Here's How Koenigsegg's Fascinating Camless 'Freevalve' Engine Works

This interesting video has surfaced explaining in more detail how the innovative Freevalve engines work. It gives the car full individual control of each intake and exhaust valve, allowing individual timings to increase performance or minimise fuel consumption

Darren Cassey

09 Jan 2016

This is not a new video, but it appears to have been picked up by MotorAuthority yesterday and is now doing the rounds. It’s a fascinating watch that we haven’t shared before, so here you go!

Comments

Will this fit in my Honda?

Imagine what that would sound like, few hundred airguns going off a second.

Don’t they use this technology on F1 cars to pass the 12000rpm limit of normal springs?

Incredible.
Removes timing chains/belts, cams, pushrods, rockers, etc. which decrease weight.
and C.V.K. has already said you can pretty much put them on any motor you want.

I’m not a huge F1 expert but havent they been using something similar for a while? I remember hearing about something with regards to pneumatic valve trains

My 15000rpm engine came true 🙌🙌🙌

Koenigsegg had a video about this years ago, they were running a Saab with a converted cylinder head.

This means it can be programmed to make great down low torque and great high end hp instead of having a cam that has nothing down low and all power up high. This is so exciting!

I think the question in everyone’s mind is how much?

I mean, a spare cylinder head can be from ~£30 upwards. Getting the holes cut into the head itself wouldn’t be too difficult, run a second (smaller) oil pump and have some kind of strainer going up to feed the head (recirc oil coming from the block into the head but don’t recirc coolant unless necessary) would be ~£3-500 (depending on if you know anyone with a lathe/can do it yourself). The actual actuators can’t be THAT expensive, valves would come with the head. Modify 16 to fit into the actuator would cost, at most £40 in labour. New ECU (standard one would poo itself) (Megasquirt 2-£325 on eBay). Dyno time wise we’ll allow for 6 hours to get it reading CPS properly+adjusting timing@£50/hr would be £300.

So, realistically it COULD be done for about £995-1195. It’d probably be done badly and I’ve probably missed something but…looks promising.

tuning it wouldn’t be that easy tho. Sure making it run like a normal camshaft isn’t too hard, you just have to mimic the camprofile. BUT getting the full potential out of it will be quite a challenge.