Here's the link to the Straightline article... Future holds an electric SH-AWD, Direct Injection, a 7 speed DCT and more...

http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2011/11/2011-tokyo-auto-show-electric-sh-awd-di-v6-seven-speed-dct-coming-to-acura-line.html

 

long over due

Honda engine tech had fallen behind

I had hoped they were just holding back until they could bring out such tech as direct fuel injection and maintain honda reliability at the same time

http://rumors.automobilemag.com/toky...ain-91331.html

http://rumors.automobilemag.com/hond...012-91179.html

http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1017152

http://www.autoweek.com/article/2011...OKYO/111139999

 

cut n paste from the RL forum

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-2005-2012-76/acura-honda-finally-get-di-7-speed-dual-clutch-electric-motors-sh-awd-840165/

Acura/Honda finally get DI, 7 speed Dual Clutch, Electric motors for SH-AWD
As the "all inclusive" title states, Honda has finally brought some new technology to the table.

Reference links are on the bottom of the long winded post:

Honda Finally Adds Direct Injection to Its V6 and Four-Cylinder Engines
November 29, 2011 at 8:00pm by Michael Austin

Despite Honda’s reputation for building great engines, the Japanese automaker has been slow to adopt direct injection (DI). The technology is now commonplace in all segments of the market, and allows for higher compression ratios and therefore improved efficiency. At an event surrounding the Tokyo auto show, Honda has told us that it is finally ready to add this feature to its engines. Besides DI, the engines also will feature a stop/start system.

At the top of the line is a redesigned 3.5-liter V-6, which features cylinder shutdown and a two-stage oil pump. With at least 308 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque, this engine delivers more power than Honda’s existing 3.7-liter engine and should yield a fuel-economy improvement of about 10 percent.



Another highlight of the lineup is a new 1.6-liter turbo-diesel, which is meant to replace the current 2.2-liter oil-burner found in markets outside of the United State. It’s claimed to be as light as a gasoline engine; the all-aluminum design features an open-deck block, which shaves pounds but is less stiff than the closed-deck design normally seen on diesel engines. Still, Honda claims the weight savings come without any long-term reliability concerns, thanks to new high-strength aluminum alloys, a stiff head design, and optimized cooling. Output figures of 118 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque are impressive for the downsized displacement. Alas, Honda executives are silent on whether or not we’ll ever see this engine in North America.

We also saw a 2.4-liter inline-4 that makes at least 181 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque. Compared to the current, port-injected 2.4-liter four in the new CR-V, those numbers represent a drop of 4 hp but an increase of 14 lb-ft; the differences are negligible enough, however, that we’d expect similar performance with better fuel economy. The outputs of Honda’s DI-equipped 1.8-liter and 1.5-liter fours are likewise similar to their current port-injection equivalents.



You Can’t Spell Continuously Variable Transmission Without Three of the Letters in “Honda”

Honda also announced a new series of continuously variable transmissions that supposedly reduce the annoyances we expect of this type of gearbox. The new CVTs—one is intended for mid-size and compact cars, the other for Japanese-market microcars—promise quicker response to throttle inputs, which should mean smoother acceleration and less of the irritating rubber-band feeling that occurs when the engine revs climb before there’s any noticeable change in speed. It’s a story of incremental gains here, made mostly through a wider belt (30 millimeters versus the current Honda CVT’s 24 mm) that reduces surface pressure, redesigned grooves in the pulley that better retain transmission fluid, and more precise control of the hydraulic pump. The ratio spread also is increased for better fuel economy.

When exactly we’ll see these engines and transmissions in showrooms hasn’t been announced, but we expect them to start entering the lineup sometime in the next two years. In typical fashion, Honda won’t make any claims about actual efficiency numbers or performance relative to its competitors, but we suspect that these updated powertrains will burnish Honda’s engine-building reputation and put its cars near the top of the fuel-economy heap.

====================================

Acura’s Next SH-AWD System Will Power the Rear Wheels with Electric Motors
November 29, 2011 at 8:01pm by Michael Austin

Prior to the Tokyo auto show, Honda showed us a number of its upcoming technologies (including its new direct-injection engines), and one of the most promising is Electric SH-AWD. To review, SH-AWD stands for Super Handling All-Wheel Drive and, on current Acura products that bear the label, it signifies a four-wheel-drive powertrain that can route engine torque to either of the rear wheels to improve cornering.

