Honda’s New Diesel Engine http://www.gizmag.com/civic-16-litre-i-dtec/25084/ By: David Szondy

The new 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel engine is the first engine from Honda's Earth Dreams Technology series to be launched in Europe. The engine will be introduced on the Honda Civic at the beginning of 2013. This new diesel engine offers impressive fuel economy and performance.
Honda's new 1.6-litre i-DTEC is comprised of an aluminum cylinder head joined to an open deck aluminum block. It is the lightest diesel engine in its class, weighing 47kg (103.6 lb) less than Honda's 2.2-litre i-DTEC engine. The thickness of the cylinder walls has been reduced to 8mm, compared with the 9mm for the 2.2-litre i-DTEC (an early version of the 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel engine). Lighter pistons and connection rods have also been utilized in the building of this engine. Honda's development engineers reduced the mechanical friction of the 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine to the level equivalent of a petrol engine. This engine has around 40% less mechanical friction than the earlier 2.2-litre i-DTEC at 1500 rpm. This not only reduces emissions and improves fuel efficiency, but it also improves the engine's response, when on and off the throttle. This diesel engine uses a Bosch solenoid injection system which is capable of operating at a high pressure of 1800 bar. A high fuel pressure means that the fuel is injected at a faster rate and the finer the atomization of the fuel spray. This improves the fuel mixing with the air resulting in a cleaner and more efficient combustion helping to achieve a low emissions and fuel consumption. With CO2 emissions of just 94 g/km and a fuel economy of 78.5 mpg, this car will go far. 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 precisely controlling the combustion process to reduce hot spots that create unwanted emissions. The engine air flow is managed by using an EGR system that operates at high and low pressure to reduce NOx emissions.
The 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine also features a fourth