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As there's a recent trend to fuel economy, would it be possible to add checklist items of cylinder deactivation/variable displacement (some cylinders of larger engines not being used while at cruising at a steady speed) and engine start/stop (engine shuts off when not moving in traffic, starts again as soon as the brake is released) to aid with that?

For the cylinder deactivation, maybe give the I4 the option to go down to 2 cylinders, the I6 and V6 to go down to 4 cylinders, the V8 to go down to 4 and 6, and the V12 to 6, 8, and 10. This technology has been around here and there on various cars since the early 1980s and were very unreliable then but did improve fuel economy and emissions when working properly, while the new ones from the early 2000s onward don't have those reliability issues. These systems have also only been available on fuel injected engines. Maybe give these engines a slight compromise in acceleration in their earlier states, as well as a large reliability penalty, while all of them could have lower prestige (because a V8 using 4 cylinders is not as "nice") and some reducation in sportiness, and of course increase fuel economy and lower emissions depending on the changes in displacement at cruising RPMs.

The engine start-stop system has been around on a few models since the late 1990s, but was expensive at the time, and can apparently provide 5-10% more fuel economy on gasoline cars. It has become more popular since the mid-late 2000s, even on BMWs and Porsches. It obviously adds expenses and weight (different systems need to run on an electric motor when the engine stops rather than idles), could maybe lower the prestige slightly as well, and there are reliability concerns about these in the long run, so a slight decrease there would also make sense. Clearly the positives are increased fuel economy and lower emissions, and these could be on a variable scale based on the fuel economy before applying this and the variable displacement system (5-10% on a base 40-50 mpg car, but 2.5-5% on a base 20-25 mpg car, and so on).

Cylinder deactivation systems are indeed interesting. I would not know where to put that in the UI though after considering the engine designer revamp changes.

Oh i agree, i never even thought of it.

And since the engine designer is coming anyway. I say make another specialized tab called maybe "tech features"? Put it after the bottom end selection tab, before the 'valvetrain' tab

We already have vvl, but its on the engine size tab, then, VVTs, in the 'valvetrain' tab was it? Its still separated right now

Those two are something that i would consider tech features for an engine.

Also adding another one. "Variable exhaust". Silent when on cruise, but roars when demanded. It would be a compromise between comfort and sportiness.

What's the difference between variable exhaust and bypass valves? The bypass valves have only a minimal effect on the engine performance at the moment, but it makes quite a difference sound wise.

I think the bypass valves are the "variable exhaust," as that completely open up when the car is pushed, but are closed and quiet during everyday driving.

As far as finding room in the UI for these fuel efficient features, a tab for them could provide space for future hybrid systems? I know we won't get to build electric engines like the gasoline ones, but a section where we can choose the size/power of electric engines (more power has less battery range and so on), size and type of battery, position of electric engines (front axle, rear axle, or both), and even the type of hybrid system, such as the mild one (always electric supplementing gasoline), regular (electric at low speeds, electric supplementing gasoline after that), and plug-in (gasoline engine recharging batteries for electric-only driving).

OHHHHH i thought the bypass valves are some sort of EGR (also this, is it in the game already?) all this time. derp

^ i wouldn't say they're fuel efficiency features. more like technological features.


there's also quite a bit more, but they're more specific ones.

roller rocker arm for SOHC and pushrod engine.
swirl intake designs for non direct injected engine
multiple spark plugs engine.
etc. but i doubt it would be featured in game.... at least not anytime soon

You can make a new tab after the exaust tab with all the extras like: cylinder deactivation, start&stop, plug in hybrid (i know it's not included in the plan) and other thing you can't fit in the standard tab

I think, if something like that was to be implemented, it should go in what is currently known as the "driver assists" part in the model designer. Of course, the name of that would have to change to something like "extras" or "options".

As far as I suggested, these things (start-stop, cylinder deactivation) have an effect on the engine reliability and efficiency, working directly with the engine, so they would fit better in the engine section. Hybrid systems are more complicated, due to batteries and whatnot, so that might fit better at the trim stage, along with the drivetrain and body selection.

Yes, you're right but i have another suggestion for filling the extras tab (yes, i know, it's a bit OT) you can add some choice on the elctronic system for the engine like engine auto diagnosis or oil level control (+reliability), cooling system quality (+weight -venilation needed) or....i don't know, but i think in this forum there are many ideas

I think that variable displacement would be a nice addition.
However hybrids would imo require a lot of work.

How about going a little old school with feedback carburetors? They used electronic controls to fine-tune fuel metering. Two examples I can cite off the top of my head are the AMC 258, and the Chrysler 2.2 (Before it went to fuel injection)