Technical Paper
Development of a 6-Cylinder Gasoline Engine with New Variable Cylinder Management Technology
2008-04-14
2008-01-0610
Aiming for higher output power, greater fuel economy and reduced exhaust emissions, a new V-6 3.5-liter i-VTEC Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) engine has been developed. This engine uses a cylinder-deactivation mechanism with VTEC technology that allows the number of cylinders to be controlled in three modes (three, four or all six cylinders), according to the operating conditions. This adds a four-cylinder mode to the conventional cylinder- deactivation engine. In addition to increasing the number of cylinder- deactivation modes, the new hydraulic circuits, a hydraulic pressure switching mechanism and a switchover control were also developed. These make it possible to instantaneously switch the active cylinders without impairing drivability, in the same manner as a conventional engine.