Honda: Development and Technology News
07-25-2006, 08:48 AM
#481
Senior Moderator
DETROIT -- Honda Motor Co. is expected to announce Tuesday morning(7/25/06) at a major air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, plans to crack America's small business jet market, according to individuals familiar with the move.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Honda is going to unveil specific business plans for its four- to five-passenger twin-engine jet, the Honda Jet. But those individuals said the Tokyo-based auto maker will likely at least tout that it is ready to make the final push to realize its 20-year dream to become a jet aircraft maker by trying to obtain official certification of the aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Honda successfully tested the aircraft equipped with Honda-designed engines called HF118 in December 2003 and has since been flying the jet in what is known in the industry as "proof-of-concept" tests.
Asked if Honda has applied for the Honda Jet to undergo FAA certification testing, a Honda spokesman declined to comment.
The expected move means that Honda will take another critical step in its effort to create what the company's chief executive Takeo Fukui describes as a "Honda Civic of the sky." Last year, Honda conducted a first public demonstration flight of the Honda Jet as part of a featured event for the same EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Honda is going to unveil specific business plans for its four- to five-passenger twin-engine jet, the Honda Jet. But those individuals said the Tokyo-based auto maker will likely at least tout that it is ready to make the final push to realize its 20-year dream to become a jet aircraft maker by trying to obtain official certification of the aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Honda successfully tested the aircraft equipped with Honda-designed engines called HF118 in December 2003 and has since been flying the jet in what is known in the industry as "proof-of-concept" tests.
Asked if Honda has applied for the Honda Jet to undergo FAA certification testing, a Honda spokesman declined to comment.
The expected move means that Honda will take another critical step in its effort to create what the company's chief executive Takeo Fukui describes as a "Honda Civic of the sky." Last year, Honda conducted a first public demonstration flight of the Honda Jet as part of a featured event for the same EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh.
07-25-2006, 10:07 AM
#483
Moderator Alumnus
Originally Posted by sidemarker
do planes have transmissions? if so, UH OH!
seriously though, honda CAN make a solid product but i think they should focus more and spend this money into the auto market rather than trying to make way into every single market that has a motor!
sidemarker
seriously though, honda CAN make a solid product but i think they should focus more and spend this money into the auto market rather than trying to make way into every single market that has a motor!
sidemarker
Actually some small Prop planes to have transmissions. However most do not.
07-25-2006, 10:45 AM
#485
'Big Daddy Diggler'
Originally Posted by NSX-Tuner
Gee, I wonder when CompTech will come out with some aircraft engine mods. 
On a side not, lets just hope that their aero venture department has nothing to do with the guys that built their trannies.
07-25-2006, 12:15 PM
#486
The sizzle in the Steak
07-25-2006, 02:14 PM
#487
Senior Moderator
I want to head over to EAA to see it. Its just a few min from where i live. (unfortunatly im stuck out of town working) 
07-25-2006, 02:22 PM
#488
Senior Moderator
Any word on the announcement?
07-25-2006, 02:35 PM
#489
The sizzle in the Steak
Originally Posted by fsttyms1
I want to head over to EAA to see it. Its just a few min from where i live. (unfortunatly im stuck out of town working)
07-25-2006, 02:38 PM
#490
The sizzle in the Steak
07-25-2006, 02:38 PM
#491
Senior Moderator
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
Regional Coordinator
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Originally Posted by Sly Raskal
Imagine the vtec kick in on a jet plane 
07-25-2006, 03:42 PM
#492
Senior Moderator
Just imagine the next NSX powered by this jet engine.
<- thinks that the recent SAAB: Born from Jets commercials are stupid.
<- thinks that the recent SAAB: Born from Jets commercials are stupid.
07-25-2006, 03:50 PM
#493
The sizzle in the Steak
I can't wait to see the first Honda Jet that gets riced-out.
07-25-2006, 04:15 PM
#494
Senior Moderator
Announcement made to start accepting orders
DETROIT -- Honda Motor Co. announced plans to enter America's small-business-jet market.
