How does Honda do it?

[okieGT]

I watched Car and Driver yesterday and they were updating some of the concept cars making it into production next year. One of them was the new MDX which will have a 3.0L (if I remember correctly) that will put out over 300 ponies N/A! And we are hoping for stage II to get us up to 260's? Kudos to Honda, that's pretty amazing! It almost makes you say, "Who needs a Hemi?"

[CREWZIN]

Okie,

Over in Europe and the Far East, loads of cubic inches not only eats gas but is very expensive with the insurance companies. Most of the manufacturers for years have been spending their R&D monies on smaller fuel efficient engines and getting the most HP out of them without making them bigger.

[amazingarthur]

300hp with a V6 is impressive, but Subaru is already doing that with the STI (turbo 4). GMC put out a Syclone (a truck) and the Typhoon (a Jimmy)that were running insane 1/4 times with crazy hp over 10 years ago. I recall the Typhoon running like 13.5 or something similar.

GM was cranking over 180hp out of a non-turbocharged 4 called the Quad 4 in the late 80's/early 90's. Granted, that motor was a noisy, unreliable, expensive waste of money, but still the little Olds 442s they were putting it in would run low 15s.

The gas mileage in those 6's and turbo 4's isn't always as good as some V8s. The LS1 guys regularly get 27+ on the hwy, how many of us can say the same with our 4s?

[supr rt 4]

My 03 SRT made 254hp and 317ft lbs of trq. at the wheels with the same mods my 04 PT/GT has.

Stg.1
And a few other things.Minus the N20.

George

[Mike-in-Orange]

Honda has decades of experience getting huge HP numbers out of small engines. Look at their Formula 1 history: the current crop of N/A Formula 1 cars are all running 3.0L V10 engines from the likes of Honda, Ferrari, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Renault and Ford Cosworth. These babies are spinning at up to 19,000 RPM (yes, 19,000 rpm, that is not a typo) and making 800+ HP. Remember, these are N/A engines!

Back in the 1980's the spec for Formula 1 engines was different: 1.5L twin turbo 4 cylinder. Honda engines powered Team McLaren back in those days to at least a couple of world championships. Those engines made upwards of 1000HP. Again, NOT a typo: 1000HP (yes, one thousand HP) out of a 1.5L twin turbo 4 banger! Who says there's no replacement for displacement?

[supr rt 4]

I don't remember exactly how long ago.(within the last few years).
But one of the major performance magazines was disecting a Mugen MotorSports Honda.

500hp naturaly aspirated 4 cyl.

Don't get me wrong.I like the American rides totaly.
But those HP numbers from a naturaly asperated 4cyl.is cool stuff.

[CHROMEDCRUISER]

I'll take a 1967 389 GTO (dark blue hard top) over any honda on the road. American Muscle is where it's at. There's no sound like that of a big V-8 with a big carb and big pipes, Honda will never be able to replicate that with a 4 cylinder.

[quicksilverdon]

I had a Honda years ago, and rode a Honda motorcycle years ago. Great engines with very good design. Problem is off-line torque. You have to keep the revs up to get any kind of oomph out of them.

[Big Al]

300 HP from a 3L is certainly interesting, but not unfathomable. How does Honda do it? With variable valve timing and high RPM's. If you want some comparison, look at the S2000 engine. 240 HP from 2 litres - however at 8K RPM. Also look at the torque output from this engine - miniscule. Makes for a racy engine, which doesn't necessarily do well on the street.

[Mike-in-Orange]

quote:CHROMEDCRUISER Posted - 09/27/2004 : 01:07:34 AM
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I'll take a 1967 389 GTO (dark blue hard top) over any honda on the road. American Muscle is where it's at. There's no sound like that of a big V-8 with a big carb and big pipes, Honda will never be able to replicate that with a 4 cylinder.

Don't get me wrong, I much prefer good old American muscle too, specifically Mopar. I'm also a huge fan of true European sports cars - from MG to Ferrari. I was just commenting on what Honda has been able to achieve with small displacement engines, but you will NEVER see a Honda in my garage.