Non-diesel compression ignition (efficient ICE thread)

[balki]

Mazda is making a highly efficient turbo compression ignition ICE that's not a diesel

Frankly I'm stoked if it works, is reliable and only slightly more expensive than their current Skyactiv engines

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) could be the stop gap solution we need while batteries and charging infrastructure matures in the next 15-30 years.

[Crazed_Insanity]

If this is cheap for them to implement, sure... However, if this costs them additional investment to get into market, I'm not sure if it's worthwhile...

[thesameguy]

Mazda is certainly betting on it being the stop gap. Their solution is interesting because it's not a pure HCCI - the engine still has spark plugs for cold and low speed drivability. Being able to switch over to HCCI for cruising is interesting - it should result in not much city improvement but a dramatic highway improvement. It doesn't *really* solve the HCCI problem, but it at least gets it to market. Shouldn't be all that expensive to implement, either.

[samoht]

I saw this, sounds pretty cool to get such a big improvement in efficiency out of the good-old ICE. Apparently they even think it would be good on NOx.

To an extent, electric vehicles are likely to take over in urban areas first, while rural parts may stick longer with petrol - it's quite normal for mum to spend much of her day in the car, driving her children to and from various social and educational appointments.

[Dicknose]

I'd worry about fuel issues, these are probably more sensitive to fuel quality than high compression and power engines.
But it's good to see new ideas get to market.