# Cubic inches, liters, and bore... I'm confused! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2001, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubic-inches-liters-and-bore-im-confused/96945 "2001-12-05T01:38:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubic-inches-liters-and-bore-im-confused/96945/1 "2001-12-05T01:38:55Z")
When reading the specifications on various automotive engines, I always see things like “389 cubic inches” or “2.3 liters” or an “8 in bore.” _I think_ these are all somehow intertwined. Meaning, you couldn’t have a 454, and have it be only 1.6 liters. Or… could you? ---
**Author:** ![Etaoin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Etaoin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Etaoin)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubic-inches-liters-and-bore-im-confused/96945/2 "2001-12-05T02:01:18Z")
There are a few net sites with converters. One is [http://www.french-property.com/ref/convert.htm#volume](http://www.french-property.com/ref/convert.htm#volume) Scroll up and down for capacities, length, etc. 2000 cubic centimetres is 122 cubic inches, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Kalashnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kalashnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalashnikov)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubic-inches-liters-and-bore-im-confused/96945/3 "2001-12-05T02:32:25Z")
Displacement is the volumne of the cylinders whether its measured in cubic inches or cubic centimeters. The bore is the diameter of one cylinder. Divide the bore by 2 to get the radius. Square that, then multiply it by pi, then by the stroke (length of the cylinder above the piston) to get the volumne of one cylinder. Multiply that by the number of cylinders to get the displacement ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubic-inches-liters-and-bore-im-confused/96945/4 "2001-12-05T07:03:10Z")
1 litre = 1,000 cubic centimetres (cc) 1 cubic inch (ci) = 16.387064 cc So to work out the capacity of a 454 ci engine, you do the following: 454 x 16.387064 = 7439.727056 cc which is equal to about 7.439 litres, i.e. a damn big engine! As **Kalashnikov** ’s post implies, you cannot work out the capacity of an engine from the bore alone, as all this tells you is the diameter of each cylinder. You need to know what the stroke of each cylinder is, as well as how many cylinders the engine has. By the way, if you’re interested, the method of determining how many cc in a ci is done as follows: 1 inch = 2.54cm so 1 ci = 2.54 x 2.54 x 2.54 = 16.387064cc ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubic-inches-liters-and-bore-im-confused/96945/5 "2001-12-05T07:49:04Z")
The quick n easy conversion: 1 litre=61 cubic inches. So to convert that 454 to liters, divide by 61. To covert liters to inches multiply. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubic-inches-liters-and-bore-im-confused/96945/8 "2019-01-07T13:16:31Z")
What is the spam? The links go to a converter page with no ads or anything objectionable that I see. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cubic-inches-liters-and-bore-im-confused/96945/9 "2019-01-07T13:20:45Z")
> [@Tom\_Terrific](#): > > What is the spam? The links go to a converter page with no ads or anything objectionable that I see. 18 year old thread gets revived just to link to a site. Reviver is from India. There are thousands of convertor sites. It’s not like it’s a new thing. Notice that both links have nothing to do with the thread topic. Spammers use keyword searches for targets.