1. The legendary VQ of Nissan’s self-priming engine
The reputation of Nissan’s self-priming engine began with the VQ series engines. The VQ series V6 naturally aspirated engine has been developed since 1988. It is said that Nissan invested about 57 billion yen, successfully applied for nearly 400 patents, and finally put the VQ engine into production in Japan six years later in 1994. As you all know the subsequent story, the VQ series engines have won Ward’s Top Ten Engines for 14 consecutive years. Nissan's naturally aspirated engine has become famous ever since.
The VQ series adopted many advanced technologies at the time and was mainly aimed at the US market. Compared with the bulky and inefficient two-valve American engine VQ with old technology, it uses a large area of ??aluminum alloy materials and a four-valve layout per cylinder. Later, VVT variable valve timing, VVEL continuously variable valve lift, and direct injection were added. and other leading technologies. Powerful, smooth, efficient and high reliability are the foundation for VQ to stand out among the others.
However, with the tightening of fuel consumption regulations and the development of electrification technology, engines have gradually developed into smaller displacement and fewer cylinders, and the glory of VQ has gradually become history. VQ has not won the Ward Top Ten since 2008. At present, VQ engines have been discontinued in China and have been replaced by MR and HR inline four-cylinder engines
2. The future of Nissan's self-aspirated engines, e-Power
Four-cylinder naturally aspirated engines In the MR and HR era, Nissan simultaneously developed supercharged direct injection engines, such as 1.6T and 1.2T three-cylinders and the 1.3T four-cylinder recently developed with Renault, as well as the famous variable compression ratio engine VC Turbo 2.0T engine.
However, Nissan seems to have slowed down in terms of self-priming engines, but this is actually an illusion. Nissan's self-priming engines have begun a new exploration for future hybrid models.
The most representative one here is Nissan’s e-Power hybrid technology. The Nissan Note was the sales champion of this class in the Japanese market in 2018, surpassing the Toyota Prius.
More than 70% of customers chose the e-Power version. Nissan calls the Note e-Power "an electric car that can generate its own electricity" (自ら発电する电気automatic car).
e-Power is Nissan’s new attempt at combining internal combustion engines and electric vehicles. It is one of the most forward-looking technical routes in the industry. This technology has the following characteristics:
1. Electric motor drive. Quiet and efficient.
2. There is no charging port and cannot be charged. It can only use the electricity generated by the engine. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the cruising range, and there is no need for charging stations. You can run as long as you have fuel.
3. The battery is very small, only 1.5Kwh, which is about 1/20 the size of Leaf. Therefore, the price is cheap, the car is light, and the space is large.
4. A 1.2L three-cylinder self-priming gasoline engine is used, but it is only used to generate electricity and provide energy to the motor and battery, and does not directly drive the wheels. The engine only needs to work at a fixed operating point, and does not need to consider idle speed, high speed, variable operating conditions and other requirements like traditional engines. Nissan has specially optimized the engine, using a high compression ratio of 13 and the Atkinson cycle, which can greatly improve efficiency.
Nissan claims that the thermal efficiency of engines operating at this fixed operating point can reach 45% in the future. In this way, Nissan can actually use a small number of engine varieties to meet the needs of many different models. Efficient fixed operating point operating engines combined with e-Power hybrid are Nissan's future development trends for naturally aspirated engines.
3. Representative technologies of Nissan’s naturally aspirated engines
Let’s briefly introduce the original technologies of Nissan’s naturally aspirated engines. The latest variable compression ratio will not be discussed here, because that It is the technology currently used by Nissan in supercharged engines.
1. VVEL continuously variable valve lift technology
BMW’s valvetronic continuously variable valve lift technology is well-known in the industry. In fact, Nissan and BMW developed the continuously variable valve lift technology almost at the same time. Variable valve lift system VVEL. VVEL was first used on the famous VQ self-priming engine. Nissan is one of the first automobile companies in the world to introduce this technology into mass production.
2. Dual injection technology with two port injection nozzles per cylinder
In order to reduce engine fuel consumption and emissions, Nissan was the first to develop two port injection injectors per cylinder. technology, such control is more precise and fuel consumption can be reduced by 4%. Nissan's naturally aspirated 1.6 and 1.5 engines were the first to adopt this technology. Now GM is also using a similar dual-injection system in small-displacement supercharged engines.
3. Cylinder bore true round processing
Nissan developed the cylinder bore true round processing technology in the VQ era. Simply put, it adds a process cylinder when honing the cylinder bore. cover to simulate the deformation that will occur when the real cylinder head is installed in the future, so that the principle of anti-deformation can be used to improve the roundness and cylindricity of the cylinder bore after the final installation of the real cylinder head. This reduces friction, reduces piston air leakage, and improves efficiency.
4. Mirror cylinder bore processing technology
This is a technology developed by Nissan on the GTR engine, and was later widely used in Nissan's mass-produced engines. To put it simply, a layer of iron coating of only 0.2mm is sprayed directly on the aluminum cylinder through a mirror spray process. This eliminates the need for a cylinder liner, which is beneficial to reducing friction and improving heat dissipation. At present, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and other companies also have similar processes.
Nissan's biggest advantage is quiet operation. Among the top three Japanese brands, Nissan is the quietest. Because it uses a true round mirror polishing process, the engine will naturally wear less and have a longer life. Nissan's engine technology is no better than Toyota's. Honda is worse
Nissan engine? GTR380 is truly famous. As for the domestic Dongfeng Nissan's 1.6L, 2.0L, and 2.5L self-priming, they are okay. They come with the mobile sofa when you buy it