scuderi Engine, it is in fact counter-intuitive to most engine designs. This is because a standard engine must fire just before top dead center (BTC) in order to achieve acceptable efficiency levels.

If a standard engine fires ATC, it cannot build up pressure fast enough with the piston continuously racing away from the combusting fuel/air mixture, and consequently it loses efficiency.

In the Scuderi Engine, however, pressure builds more quickly than in a conventional engine - even though the piston is traveling away from the flame - because the burn rate is so fast. The resulting efficiency levels are therefore higher than that of a standard engine.

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