One Motor, Different Displacements - Honda Patents New Engine

Trust the Japanese to keep looking for technological breakthroughs. Honda is attempting to start a revolution in engine design and has reportedly patented a new engine that has cylinders of variable displacements.

The details of the technology would be best explained by the boffins from the land of the rising sun, but we'll try and keep things simple. Traditionally, the cylinders of a single engine are of the same displacement, as they use a uniform bore and stroke size. So if we take the example of a 2.0-litre/2,000cc, V4 engine, we get a volume of 500cc from each cylinder. Deactivate them individually, and you get a total of four displacements (2,000, 1,500, 1,000 or 500cc).

As per Honda's new technology, while each pot will have the same bore volume, the stroke length will differ, giving each chamber a different size. Plainly put, imagine a V4 engine with cylinders displacing 300, 425, 625, and 650cc respectively. Put those numbers together in different configurations and effectively, you could have one engine with fifteen displacement combinations, depending on how many cylinders are firing.

This technology can be used to increase an engine's performance and efficiency as the motor would theoretically be more flexible and adaptable to the kind of driving condition. As per the patent, the design can be applied to inline and V-type engines of different sizes.

This may be Honda's answer to the rising need for engine downsizing and it could be applied to both cars and motorcycles. It will be a while before this engine enters large scale production and rest assured, don't expect to see it in India any time soon.

Source: Autoguide

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