Electric SH-AWD operates on a similar principle, and will be found on at least one upcoming Acura in the near future (pay no mind to the fact that the demonstration vehicle pictured here is an Accord). Instead of sending a driveshaft to the rear wheels and proportioning the power via clutches in a differential, the rear wheels simply use two electric motors. It’s a deceptively simple idea, and one that’s popped up in one form or another from various automakers (the Porsche 918 Spyder and RSR concepts feature something similar, for example). We’d have thought of it ourselves but were too busy looking for Asimo, Honda’s walking robot. He never showed.

The rear electric motors are only part of an overall hybrid powertrain concept. Up front is the latest development of Honda’s 3.5-liter V-6, now with direct injection and an output of at least 308 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated to a Honda-built seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with a 40-hp DC electric motor integrated into the housing. Unlike Honda’s current IMA hybrid system, this new setup allows the engine to decouple from the electric motor. The benefit is that, during electric regeneration, all of the energy can flow through the motor (acting as a generator) into the batteries; no energy is used to spin the gasoline engine. Similarly, no battery power is wasted spinning the engine during EV-mode stints, which currently is the case with Honda’s hybrids. Interestingly, EV mode actually uses the rear motors to propel the car, which brings us back to SH-AWD.

Connected to each rear wheel is a 27-hp DC motor, either of which can deliver torque to its respective wheel or create drag through electric regeneration. The system works just like a mechanical torque-vectoring system but with much less hardware and, incidentally, less weight. When the car enters a corner, the system will send power to the outside rear wheel and drag on the inside rear wheel. In this scenario, the dragging motor can send electricity directly to the assisting motor in real time. As the car progresses through the corner, the inside rear motor will switch to electric assist to provide optimum traction. And if the lithium-ion batteries are depleted, the electric motor in the front of the car can act as a generator to make sure the SH-AWD system still operates.

With this system, Honda claims V-8 levels of acceleration and four-cylinder levels of fuel economy, without providing any specific numbers. Before you go adding up all the horsepower figures, remember that electric motors make most of their power at low speed, so the total system output is somewhere above the gasoline motor’s 308 horsepower, but we’re not sure how much higher. Both the power and economy claims might be a little ambitious. Still, we’re glad to see Honda taking a new approach to hybrids, especially one focused on performance as much as efficiency.


http://blog.caranddriver.com/honda-f...inder-engines/

http://blog.caranddriver.com/acuras-...ectric-motors/

Maybe Acura can give me an excuse to jump back in a few
__________________
037
2012 Black/Black "Bentley"

 

Im a little turned off by the thought of the E-AWD-SH.... Wouldn't it mean that if I do any upgrades to the engine, only the front wheels would gain any power? Guess we'll have to wait and see....

The new engines sound impressive though!

 

The new engines do look impressive. Check out this graph here. It shows the 3.5 engine with direct injection having more torque at the high end than the current 3.7L. Less weight, more torque equals more fun along with better fuel efficiency... I wonder if they'll bring out a 3.7L with direct injection (maybe as a Type S model??)....

 

Please for the love of God Honda keep the 6MT.

 

X 1,000. But it's going to get complicated running all this stuff through an MT, I'm afraid.

 

Thanks for posting!

It's about time - the party started without them!

 

Finally, Honda has no choice but to implement DI technology for it's engine lines, like every other major auto makers.

 

Ditto Edward'TLS....

and also I happen to test drive new 5 series of Bimmer...and I wish TL could introduce that

 

There are significant heat/carbon buildup issues with direct injection. Honda claimed this is why they delayed these engines, until workarounds could be found.

 

It's good that Honda has finally found a way to take care of carbon build-ups.

DI is the latest well-proven technology that can squeeze out more hp from using the same engine displacement, whilst at the same time offering even better fuel economy. It has the best of both worlds. Higher output hp and better fuel economy at the same time.

I bet if Honda could implement DI earlier into it's 3.5L-V6, there is no such need for the 3.7L-V6 at all. Or perhaps, no need for even the 3.5L-V6 with an available DI 3.2L-V6.

 

I've owned two cars now with DI and never had problem one. I've been extremely active on the forums of both of them and I seldom read of any problems at all with them. I'm guessing this is another forum problem, where you multiply the number of reported cases times about 1000 then repeat something enough times that people actually start believing it.

 

Shawd helps mitigate torque steer. I hope that during the start of torque steer the front clutch starts to route power to the battery so there's not too much excess torque at the front wheels.

Electric motors give instant maximum torque. So at 1 mph they will be pushing 30 hp each for a total of 60 hp boost right off the bat.

 

I hope they've figured out the VCM thing. I had VCM in a V6 Accord that drove me nuts. My experience with VCM showed that it is not seemless.

 

Would be difficult with the fact the electric start assist.... Essentially it would become a "paddle shifter" in certain situations.