engine fuel economy

The whole point of a hybrid is to be less fuel dependent. Other than just focusing on the electric side of things, the engine is still contributes in overall efficiency. Part of the advantage of the motor is that it delivers large amounts of torque. This enables the engine to be much smaller, which means the throttle has to be opened more to move down the road. While this sounds like a bad thing, it actually increases the efficiency. An engine does not become efficient until it has high turbulance in the combustion chamber. Higher volume and faster air flow create turbulance which does a good job of burning in the cylinder. The engine can lack in torque because it is much smaller displacement engine, and still feel good because the electric motor accelerates the car also. The accord is also using a technology once used by cadillac. It shuts off certain cylinders from firing at light load conditions, like driving up the highway at one speed. This enables the engine to burn less fuel because not as much gas is being used. While this system didn’t work well for cadillac with 70′s technology, I’m sure honda has done their homework and used the latest technology to make this work.

 

Some cars have used engines called lean fire engines. They work by using a specially designed head chamber. This design is similar to a diesel to spray a rich mixture into a small area, usually close to the spark plug. This utilizes all the air in the chamber as it expands outward engulfing the fresh air around this rich pocket of fuel. The fuel is injected into to the motor by direct injection through the cylinder head chamber. Although the pocket of fuel is rich the overall volume of the cylinder is much less (leaner) than a normal air to fuel mixture. If the same amount of fuel was brought into the engine normally the spark plug would not be able to ignite the overall lean mixture. That is why the rich pocket of fuel is so important as is the design of the chamber. This is a realistic technology but is not simple and easy to do, yet is does work. Another possibility is a diesel hybrid. Diesels are reaching better efficiencies all the time. Some diesels are already very fuel efficient and love turbocharging, meaning the engine can be made even smaller. But as with all new things comes reluctance and sometimes complexity to first make a finished product. Regardless, a diesel is a definate canidate for a hybrid vehicle. Also mazda is working on a rx-8 that can currently run on gas or hydrogen. A large fueling station is being installed for public use in hiroshima. Many rotary engine conversions have been done in the past using hydrogen. This engine is well suited for running hydrogen. The beauty of hydrogen is no emissions unless you consider water an emission.