Honda said it will start accepting orders for a new five- to six-passenger twin-engine jet, called the Honda Jet, this fall.
It plans to set up a U.S. company to obtain Federal Aviation Administration certification for the aircraft, which Honda will manufacture and market.
Honda's goal is to complete FAA certification in about three to four years, after which it will start production in the U.S. Honda plans to start delivering the aircraft to customers in 2010.
Honda also said it will form an alliance with Piper Aircraft Inc. to collaborate on sales and service and to explore opportunities in engineering and other areas.
Honda said it will start accepting orders for a new five- to six-passenger twin-engine jet, called the Honda Jet, this fall.
It plans to set up a U.S. company to obtain Federal Aviation Administration certification for the aircraft, which Honda will manufacture and market.
Honda's goal is to complete FAA certification in about three to four years, after which it will start production in the U.S. Honda plans to start delivering the aircraft to customers in 2010.
Honda also said it will form an alliance with Piper Aircraft Inc. to collaborate on sales and service and to explore opportunities in engineering and other areas.
07-25-2006, 05:54 PM
#496
The sizzle in the Steak
Originally Posted by F-C
Does it come in arctic blue pearl, with navi?
08-26-2006, 12:36 AM
#497
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IL Insider: Honda To Unveil Third-Generation Fuel Cell in LA - - Source: Edmunds.com
DETROIT — Honda Motor Co. will introduce its third-generation fuel-cell system in an updated version of the FCX concept vehicle at the Los Angeles auto show in early December.
A Honda executive told Inside Line the latest fuel-cell powertrain will be installed in the FCX, a five-passenger luxury sedan that Honda unveiled last fall at the Tokyo Motor Show and has been taking on the rounds of the international auto show circuit.
The third-generation fuel cell moves the company closer to a production-ready system, sources said. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to put a version of the FCX concept sedan into production within the next three to four years.
Honda also makes a smaller fuel-cell vehicle, a Civic-size hatchback that it also calls the FCX. Built in extremely limited numbers, the compact FCX made its U.S. debut in late 2004. Since then, Honda has delivered more than a dozen of the second-generation fuel-cell vehicles to families and local governments in several states. The vehicles are on short-term lease and are intended to give the automaker some real-world experience with fuel cells. The EPA rates the hydrogen-powered 2006 Honda FCX at 62 mpg in city driving and 51 mpg on the highway.
What this means to you: Honda was at the forefront of hybrid vehicle production; does anyone doubt it will also be among the first to build real FCVs for sale?
A Honda executive told Inside Line the latest fuel-cell powertrain will be installed in the FCX, a five-passenger luxury sedan that Honda unveiled last fall at the Tokyo Motor Show and has been taking on the rounds of the international auto show circuit.
The third-generation fuel cell moves the company closer to a production-ready system, sources said. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to put a version of the FCX concept sedan into production within the next three to four years.
Honda also makes a smaller fuel-cell vehicle, a Civic-size hatchback that it also calls the FCX. Built in extremely limited numbers, the compact FCX made its U.S. debut in late 2004. Since then, Honda has delivered more than a dozen of the second-generation fuel-cell vehicles to families and local governments in several states. The vehicles are on short-term lease and are intended to give the automaker some real-world experience with fuel cells. The EPA rates the hydrogen-powered 2006 Honda FCX at 62 mpg in city driving and 51 mpg on the highway.
What this means to you: Honda was at the forefront of hybrid vehicle production; does anyone doubt it will also be among the first to build real FCVs for sale?
08-26-2006, 02:22 PM
#498
The sizzle in the Steak
Bring the Fuel Cell to market, Honda!!!!
08-26-2006, 06:45 PM
#500
I feel the need...
Originally Posted by Moog-Type-S
Bring the Fuel Cell to market, Honda!!!!
