Honda shows off future auto tech

by Richard Russell of 'You Auto Know'

TOCHIGI, Japan — Honda fans rejoice, the company you have come to respect for its engineering prowess is back.

There has been a bit of a draught on that front in recent years but a flood of new products and technologies will soon take care of that.

During an intensive ‘Deep Dive’ at the company’s Research and Development Center here about two hours northwest of Tokyo, we were given a look at what is ahead and a chance to drive prototypes being used to evaluate these future technologies.

Honda has always been an engineering-led company so it was a relief to see a raft of new engines and transmissions ready for, or already into, production.

Engines

On the engine front, there are new 1.5-, 1.8- and 2.4-litre four-cylinder engines coming to market as you read this, the first in the new 2013 Accord.

Like every Honda engine from this point forward, from 660-cc to 3.5 litres, it has direct injection and variable valve timing.

We saw a new 1.6-litre aluminum diesel engine stuffed with weight saving and friction reducing technology.

Start pestering your local Honda dealer for this one. If enough of them ask, Honda will supply.

Transmission

The team has developed a trio of new CVT (Continuously Variable Transmissions) automatics for use in tiny, small land medium-sized cars.

Every effort has been made to inject some fun and feeling back into these units. But those feature prominently in a pair of new seven-speed dual clutch transmissions with built-in high-power electric motors, one for hybrids and another for regular applications.

The electric motors provide assist during acceleration and at high cruising speeds while serving as a generator when slowing.

The version developed for plug-in hybrids has two motors within the CVT. I managed 60 km/hr. in the normal hybrid and 100 km/hr in the plug-in on pure electric power.

They have also come up with a new coaxial gearbox integrated into the motor of the Fit EV (electric vehicle).

It provides three stages of power depending on the degree of accelerator travel, varying from 47 kW through 75kW to 92 kW.

Steering and suspension

There are two major developments in this area — a new SH-AWD system and all-wheel-steering.
A newly-developed drive unit has separate electric motors for each rear wheel.

In a corner, the motor at the outside wheel applies positive torque while the inside one exerts negative power.

By making the outside wheel go slightly faster and the inside slightly slower, the car follows the intended line more closely.

The energy generated while the inside wheel is in negative mode, is used to power the outside motor.
Add to this Precision All-Wheel Steering and you’ve got a pretty amazing package. An electric actuator in the tow control link at each rear wheel uses information from the engine, vehicle stability assist system and electric power steering and to extend or retract an arm and adjust the toe-in of each rear wheel by up to two degrees in either direction.

Unlike mechanical systems, this one can control each wheel separately allowing it to contribute to stability during cornering. It also applies toe-in during extreme braking to further aid in stability and reduce stopping distances

Safety

A City Brake Active System controls speed through various traffic lights to reduce consumption and fuel use.

In a demonstration the car equipped with the system proceeded steadily through a series of traffic lights without changing speed while the vehicle in adjacent lane, without it, sped away and came to stop at each light.

We also saw a system of vehicle-to-vehicle communication that predicts possible risk at intersections, greatly reducing rear-end, motorcycle. car and pedestrian collisions.

Dubbed Intelligent Communication Technologies, it will require buy-in from different manufacturers and participation by various levels of governments down to municipal level to install systems
Autonomous Emergency Brake, similar to others I have sampled in Europe, it uses a combination of camera and radar to recognize an object’s size, position, speed and direction and predict the risk of a collision, applying the brakes automatically to bring the vehicle to a full stop.

A new intelligent cruise control system monitors up to six vehicles in adjacent traffic. If it knows the speed of the vehicle pulling in front of you is the same as or greater than yours, it knows there is no need to alter the speed of your vehicle.

Vehicles

We drove an European Accord equipped with the drivetrain bound for the 2014 Acura RLS (formerly RL) coming in the spring. A 3.5-litre V7 producing more than 310 horsepower drives the front wheels.

Each rear wheel is driven by its own 20-plus horsepower electric motor. The new seven-speed dual clutch automatic has a third electric motor within, this one putting out more than 30 horsepower.

The new SH-AWD system thus is able to drive all four wheels simultaneously — but separately. The motor at the outside rear wheel applies positive torque in corners to help push the car into he intended line.

The motor on the inside wheel applies negative torque to slow that one slightly tugging the car into the turn. The kinetic energy developed by the inside wheel is converted to power for the other motor.
The trick rear-steer system mentioned above is also incorporated.

The driving impression were: V8-like power delivered in a smooth and progressive fashion, near neutral handling with gobs of stick and amazing braking.

This same drivetrain, re-arranged to accommodate a mid-ship engine placement, will be further enhanced and used in the upcoming NSX sports car.

At the other end of the scale we drove an N-One, Honda’s entry in the K-Class so popular in Japan. Restricted to 660 cc, these little devils are everywhere you look. Honda got around the displacement restriction by turbocharging the engine.

They were unwilling to talk horsepower but on the big track I got the box-shaped test mule up to 172 km/hr before running out of room.

The CIVIC Type-R — We didn’t get to drive one, but expect a turbocharged engine developed during the company’s recent foray in the World Touring Car Championships.

Source;
http://thechronicleherald.ca/wheelsnews/185336-honda-shows-off-future-auto-tech