The European car companies started engine downsizing over 10 years ago and now the Japanese finally decided to join the party. Honda being the first to announce this move last year with the planned introduction of 1.5 litre turbo engines for the Civic, Accord and several other models. They finally saw the benefit of the engine downsizing and how much the European car makers have been pushing this initiative. BMW, Mercedes, Audi/VW, Peugeot, Citreon and Renault have all been using small turbo charged engines to great effect since 2004 and earlier (VW and Mercedes).
The next to follow is Toyota who also announced their plans for small engines with turbo but it is rumoured that they are collaborating with BMW for engines. In terms of out right engine technology and development Honda and BMW are among the best in the world for making ultra efficient engines which punches well above its weight each time.
Gone are the days of using a regular 2 Litre engine on a mid size saloon (Camry or Accord size), a 1.6 litre turbo will offer more power and more torque while using 15-25% less fuel. For the guys who cannot resist the temptation of tuning, the turbo engine open up a lot of potential for tuning. A quick ECU remap will easily gain another 20-25% more power and torque. Of course this is a headache for car companies who want to keep their warranty programs intact.
Small engines with turbo plus hybrid system will be next wave after this. all because of the elusive search for better efficiency. From 5L/100km average will soon drop to 3.5L/100km with hybrid systems.
It is time for American car companies to think about improving themselves. Their dinosaur age engines are too far behind and lack the required levels of efficiency to compete with the best from Europe and Japan.
No comments:
Post a Comment