If any car company can bring us into the fuel cell age, it's Honda. Very curious how much progress GM has been making in this arena, as it appears they are the only other company to spend a lot of research dollars on this technology.
08-27-2006, 11:00 AM
#501
Senior Moderator
Interesting to see what the car will look like and how the next gen fuel cell improves on the previous version. I wonder if this model will show up at the Detroit Autoshow? 
09-25-2006, 10:30 AM
#502
The sizzle in the Steak
Honda unveils ultra-clean diesel system
Honda unveils ultra-clean diesel system
Some work is still needed before the system could be made available in the U.S.
September 24 2006: 10:54 PM EDT
Keep your eye on the prize, Fukui!!!! Fuel Cell FTW!!!
Some work is still needed before the system could be made available in the U.S.
September 24 2006: 10:54 PM EDT
HAGA-GUN, Japan (Reuters) -- Japan's Honda Motor Co. has done it again.
The car maker that floored the world in the 1970s with the first gasoline engine to meet U.S. clean air guidelines without a catalytic converter said it has developed a new and simple diesel powertrain that is as clean as gasoline-fuelled cars.
The technology marks a big step forward for Honda (Charts) at a time when rivals are racing to come up with ways to clear the world's strictest emissions regulations, called Tier II Bin 5, that the United States will usher in next year.
Diesel engines, which now power half of Europe's new cars, are slowly gaining traction with fuel-conscious consumers around the world since they typically get 30 percent better mileage than gasoline cars. Their weakness has been the higher exhaust levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx), a greenhouse gas.
Honda said on Monday its new diesel drivetrain features a unique method that generates and stores ammonia within a two-layer catalytic converter to turn nitrogen oxide into harmless nitrogen.
Honda engineers said the technology is superior to a process pioneered by Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG (Charts) because the latter requires a complex system and heavy add-ons to generate ammonia from urea-based additives.
Some technical hurdles remain.
The system would need fine-tuning for the wide-ranging types of diesel fuel found in the United States. Honda also needs to develop technology to measure emissions levels according to U.S. On-Board Diagnostic System requirements.
But Japan's third-biggest auto maker said it planned to roll out the advanced diesel engine in the United States within three years. DaimlerChrysler, which along with Volkswagen AG (Charts) already sells diesel cars in the world's biggest auto market, is preparing its next-generation diesel car for a 2008 launch.
"Just as we paved the way for cleaner gasoline engines, we will take the leadership in the progress of diesel engines," Honda Chief Executive Takeo Fukui told a news conference at the auto maker's R&D center north of Tokyo.
Fukui said Honda would be "open to considering" the licensing of its new diesel technology once it was perfected.
Honda has long been at the forefront of green powertrain technology, perhaps most famously with the development in 1973 of the CVCC (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion) engine which gave the popular Civic its name.
Earlier this year, it became the first in the world to announce voluntary global carbon dioxide reduction targets for its products and production processes.
Fuel cells, flex fuel
In a demonstration of other new power plant technologies, Honda also showed off a prototype of its next-generation fuel cell vehicle which runs on a newly developed compact and more powerful fuel cell stack.
The new stack is designed to allow the hydrogen and water formed during electricity generation to flow vertically instead of horizontally, making the component 20 percent smaller and 30 percent lighter than the previous version.
Honda's new FCX fuel-cell car now has a driving range of 570 km (354 miles) -- a 30 percent improvement from the 2005 model -- a maximum speed of 160 km (100 miles) per hour and can be driven in temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius (-22 F).
Honda plans to begin marketing the car in limited numbers in 2008 in Japan and the United States.
Honda said it also developed a flexible fuel vehicle (FFV) system that can operate on any ethanol-to-gasoline ratio between 20 percent and 100 percent. That car will be sold in Brazil, the biggest market for ethanol-based vehicles, later this year.
"Way out in the future, the ultimate green car will be fuel cell vehicles," Fukui said. "But in the meantime, you need a wide range of green technology to meet varying local needs and fuel supply."
