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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday August 09 2017, @10:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the more-vroom-per-mile dept.

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd

Mazda Motor Corp said it would become the world's first automaker to commercialize a much more efficient petrol engine using technology that deep-pocketed rivals have been trying to engineer for decades, a twist in an industry increasingly going electric.

The new compression ignition engine is 20 percent to 30 percent more fuel efficient than the Japanese automaker's current engines and uses a technology that has eluded the likes of Daimler AG and General Motors Co.

Mazda, with a research and development (R&D) budget a fraction of those of major peers, said it plans to sell cars with the new engine from 2019.

"It's a major breakthrough," said Ryoji Miyashita, chairman of automotive engineering company AEMSS Inc.

[...] A homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine ignites petrol through compression, eliminating spark plugs. Its fuel economy potentially matches that of a diesel engine without high emissions of nitrogen oxides or sooty particulates.

[...] AEMSS' Miyashita said a key issue would be how smooth and responsive the engine is.

"Is it jerky? If so, that would pose a big question when it comes to commercializing this technology." he said. "Hopefully Mazda has an answer to that question."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mazda-strategy-idUSKBN1AO0E7


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  • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday August 10 2017, @01:22AM (9 children)

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Thursday August 10 2017, @01:22AM (#551393)

    Why would you waste energy firing the spark plugs if you don't need to? It's trivial to just turn them off (the ECU has to give a command for them to fire; no command, no fire). This isn't like the old days with distributors; they haven't used those in ages.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @02:07AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @02:07AM (#551411)

    The OP said it could cause fouling problems. So fire them as needed. Between "always" and "only when needed to ignite". Maybe with the warm up time it's enough to keep them clean, or when the RPMs are in a given range.

  • (Score: 2, Informative) by shortscreen on Thursday August 10 2017, @06:04AM (7 children)

    by shortscreen (2252) on Thursday August 10 2017, @06:04AM (#551484) Journal

    Actually, there are plenty of computer-controlled engines that do fire the spark plugs when they don't need to. It's called "wasted spark." There are two advantages to this setup. First is that two cylinders can share one ignition coil, so you only need half the number of ignition coils and half as many wires leading from the ECU to engine. Both cylinders get a spark at the same time, the cylinder that is nearing the end of its exhaust stroke is not affected by the wasted spark. The second reason is that the computer doesn't need to "know" the phase of the camshaft, since it fires two cylinders that are 180 degrees out of phase, it doesn't matter which cylinder is the hot one. So you can run wasted spark with only a crankshaft position sensor. Some systems have both crankshaft and camshaft sensors, but they can continue to run if one of the sensors fails.

    • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday August 10 2017, @04:37PM (6 children)

      by Grishnakh (2831) on Thursday August 10 2017, @04:37PM (#551714)

      Actually, there are plenty of computer-controlled engines that do fire the spark plugs when they don't need to. It's called "wasted spark." There are two advantages to this setup. First is that two cylinders can share one ignition coil

      What in the hell are you talking about? When was the last time you looked under a car's hood, 1995? No one uses separate ignition coils any more: every car now uses coil-on-plug ignition. Your information is at least 25 years out of date: my mom's Oldsmobile had this silly two-cylinders-per-coil setup back in 1992. News flash: it's now 2017!

      Are you going to start telling me about adjusting points too?

      How old are you anyway? Are you still driving around some GM car from 1993 or something?

      • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by mechanicjay on Thursday August 10 2017, @05:19PM (4 children)

        No one uses separate ignition coils any more: every car now uses coil-on-plug ignition.

        There are definitely cars made within the last decade that are still sharing a coil pack across opposing cylinders. Sometimes it's a strange hybrid setup like on the 98-2005 Miata where 2 cylinders get a COP, with short-ass leads to the other two, or the "Coil Rail" in my 2006 Wrangler where, it's clear there are only 3 coil packs integrated into the giant COP assembly. Agree it's a dying practice, but it's still pretty common to see out there. So perhaps we should ask you, when was the last time you looked under the hood of a car?

        --
        My VMS box beat up your Windows box.
        • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday August 10 2017, @05:51PM (3 children)

          by Grishnakh (2831) on Thursday August 10 2017, @05:51PM (#551766)

          There are definitely cars made within the last decade that are still sharing a coil pack across opposing cylinders.

          Name one.

          Sometimes it's a strange hybrid setup like on the 98-2005 Miata

          2005 was 12 years ago. Are you not aware that we are currently in 2017?

          or the "Coil Rail" in my 2006 Wrangler

          2006 was 11 years ago.

          So perhaps we should ask you, when was the last time you looked under the hood of a car?

          A couple weeks ago? My 2015 Mazda sure doesn't have this ancient crap, and neither did my ex's 2005 Volvo. I do some work on a friend's 2006 Scion/Toyota and it doesn't have that crap either. They all use coil-on-plug.

          No, it's not "pretty common", unless you're working on very old cars, or maybe really shitty cars like Jeeps.

          • (Score: 2) by mechanicjay on Thursday August 10 2017, @05:59PM (1 child)

            eh, 10,11 years...what's a model year between friends?
            --
            My VMS box beat up your Windows box.
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @10:29PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @10:29PM (#551917)

              Some if not all of those "coil over the spark plug" do have the waste spark. Two coils share the same ECM pulse on engines that have one cylinder at TDC and another at BDC at the same time.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 13 2017, @01:18AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 13 2017, @01:18AM (#553060)

            I have been on some cars and driven others.
            Nirvana is a 12cyl ferrari or lamborghini plus carburetors
            Alfa twin cam plus carburetors is good even with 4 cylinders . Cosworth is nice.
            American 8v and porsche are for insensitive clods who only mind thrust.
            New cars with their muffled roar and injection are like salt poured over a cake, a waste. I would rather go full electric.

      • (Score: 2) by shortscreen on Thursday August 10 2017, @11:40PM

        by shortscreen (2252) on Thursday August 10 2017, @11:40PM (#551944) Journal

        Coil-on-plug has been around just as long. Not sure what your point is.