Cubic inch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A cubic inch (plural: cubic inches) is a non-SI unit of volume, equal to the volume of a cube with sides of one inch.
Cubic inches are still sometimes used as a unit of measurement (in engineering contexts, not household contexts) in the United States and United Kingdom, although SI is continuing gradually to displace non-SI usage.
Contents |
[edit] Notation conventions
The following symbols are used to denote cubic inches:
- cubic in
- cu inches, cu inch, cu in
- inches/-3, inch/-3, in/-3
- inches^3, inch^3, in^3
- inches³ ,inch³, in³
- c.i.
- c.i.d. or CID, for cubic inch displacement, in internal combustion engines
[edit] Equivalence with other units of volume
1 cubic inch (assuming an international inch) is equal to:
- 0.000578703703703703 cubic feet (1 cubic foot is equal to 1,728 cubic inches)
- about 0.554112552 U.S. fluid ounces
- about 0.069264069 U.S. cups
- about 0.000465025413 U.S. bushels
- about 0.00432900432900433 U.S. liquid gallons
- about 1.0307153119047619047619047619048e-4 crude barrels
- 0.016387064 litres (1 litre is about 61.02 cubic inches)
- 16.387064 cubic centimetres (1 cubic centimetre is equal to about 0.06102 cubic inches)
- 0.000016387040931387 cubic metres (1 cubic metre is equal to about 61,023.83 cubic inches)
[edit] Uses of the cubic inch
The cubic inch was formerly used (until the 1980s) to express the size (displacement) of engines for new cars, trucks, etc. It is therefore still used for this purpose in the context of the classic-car hobby, auto racing, and so forth. (The auto industry nowadays uses SI for this purpose.) Some examples of common c.i.-to-litre conversions are given below. Note that nominal sizes are not always precisely equal to actual sizes. This principle is frequently seen in engineering, tool standardization, etc. (for ease of use) and in marketing (when a big round number sounds more impressive, is more memorable, etc.).
| Make (±Division) | c.i. (actual) (nearest 1) | c.i. (nominal) | SI (actual) (nearest 0.01) | SI (nominal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honda, Kawasaki, others | something close to 61 c.i. | NA (not marketed in c.i.) | [something close to SI nominal] | 1000 cc (= 1.0 L) |
| Honda, Kawasaki, others | something close to 98 c.i. | NA (not marketed in c.i.) | [something close to SI nominal] | 1600 cc (= 1.6 L) |
| Honda, Kawasaki, others; Ford | something close to 122 c.i. | NA (not marketed in c.i.) | [something close to SI nominal] | 2000 cc (= 2.0 L) |
| GM (Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile, GMC, others) | 151 c.i. | NA (not marketed in c.i.) | [something close to SI nominal] | 2.5 L |
| Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, others | something close to 183 c.i. | NA (not marketed in c.i.) | [something close to SI nominal] | 3.0 L |
| Ford | something close to 244 c.i. | NA (not marketed in c.i.) | [something close to SI nominal] | 4.0 L |
| Ford (Ford, Mercury) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 250 c.i. | 4.10 L | 4.1 L |
| Ford (Ford, Mercury) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 289 c.i. | 4.74 L | NA (not marketed in SI) |
| Ford (Ford trucks and vans) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 300 c.i. | 4.92 L | 4.9 L |
| Ford, GM (Chevrolet) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 302 c.i. | 4.95 L | 5.0 L |
| GM (Chevrolet; others?) | 307 c.i. | 307 c.i. | 5.03 L | NA (not marketed in SI) |
| GM (Oldsmobile) | 307 c.i. | NA (not marketed in c.i.) | 5.03 L | 5.0 L |
| GM (GMC, Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, others) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 350 c.i. | 5.74 L | 5.7 L |
| Ford (Ford, Mercury) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 351 c.i. | 5.75 L | NA (not marketed in SI) |
| Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 360 c.i. | 5.90 L | 5.9 L |
| Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 383 c.i. | 6.28 L | NA (not marketed in SI) |
| GM (Chevrolet) | [sometimes 396 c.i., sometimes 402 c.i.] | 396 c.i. | 6.49 L | NA (not marketed in SI) |
| GM (Chevrolet) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 409 c.i. | 6.70 L | NA (not marketed in SI) |
| Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 426 c.i. | 6.98 L | 7.0 L |
| Ford (Ford, Mercury) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 427 c.i. | 7.00 L | 7.0 L |
| Ford (Ford, Mercury) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 428 c.i. | 7.01 L | 7.0 L |
| Ford (Ford, Mercury) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 429 c.i. | 7.03 L | 7.0 L |
| Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 440 c.i. | 7.21 L | 7.2 L |
| GM (GMC, Chevrolet) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 454 c.i. | 7.44 L | 7.4 L |
| GM (Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 455 c.i. | 7.46 L | NA (not marketed in SI) |
| Ford (Ford [trucks and vans]; Lincoln [cars]) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 460 c.i. | 7.54 L | 7.5 L |
| GM (Cadillac) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 472 c.i. | 7.73 L | 7.7 L |
| GM (Cadillac) | [something close to c.i. nominal] | 500 c.i. | 8.19 L | 8.2 L |
[edit] See also
- 1 E-2 m³ for a comparison with other volumes
- Orders of magnitude (volume)
- Conversion of units
- Square inch