The car maker that floored the world in the 1970s with the first gasoline engine to meet U.S. clean air guidelines without a catalytic converter said it has developed a new and simple diesel powertrain that is as clean as gasoline-fuelled cars.
The technology marks a big step forward for Honda (Charts) at a time when rivals are racing to come up with ways to clear the world's strictest emissions regulations, called Tier II Bin 5, that the United States will usher in next year.
Diesel engines, which now power half of Europe's new cars, are slowly gaining traction with fuel-conscious consumers around the world since they typically get 30 percent better mileage than gasoline cars. Their weakness has been the higher exhaust levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx), a greenhouse gas.
Honda said on Monday its new diesel drivetrain features a unique method that generates and stores ammonia within a two-layer catalytic converter to turn nitrogen oxide into harmless nitrogen.
Honda engineers said the technology is superior to a process pioneered by Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG (Charts) because the latter requires a complex system and heavy add-ons to generate ammonia from urea-based additives.
Some technical hurdles remain.
The system would need fine-tuning for the wide-ranging types of diesel fuel found in the United States. Honda also needs to develop technology to measure emissions levels according to U.S. On-Board Diagnostic System requirements.
But Japan's third-biggest auto maker said it planned to roll out the advanced diesel engine in the United States within three years. DaimlerChrysler, which along with Volkswagen AG (Charts) already sells diesel cars in the world's biggest auto market, is preparing its next-generation diesel car for a 2008 launch.
"Just as we paved the way for cleaner gasoline engines, we will take the leadership in the progress of diesel engines," Honda Chief Executive Takeo Fukui told a news conference at the auto maker's R&D center north of Tokyo.
Fukui said Honda would be "open to considering" the licensing of its new diesel technology once it was perfected.
Honda has long been at the forefront of green powertrain technology, perhaps most famously with the development in 1973 of the CVCC (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion) engine which gave the popular Civic its name.
Earlier this year, it became the first in the world to announce voluntary global carbon dioxide reduction targets for its products and production processes.
Fuel cells, flex fuel
In a demonstration of other new power plant technologies, Honda also showed off a prototype of its next-generation fuel cell vehicle which runs on a newly developed compact and more powerful fuel cell stack.
The new stack is designed to allow the hydrogen and water formed during electricity generation to flow vertically instead of horizontally, making the component 20 percent smaller and 30 percent lighter than the previous version.
Honda's new FCX fuel-cell car now has a driving range of 570 km (354 miles) -- a 30 percent improvement from the 2005 model -- a maximum speed of 160 km (100 miles) per hour and can be driven in temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius (-22 F).
Honda plans to begin marketing the car in limited numbers in 2008 in Japan and the United States.
Honda said it also developed a flexible fuel vehicle (FFV) system that can operate on any ethanol-to-gasoline ratio between 20 percent and 100 percent. That car will be sold in Brazil, the biggest market for ethanol-based vehicles, later this year.
"Way out in the future, the ultimate green car will be fuel cell vehicles," Fukui said. "But in the meantime, you need a wide range of green technology to meet varying local needs and fuel supply."
Keep your eye on the prize, Fukui!!!! Fuel Cell FTW!!!
09-25-2006, 12:19 PM
#504
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Honda develops greener VTEC
http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/09/...-greener-vtec/
Honda has announced an improved version of its VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control System) technology with the development of the 2.4-liter "Advanced VTEC engine," which achieves high performance along with improved fuel economy and lower emissions. The new engine combines continuously variable valve lift and timing control with the continuously variable phase control of VTC (Variable Timing Control). Honda plans to release a production vehicle equipped with the new engine within three years.
This new system permits optimum control over intake valve lift and phase in response to driving conditions, achieving improved charging efficiency for a significant increase in torque at all engine speeds. Under low to medium load levels, the valves are set for low lift and early closure to reduce pumping losses and improve fuel economy.
