The new 1.6L i-DTEC Honda engine

Honda 1.6L i-DTEC engine hot side

Lightest Honda Diesel Engine

Honda’s new 1.6-liter i-DTEC is comprised of an aluminium cylinder head joined to an open deck aluminium block. It is weighing 47 kg less than Honda’s 2.2-liter i-DTEC engine. All the individual components have been redesigned to minimize their weight and size and advanced production techniques have helped reduce weight even further.

The thickness of the cylinder walls has been reduced to 8 mm, compared with 9 mm for the 2.2-liter i-DTEC. In addition, lighter pistons and connection rods have been utilized in the 1.6-liter i-DTEC.

Reduced Mechanical Friction

The key target for Honda’s development engineers was to reduce the mechanical friction of the 1.6-liter i-DTEC engine to the level equivalent of a petrol engine. “All the rotating parts have been carefully optimized to reduce their friction,” says Tetsuya Miyake. For example, a shorter and thinner piston skirt has been used. At 1500 rpm, the 1.6-liter i-DTEC has around 40% less mechanical friction than the 2.2-liter i-DTEC.

“This not only reduces emissions and improves fuel efficiency; it also improves the engine’s response, both on and off the throttle, making the car more fun to drive. We have reduced the mechanical friction of the engine to the level equivalent of an existing petrol engine, which is an outstanding achievement.”i-DTEC engine turbocharger

Clever Turbocharger

The 4th generation Garrett turbocharger used on the 1.6-liter i-DTEC engine features an efficient variable-nozzle design and its rotational speed is precisely controlled by the car’s electronics, minimizing turbo lag and providing an optimal combination of low- to mid-range pull and high-speed performance.  The turbo has a maximum boost pressure of 1.5 bar.

 

Efficient Fuel Injection System and Engine Air Flow

Fuel injection system and cylinder head of i-DTEC engineHonda’s 1.6-liter i-DTEC uses a Bosch solenoid injection system which is capable of operating at a high pressure of 1800 bar. High fuel pressure means that the fuel is injected at a faster rate with finer atomization of the fuel spray which mixes with the air in the engine. This results in a cleaner and more efficient combustion helping to achieve the low emissions and fuel consumption.

Honda’s engineers have also worked to improve the volumetric efficiency of the cylinders, employing a high intake flow and a high-swirl head port that precisely controls the combustion process to reduce hot spots that create unwanted emissions. The engine air flow is managed by using an EGR (Exhaust gas recirculation) system that operates at high and low pressure to reduce NOx emissions.

 

New Transmission System

A newly designed lightweight and compact transmission system is introduced on the new 1.6-liter i-DTEC Civic. This 6 speed manual transmission system is 7 kg lighter than the transmission system offered on the 2.2-liter i-DTEC helping the engine to produce a maximum torque of 300 Nm.

The new transmission system delivers:

  • Class-leading transmission efficiency
  • Smooth, accurate feel when changing gear
  • New reverse system which delivers both improved operation load and quietness

ECO Assist

Honda engineers found that different driving styles could account for as much as 15% variance in fuel economy, as a result they developed the Honda ECO Assist system first introduced on the Honda Insight which now also features CR-Z and Jazz as well as the new Civic.

ECO Assist optimizes fuel efficiency by minimizing the differences in fuel consumption caused by varying driving styles.  The system uses illumination on the car’s speedometer to advise drivers on how their driving style is impacting fuel economy. This helps drivers to get the best fuel economy from their car in everyday situations.

The speedometer illuminates in blue when the car is idle and stays blue during sudden acceleration and deceleration. It turns to green if the car is driven in an economical fashion. During gentle acceleration and deceleration when the driver is slightly exceeding the best level of throttle the speedometer illumination shows blue-green.

ECON button

For maximum efficiency the driver can also choose to press the green ECON button on the dashboard. The ECON button activates a gentler throttle map to ensure a very smooth increase in torque when the throttle is pressed for a more relaxing drive and greater fuel efficiency. It also improves the efficiency of the air conditioning system, according to conditions such as temperature and humidity. It controls the compressor and decreases the voltage of the fan drive to reduce the load on the engine, improving fuel efficiency.

In-keeping with the Civic’s Europe-specific development, ECO Assist and the ECON feature has been extensively tested on a variety of roads from Germany’s derestricted autobahns to demanding British B-roads.

Idle Stop

The Civic 1.6-liter i-DTEC is fitted with Honda’s Idle Stop system as standard. The system reduces overall fuel consumption by approximately 5 g/km and helps lower the CO2 emissions to just 94 g/km. CO2 emissions below 100 g mean the Civic qualifies for many tax incentives. When the driver comes to a standstill and selects neutral, the engine will automatically stop when they release the clutch and selects a gear it automatically restarts.

 

Source: Honda

Romain’s opinion:

With this engine, Honda caught up with European manufacturers in terms of diesel technology. Figures that are given seems to be at the same level as the one from European diesel engines despite the big technological gap that exists with previous 2.2 liter diesel engine. Do you think it will have an impact on Honda’s diesel engine sales? Do you think it will be a kind of competitor to Honda’s gasoline hybrid IMA powertrain?

12 thoughts on “The new 1.6L i-DTEC Honda engine”

  1. What is the engine’s weight? 47 kg less than the 2.2 doesn’t tell me much since I can’t find a weight figure on that engine.

        1. Hellow Enrique, I am David,please answer me how much weight this engine honda diezel 1.6 i-dtec,maybe you now just his weight,and I interesting this motor for my gyroplane,thanks)))

  2. Are you nuts? Euro diesel is way prehistoric compared to asian designs, much more Japanese. Euro diesel could not even overtake chinas chery qq in moderate driving? Euro diesel are but overhypep overpriced generic sourced from all over china india.

    1. Hi Romaine. Somewhere, I did stumble upon the weight of this engine, but I’ll be darned if I can find it again. As I recall, it’s under 375 pounds (but don’t quote me). I’m in the process of building a P2 hybrid that I plan to put into production. We’re not talking about very big numbers, however. Originally, I was going to use Volkswagen’s
      (diesel) engine, but that changed after Volkswagen acquired a PR problem that rivals Boeing. The Honda engine is a nifty piece of engineering, indeed. Placing a YASA P-400 electric motor between the Honda engine and the bell housing (along with the required torque dampening mechanism) will probably result in a rather peppy little bugger. Anyway, thank you for this article! -DK

  3. I cant find my mileage on dashboard computer to tell me my exact mileage to date i just see everything else on the computer can you help.
    Cheers Billy.

    1. Just disconnect the – from the battery. Leave it like that for 5 mins and connect it again. Problem should be solved.

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