The competition among Japanese car companies has been going on for many years, and it seems that a certain tacit understanding has been formed. In terms of products, each family has competing products at the same level that can be obtained; Conceptually, the layout of electrification has also been planned for a long time; Only technically, Toyota and Honda have successively introduced hybrid technologies THS and i-MMD, which represent the highest level in the industry. Only Nissan's hybrid road is bumpy.
We can't confirm whether the turmoil at the top of the company and the alliance with Renault have had a negative impact on the research and development of hybrid technology, but as a result, Nissan's hybrid technology seems to be one in the surface and one in the atmosphere before the "two fields". Not to mention ordinary consumers, even the Nissan owners around me know very little about Nissan's hybrid.
Then why is Nissan's accomplishments in hybrid technology far less profound than Toyota Honda's? What is its technical principle? In this article, we will discuss the cause and effect from many angles.
Technical principle of Nissan hybrid power
Before talking about the principle of Nissan hybrid, let's talk about Toyota and Honda. As we all know, Toyota sorted out all the possibilities of series connection, introduced THS system and applied for patents one by one. It can really be said that "go your own way and leave others no choice".
Honda, which arrived one step later, had to sort out all the possibilities of plug-in hybrid and launched the i-MMD system. However, due to the high cost of battery, plug-in is not implemented drastically, which also leads to the structure of i-MMD system being much simpler than THS system. Fortunately, it worked well in the end.
As the saying goes, those who come first eat meat, and those who come later can only drink soup. Nissan, one step behind Honda, has become one of many hybrid systems that can only drink soup.
First of all, it should be clear that Nissan's hybrid system is not the traditional Atkinson cycle engine+double motor "two fields", but a more European P2 style. Whether it is coincidence or premeditated, this is indeed related to the involvement of Renault.
Nissan P2 hybrid power system mainly includes engine, battery pack, inverter and transmission, with built-in single motor and double clutch. According to the existing vehicle structure, the special hybrid power system suitable for FR and FF vehicles is deduced. Among them, the special hybrid system for FR car matches V6 engine and AMT transmission, which is mainly used in cars like Q50. FF special hybrid system matches L4 engine and CVT transmission, which is mainly used for medium and large SUVs such as Nissan Loulan and finidi QX60.
Because most of the mechanical parallel and series structures that can be applied to motors are divided by "two fields", Nissan can only find another way. In the end, Nissan chose to make a fuss about the engine, in which the L4 engine matched with the FF special hybrid system used mechanical supercharging instead of turbocharging, and did not use in-cylinder direct injection technology.
Nissan's engineer said: the investigation found that there are many cases of medium, low speed and high load, which is where supercharge can exert its maximum efficiency.
This statement is true, but they should also know that the motor under this working condition can also exert the maximum efficiency, but due to patent reasons, this is also the best solution under pressure.
Then, the engine decided to use a supercharger, and the motor could not be arranged at the rear of the car, providing the power needed for the vehicle at low and medium speeds like "two fields". Where should I put the motor? Here comes the ingenious place. Nissan arranged the motor of this hybrid system between the engine and CVT gearbox (FF model). By the way, with an additional motor, the gearbox can still maintain the same volume as the traditional powertrain, which proves that its structural design is indeed very compact.
However, this has caused a new problem. The space between the gearbox and the engine is too small, so there must be a set of clutches on both sides of the motor. After further compressing the space, the battery capacity of the hybrid system is extremely low.
To give a simple example: comparing the hybrid system to rowing, the "Second Field" is equivalent to finding someone to help the boatman row, which greatly improves the efficiency. Nissan is equivalent to giving the boatman a good paddle and letting him drink a few cans of red bull. It seems that the boatman's fighting capacity is beyond measure, but in fact his efficiency is still not as fast as that of two people rowing.
Let's just say that Nissan's hybrid system is actually a "light hybrid" in the true sense. Its main significance is not to save fuel for vehicles, but to assist driving and achieve a balance between fuel consumption and power. Take Nissan's hybrid Loulan as an example. The measured fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is about 9.5L, but the acceleration is controlled within 9 seconds, which is not good, but it has passed. If there is no such hybrid system, there must be a link failure.
It should be noted that the "light mixing" I said is just a name for the convenience of understanding. It has nothing to do with the fiery 48V light mixing in recent years. Their structures, principles and designs are completely different, so don't confuse them.
Therefore, it is inevitable that Nissan's hybrid is not on fire, and the experience improvement that this "light hybrid" can bring to users is really too small. Don't think I said too much. What is certain is that Nissan's investment in hybrid system research and development is far less than that of Toyota. Although this is not Nissan's fault, the result is borne by all other car companies except Toyota and Honda.
Because in the final analysis, all this has to be attributed to Toyota's excellent insight and Honda's strong execution. Before electrification became the mainstream, they had already realized the future development trend. You know, Toyota's hybrid models have been criticized by consumers in the past few years. How much meat is eaten now, how much is played in that year. If in this case, the Nissan hybrid system that is neither fuel-efficient nor fast can catch fire, it is simply unreasonable.
Nissan actually bet all its wealth on EV pure electric.
Through a series of combing, we can also find that Nissan is not interested in mixing. Perhaps it is caused by "two fields", perhaps it is the initial heart. In short, Nissan has almost put all its treasures on EV pure electric. Instead of fighting with your opponent on the road, it is better to take a detour and put it into practice. (elaborated in another article)
At present, Nissan's road to pure trams is relatively smooth. Nissan Leaf has won enough praise and gratifying sales in Japan and North America. Nissan Ariya exhibited at Beijing Auto Show will also be officially mass-produced next year, and the development focus of Nissan has changed significantly. However, in this case, it is necessary to briefly talk about Nissan's new technology-e-Power, which is about to enter the China market.
About Nissan e-POWER
Strictly speaking, Nissan e-POWER is not a hybrid system in the traditional sense, but an extended-range hybrid system, that is, the engine of the vehicle is not directly involved in driving the wheels, but is driven by the motor, which is completely different from the previous Nissan Hybrid hybrid system, but just like Li Yi.
Although this is a new technology of Nissan, objectively speaking, it is already a "backward" technology for the world automobile market. It is true that e-POWER allows users to enjoy the advantages of pure electric vehicles without endurance anxiety, such as fast power output, quiet, delicate driving experience and so on. However, the existence of internal combustion engine still shows the imperfection of this technology, and the problems it faces have been mentioned in Li ONE's article before, so I won't repeat them here.
In a word, Nissan e-POWER is about to enter the China market, which really gives users another choice, but I personally have reservations about it. In contrast, Nissan's many pure electric vehicles in concept may be the most important products that really help it build the future.
Write it at the end
To be realistic, when we talk about hybrid cars, we are actually talking about Toyota and Honda. Nissan's hybrid technology is destined not to become the core of enterprise development from the beginning. Even consumers can see this, and there is no need for enterprises to hide anything.
However, after a less painful "failure", Nissan quickly adjusted its mentality and began to dig deep into the potential of pure electric vehicles as a pioneer. With the electrification of automobiles on the right track, it will soon be clear whether Nissan's decision is right or wrong. In fact, Nissan has begun to develop pure electricity, and then we will further explore Nissan's new technology in pure electricity.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.