In combination with optimized intake components, the technologys result in a 13 percent improvement in fuel economy. The new engine is also exceptionally clean, with exhaust emissions that meet both U.S. Environmental Protection Agency LEV2-ULEV regulations and Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requirements for Low-Emission Vehicles, with emission levels 75% lower than those required by the 2005 standards (based on Honda calculations).
This new system permits optimum control over intake valve lift and phase in response to driving conditions, achieving improved charging efficiency for a significant increase in torque at all engine speeds. Under low to medium load levels, the valves are set for low lift and early closure to reduce pumping losses and improve fuel economy.
In combination with optimized intake components, the technologys result in a 13 percent improvement in fuel economy. The new engine is also exceptionally clean, with exhaust emissions that meet both U.S. Environmental Protection Agency LEV2-ULEV regulations and Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requirements for Low-Emission Vehicles, with emission levels 75% lower than those required by the 2005 standards (based on Honda calculations).
09-25-2006, 08:14 PM
#509
Senior Moderator
Good job honda! Hope it works out
09-25-2006, 09:00 PM
#510
This will most likely be seen in the new Accord 4-banger. Still no word on the V6 version, though. I really do hope the TL's 3.2 trickles down.
09-26-2006, 11:42 AM
#512
Race Director
Most of this info was out for a year - the only detail not known a year ago was the catalytic converter. Honda chose to go this route vs. the MB Bluetec way (which injects urea into the exhaust to get rid of NOX) because of maintenance issues (the MB system urea has to be replenished).
The iCTDi in the Euro Accord was built from the get go to make it to the US - this catalytic converter was the only hang up. The only question now is which vehicle will get it - TSX, USDM Accord and CR-V are probable but others could get it also.
50MPG Accord is just around the corner (assuming the next gen doesn't get totally messed up)
The iCTDi in the Euro Accord was built from the get go to make it to the US - this catalytic converter was the only hang up. The only question now is which vehicle will get it - TSX, USDM Accord and CR-V are probable but others could get it also.
50MPG Accord is just around the corner (assuming the next gen doesn't get totally messed up)
10-15-2006, 05:57 AM
#513
Suzuka Master
Honda Diesel
October 15, 2006
Green Tech
A Love-Hate Relationship Bears a 50-State Diesel
By KEVIN CAMERON
ASSIGNMENTS this juicy are rare in the career of an automotive engineer: the opportunity to develop a new generation of high-efficiency diesel engines that would lead a major company into a fuel-sipping low-emissions future.
It was a challenge that Kenichi Nagahiro, whose portfolio as a Honda senior engineer included Formula One racing engines and the company’s VTEC variable valve timing technology, should have relished. Instead, he turned it down.
Mr. Nagahiro eventually relented, agreeing to head the program — but only if he had a free hand to design an engine that would overcome his disdain for the noisy, smelly diesels previously on the market.
The initial product of the program — the first diesel engine designed entirely by Honda — was introduced in 2003 to power a European version of the Accord. A British advertising campaign played off Mr. Nagahiro’s reluctance, asking, “What if a diesel engine was built by someone who hates them?” Television commercials featured Garrison Keillor singing a tune called “Hate Something, Change Something.”
The project did far more than simply tame a problematic alternative to gasoline engines. Last month, Honda announced that it would bring the 2.2-liter diesel, which it calls the i-CTDi engine, to the United States within three years. The company says that the engine will meet the demanding Tier II Bin 5 regulations, allowing it to be sold in America’s largest auto markets — California and the Northeast states that have adopted California’s regulations — where new diesel cars have not been sold since tailpipe pollutant levels were tightened beyond the reach of available engine technology.
Honda is not the only automaker to promise a 50-state diesel; Mercedes-Benz has said it plans to sell diesel versions of its sport utility vehicles across the country in 2008. The first phase of the Mercedes emissions-control system, known as Bluetec, is offered in the 2007 E320 sedan; next year’s 50-state version for three sport utility models will also be equipped with AdBlue, a process that injects liquid urea into the exhaust, enabling a chemical reaction that reduces the output of smog-forming nitrogen oxides. Neither the Honda nor the Mercedes systems have been through the certification process.
