Future Mazda Skyactiv engines could do away with spark
We’ve never truly believed Mazda’s high compression Skyactiv technology as a viable alternative to turbo-fed engines but that could soon change as the Japanese car company plans to lift efficiency from the current 40% to 60% by 2020.
Skyactiv engines currently run a 14:1 compression ratio but Mazda could raise that to 18:1 through clever management of the combustion cycle. Employing the same principle as a diesel engine, future Skyactiv engines would ignite fuel mixture mostly under compression, mitigating the need for a spark plug. Mazda calls this technology homogenous charge compression ignition technology, or HCCI for short. Catchy.
In conjunction with HCCI, Mazda is exploring ways to reduce the heat loss through the exhaust system, which currently is responsible for 30% of fuel’s wasted energy. Unsurprisingly but Mazda were unwilling to reveal too much at this point and would only say that the upcoming Mazda CX-5 would present the next step in their plan as the company pushes towards their goal of 50g/km.
Mazda’s partnership with Toyota would logically result in an EV in the not too distant future although Mazda firmly believes that their new technology would closely match the efficiency of hybrid vehicles.
Colour us sceptical but this technology is heavily reliant on available fuel quality and octane, barriers which South Africa and developing countries already struggle with. The new Skyactiv efficiency is great in theory but at what cost to their global markets?
