Displacement is the volume of air "displaced" by the pistons during a single engine cycle. In terms of a single cylinder, displacement is the volume of the space traveled by the piston. The two factors that make up engine displacement are bore and stroke.
To calculate the displacement of an engine, first calculate the displacement of a single cylinder. The formula for the volume of a cylinder:
V = hr2
where h is the height of the cylinder and r is the radius of the cylinder (halfway across). If given the bore (diameter), multiplying it by ½ (dividing by 2) will yield r. h is expressed as stroke thereby giving the formula for engine displacement:
Note that when Stroke and Bore are expressed in inches, displacement is solved in units of cubic in (ci). If Stroke and Bore are expressed in mm, then calculated displacement (in cubic mm) must be divided by 1000 to be expressed in cubic cm (cc), which is the same as milliliters (ml). Also note that engine displacement is normally expressed in liters (l) by dividing the displacement in cc once again by 1000. Your 4.6L engine is actually 4593cc but is rounded out to 4.6L
Displacement is the volume of air "displaced" by the pistons during a single engine cycle. In terms of a single cylinder, displacement is the volume of the space traveled by the piston. The two factors that make up engine displacement are bore and stroke.
To calculate the displacement of an engine, first calculate the displacement of a single cylinder. The formula for the volume of a cylinder:
V = hr2
where h is the height of the cylinder and r is the radius of the cylinder (halfway across). If given the bore (diameter), multiplying it by ½ (dividing by 2) will yield r. h is expressed as stroke thereby giving the formula for engine displacement:
Note that when Stroke and Bore are expressed in inches, displacement is solved in units of cubic in (ci). If Stroke and Bore are expressed in mm, then calculated displacement (in cubic mm) must be divided by 1000 to be expressed in cubic cm (cc), which is the same as milliliters (ml). Also note that engine displacement is normally expressed in liters (l) by dividing the displacement in cc once again by 1000. Your 4.6L engine is actually 4593cc but is rounded out to 4.6L