But Honda, the company whose clean-burning CVCC Civic model did the seemingly impossible in the 1970’s by meeting emissions standards, has not lost its knack for innovation. The company says the i-CTDi turbodiesel engine will meet the regulations using a much simpler emissions-control system; it requires no added fluids to keep emissions in check.
Diesel engines achieve high fuel economy by a combination of high compression ratio (16.7:1 in this Honda), lean combustion (a high proportion of air to fuel) and low pumping loss (because they have no throttle). But diesel tailpipes spew higher amounts of nitrogen oxides than comparable gasoline engines, and they are harder to clean up. The three-way catalytic converter, a highly effective device that eliminates up to 99 percent of nitrogen oxides on gasoline engines, can cut those emissions by only 10 percent or so on diesels — not nearly enough.
Ben Knight, vice president for research and development of American Honda, said that the major components of the i-CTDi engine’s emissions-control strategy were improved combustion within the engine and effective aftertreatment — an industry buzzword for the devices that chemically convert exhaust pollutants to harmless gases.
The engine uses common-rail fuel injection at very high pressure, about 30,000 pounds per square inch. Such pressures deliver the fuel more quickly, giving it more time to evaporate. It also breaks the fuel into smaller droplets, increasing its total surface area.
High injection velocity — close to the speed of sound — ensures that the droplets penetrate deeply into the highly compressed air in the cylinder, mixing the fuel and air more uniformly, which helps to lower the output of nitrogen oxides. Cooled exhaust gas is recirculated to the cylinders, lowering combustion temperatures, which reduces the formation of nitrogen oxides.
Exhaust gas from the cylinders is piped first to an oxidation catalyst in which carbon monoxide and any unburned hydrocarbons are combined with oxygen to complete their combustion into carbon dioxide and water. Next, the exhaust gases pass through a particulate filter, which removes the carbon particles that in older models made diesel exhaust smoky. The last step, new and crucial to passing the toughest regulations, is cutting nitrogen oxides.
Instead of adding liquid from an onboard reservoir to produce the ammonia needed to clean up the nitrogen oxides, as the Mercedes Bluetec system does, the Honda makes its own ammonia as it goes, combining hydrogen with nitrogen inside a two-layer catalyst.
Mr. Knight said that the 2.2-liter turbocharged engine developed 138 horsepower at 4,000 r.p.m., with peak torque of 251 pound-feet at 2,000 r.p.m. Asked what the ratio of lean to rich operation might be, he gave the example of a 60-mile-an-hour cruise, at which the engine would operate lean for three minutes, then rich for five seconds. Will this system work with larger engines? Mr. Knight said a V-6 application was being studied.
Honda says that with the i-CTDi, it is hard to tell by the sound that the car is diesel-powered. Combined city/highway fuel economy of the European Accord is estimated at nearly 42 miles a gallon; 0-60 acceleration takes slighty more than nine seconds.
Green Tech
A Love-Hate Relationship Bears a 50-State Diesel
By KEVIN CAMERON
ASSIGNMENTS this juicy are rare in the career of an automotive engineer: the opportunity to develop a new generation of high-efficiency diesel engines that would lead a major company into a fuel-sipping low-emissions future.
It was a challenge that Kenichi Nagahiro, whose portfolio as a Honda senior engineer included Formula One racing engines and the company’s VTEC variable valve timing technology, should have relished. Instead, he turned it down.
Mr. Nagahiro eventually relented, agreeing to head the program — but only if he had a free hand to design an engine that would overcome his disdain for the noisy, smelly diesels previously on the market.
The initial product of the program — the first diesel engine designed entirely by Honda — was introduced in 2003 to power a European version of the Accord. A British advertising campaign played off Mr. Nagahiro’s reluctance, asking, “What if a diesel engine was built by someone who hates them?” Television commercials featured Garrison Keillor singing a tune called “Hate Something, Change Something.”
