Whether three-cylinder engines are better than four-cylinder engines has become a commonplace. Not to mention vibration, wear and low reliability, the phenomenon that three-cylinder engines are favored again as soon as the displacement regulations are introduced. It is not difficult to see the clues - regulations do not give car companies enough reaction time to develop small-displacement four-cylinder engines. Car companies can only reduce displacement by simply and crudely cutting off one cylinder. Major car companies and three-cylinder car owners have thousands of data and cases to refute this point, but a recent move by Mazda, the "tech geek" in the industry, slapped many people in the face.
As early as May last year, Mazda announced that it would build two inline six-cylinder engines in the future, including a Skyactiv-X gasoline engine and a second-generation Skyactiv-D diesel engine. At that time, people were worried. After sighing that Mazda, which has been "four-cylinder for ten thousand years", has finally started to play with violent high performance, few people have noticed that the highlight of Mazda's six-cylinder engine is its small displacement, and recently this technology has made substantial progress. It is reported that Mazda's new technology is expected to control the engine displacement within 3.0 liters. At this stage, the body and intake and exhaust manifold components have applied for patents.
It is not difficult to see from its patent description that "an engine guaranteed exhaust structure is provided to ensure exhaust efficiency, and at the same time, the engine size can be reduced by changing the exhaust port structure". The engine structure will not use independent exhaust manifolds to collect exhaust gases from each cylinder. Its goal is to reduce emissions, control engine volume, and reduce manufacturing costs. In other words, the core of the new technology lies in the combination of a small-displacement turbocharger and a similar integrated exhaust manifold. This kind of professional terminology has little relevance to current users, but it is a little embarrassing for car companies that mainly produce three-cylinder cars.
In the words of these car companies, three-cylinder engines have several obvious advantages over four-cylinder engines: small size, small displacement, and low fuel consumption. They are almost the same as the engines based on Mazda technology mentioned above. , but if we take a four-cylinder engine as a benchmark, one can be achieved by sacrificing one cylinder, and the other can still be achieved by adding two cylinders - it can be seen that small displacement does not necessarily require fewer cylinders, and even the relationship between displacement and emissions, The relationship with fuel consumption and power is no longer absolute. To put it bluntly, some car companies are "taking retreat to advance" and rely on three-cylinder engines to wait for the arrival of small-displacement four-cylinder engines, but Mazda is already at the forefront of the industry...
As for the future of new engines Which car will it appear on? Judging from the Mazda chassis platform and the 8-speed automatic transmission jointly developed this time, Mazda may launch a medium to large crossover SUV in the future, and of course it does not rule out the launch of a new high-power sports car. All in all, Mazda is no longer synonymous with rotary engines. From high thermal efficiency engines to today's low-displacement six-cylinder engines, Mazda has gone further and further on the road to research and development of engine potential.
The irony is that when looking at some of our domestic brands, when they see overseas car companies making big breakthroughs in technology, they don’t feel nervous at the first moment, but rather feel a little happy, because we are not short of money and can wait for the technology to be implemented. We can just sit back and wait for the work to take shape. This method is not undesirable, but the key is that the attitude is not correct enough. If the development of the automobile industry relies solely on "food that comes from outside", we will still be lagging behind in the next hundred years. What do you think?
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.