Saintor

All new 4 cyl. gets it - with a timing CHAIN. I wonder if somebody knows the real reason, except the obvious savings by using an 'old' design. Even the new RL seems to get the regular VTEC.

fla-tls

I'm not sure about why i-VTEC isn't used in the V6, but I can imagine the reason for not using a chain is mass and noise. Big timing chains can be noisy.

I suppose you could have two chains though - one for each cylinder bank.

EZZ

The VQ uses timing chains and is considered one of the quietest, most vibration free engines around (the 3.0L version). My guess is that cost would be a big factor using a timing chain. The i-VTEC would probably be more expensive and drive up the cost of the TL. Honda probably could have squeezed an extra 25hp out of the current engine but then the torque steer would also have gotten worse. I'd imagine the next gen NSX will have i-Vtec.

fla-tls

Does it use one or two chains? I can't imagine a single chain being used that's as long as our timing belt is...

Saintor

I thought about addtional costs (DOHC+ iVTEC+ timing chain) but then a base 16000$ Accord DX gets it and not the V6 version.

caball88

it cost more to make a new DOHC engine. they have had iVTEC on 4 cycliner version for a while now. honda has been using this SOHC 3.2 for alot of their cars and is successful. creating a new v6 with iVTEC will drive up costs and that means less $$$$ for honda and more $$$$ out of our pockets for the R&D. it's a smart decision on honda's part to milk the SOHC 3.2 for all its worth then move on when they need to get more competitive. when you start to see iVETC in a honda v6 it will slowly start to trickle down to its other lines of cars.