The project did far more than simply tame a problematic alternative to gasoline engines. Last month, Honda announced that it would bring the 2.2-liter diesel, which it calls the i-CTDi engine, to the United States within three years. The company says that the engine will meet the demanding Tier II Bin 5 regulations, allowing it to be sold in America’s largest auto markets — California and the Northeast states that have adopted California’s regulations — where new diesel cars have not been sold since tailpipe pollutant levels were tightened beyond the reach of available engine technology.
Honda is not the only automaker to promise a 50-state diesel; Mercedes-Benz has said it plans to sell diesel versions of its sport utility vehicles across the country in 2008. The first phase of the Mercedes emissions-control system, known as Bluetec, is offered in the 2007 E320 sedan; next year’s 50-state version for three sport utility models will also be equipped with AdBlue, a process that injects liquid urea into the exhaust, enabling a chemical reaction that reduces the output of smog-forming nitrogen oxides. Neither the Honda nor the Mercedes systems have been through the certification process.
But Honda, the company whose clean-burning CVCC Civic model did the seemingly impossible in the 1970’s by meeting emissions standards, has not lost its knack for innovation. The company says the i-CTDi turbodiesel engine will meet the regulations using a much simpler emissions-control system; it requires no added fluids to keep emissions in check.
Diesel engines achieve high fuel economy by a combination of high compression ratio (16.7:1 in this Honda), lean combustion (a high proportion of air to fuel) and low pumping loss (because they have no throttle). But diesel tailpipes spew higher amounts of nitrogen oxides than comparable gasoline engines, and they are harder to clean up. The three-way catalytic converter, a highly effective device that eliminates up to 99 percent of nitrogen oxides on gasoline engines, can cut those emissions by only 10 percent or so on diesels — not nearly enough.
Ben Knight, vice president for research and development of American Honda, said that the major components of the i-CTDi engine’s emissions-control strategy were improved combustion within the engine and effective aftertreatment — an industry buzzword for the devices that chemically convert exhaust pollutants to harmless gases.
The engine uses common-rail fuel injection at very high pressure, about 30,000 pounds per square inch. Such pressures deliver the fuel more quickly, giving it more time to evaporate. It also breaks the fuel into smaller droplets, increasing its total surface area.
High injection velocity — close to the speed of sound — ensures that the droplets penetrate deeply into the highly compressed air in the cylinder, mixing the fuel and air more uniformly, which helps to lower the output of nitrogen oxides. Cooled exhaust gas is recirculated to the cylinders, lowering combustion temperatures, which reduces the formation of nitrogen oxides.
Exhaust gas from the cylinders is piped first to an oxidation catalyst in which carbon monoxide and any unburned hydrocarbons are combined with oxygen to complete their combustion into carbon dioxide and water. Next, the exhaust gases pass through a particulate filter, which removes the carbon particles that in older models made diesel exhaust smoky. The last step, new and crucial to passing the toughest regulations, is cutting nitrogen oxides.
Instead of adding liquid from an onboard reservoir to produce the ammonia needed to clean up the nitrogen oxides, as the Mercedes Bluetec system does, the Honda makes its own ammonia as it goes, combining hydrogen with nitrogen inside a two-layer catalyst.
Mr. Knight said that the 2.2-liter turbocharged engine developed 138 horsepower at 4,000 r.p.m., with peak torque of 251 pound-feet at 2,000 r.p.m. Asked what the ratio of lean to rich operation might be, he gave the example of a 60-mile-an-hour cruise, at which the engine would operate lean for three minutes, then rich for five seconds. Will this system work with larger engines? Mr. Knight said a V-6 application was being studied.
Honda says that with the i-CTDi, it is hard to tell by the sound that the car is diesel-powered. Combined city/highway fuel economy of the European Accord is estimated at nearly 42 miles a gallon; 0-60 acceleration takes slighty more than nine seconds.
Last edited by SpeedyV6; 10-15-2006 at 06:00 AM.
10-15-2006, 08:31 AM
#514
Race Director
Seems to me that if the engine is already available it should be able to pass certification before 09 - oh well, with today's premium for diesel (ULSD required at all pumps as of today) over regular gas, diesel sales would be sluggish anyway.
From that combined 42MPG number one can assume that the hwy mileage itself is close to 60MPG!!!!
From that combined 42MPG number one can assume that the hwy mileage itself is close to 60MPG!!!!
10-15-2006, 11:56 AM
#515
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I dunno if this is a 
but it probably should have been posted in the other Honda diesel thread....
https://acurazine.com/forums/automotive-news-6/honda-unveils-ultra-clean-diesel-system-348738/
Mods, merge em up.
but it probably should have been posted in the other Honda diesel thread....
https://acurazine.com/forums/automotive-news-6/honda-unveils-ultra-clean-diesel-system-348738/
Mods, merge em up.
11-18-2006, 02:17 AM
#516
Senior Moderator
Video for ad: http://world.honda.com/ThePowerofDreams/sky/video-60/
12-05-2006, 01:00 PM
#517
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Honda developing diesel V6 - - By JAMES B. TREECE | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS - - Source: Autoweek
TOKYO -- Honda's Ridgeline, Pilot and Odyssey and Acura's MDX are candidates to get a clean V-6 diesel engine that Honda Motor Co. is developing, says CEO Takeo Fukui.
Fukui declined to specify which Honda or Acura vehicles will get a diesel engine. But he identified those four light trucks as "the Honda products that would need this kind of technology."
Honda will sell a clean 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel in 2009. A V-6 diesel using the same technology will follow.
Honda says the diesel engines will meet tough new U.S rules requiring that diesel emissions essentially be as clean as gasoline-engine emissions.
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No major Mexican expansion is planned. If Honda needs more North American vehicle production capacity beyond the plant it plans to build in Indiana, expansion in the United States is more likely than in Mexico.
Honda has not yet broken ground on its Indiana plant. Production is expected to begin in 2009. Its plant in El Salto Jalisco, Mexico, is by far the smallest of its car or truck plants in North America. It builds about 30,000 Accords a year.
"It could be possible to expand the Mexican plant just slightly," say to 50,000 or 60,000, Fukui says. "But I don't think we will ever make that a 200,000-unit plant."
Fukui declined to specify which Honda or Acura vehicles will get a diesel engine. But he identified those four light trucks as "the Honda products that would need this kind of technology."
Honda will sell a clean 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel in 2009. A V-6 diesel using the same technology will follow.
Honda says the diesel engines will meet tough new U.S rules requiring that diesel emissions essentially be as clean as gasoline-engine emissions.
....
No major Mexican expansion is planned. If Honda needs more North American vehicle production capacity beyond the plant it plans to build in Indiana, expansion in the United States is more likely than in Mexico.
Honda has not yet broken ground on its Indiana plant. Production is expected to begin in 2009. Its plant in El Salto Jalisco, Mexico, is by far the smallest of its car or truck plants in North America. It builds about 30,000 Accords a year.
"It could be possible to expand the Mexican plant just slightly," say to 50,000 or 60,000, Fukui says. "But I don't think we will ever make that a 200,000-unit plant."
12-05-2006, 06:24 PM
#519
Race Director
Originally Posted by LuvMyTSX
For pete's sake, put it in the cars, too, not just the trucks!!!! V6 diesel in an Accord would be sweet!
12-06-2006, 07:37 AM
#520
Senior Moderator
Originally Posted by biker
The lack of sales for the hybrid Accord seems to indicate that in this segment most folks favor millage over performance. The 2.2 iCDTi would be enough for the Accord - Honda could do away with the hybrid altogether. Charge a $1000 premium over a gas I4 Accord for the diesel and they'll get lots more sales than the hybrid on which they probably make no money.