>>Isn't Honda leaving CART because of the NA formula? <<

H was accused of ch****** on the turbo motors..they found a way to run a hair more effective boost without triggering the limiting valve supplied by CART. Cleverly they set things up such that pressures into the motor were higher than allowed yet pressure not far away, but in the same chamber or cavity, nearer the pressure relief valve, were legal. That's done by subtle aero and airflow tuning. Maybe not illegal but definitely not in the spirit of the law. Others were also accused of the same strategy. There would also be lotsa extra bux and time needed to develop a CART NA motor. They are supposed to be redirecting talent and $$ toward their curent F1 effort. Partly because they are only midpack motors, and partly because Toyota enter the fray in 02. Home country prestige is on the line. They don't necessarily have to be the fastest F1 motor prestige wise, if they can just be better than Toyota. All of this high dollar stuff is likely to be affected by the Global economic situation. Some top F1 teams spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year to run up front.

Stan

 

Honda could put whatever they want in there. Where's the challenge in that? More power = better car? Wha?

They sat down, said "Lets make a 2 litre sports car to cellebrate 50 years in the business"

And they did, and it is much better than any other 2 litre sports car ever made, and it makes more power than any NA Production engine in history, and it is manufactured to a standard that nobody can match for the money.

If it had 2.5 Litres, people would be asking for 3Litre.

 

Three letters N-S-X. As stated before, it would be hard to justify the "supercar" price if its younger, cheaper sibling whipped its ass on the track (with stock factory engine). Ya - I know that one is a convertible and the other isn't, but with the factory hardtop option that is irrelevant (for $3k you too can have a hardtop, still WAY cheaper than NSX). Keep in mind that Acrua is a US branding/marketing anomaly. In other countries such as the UK the NSX is a Honda.

Sibling rivlary is one thing, but letting the younger brother steal all the thunder is another.

then again, Sonny did it to Fredo....

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jschmidt
[B]Isn't Honda leaving CART because of the NA formula? I think you have this backwards. BTW, you make it sound a little like a religion. Isn't it just a car company? (sound of kneejerk buttons getting pushed

 

In the October issue of IMPORT RACER, there was an interview with Yutaka Otobe, the father of the RSX and the S2000 engines. He was asked what he is working on now? He replied he was still working on engine developement for the RSX and S2000 as well as the next generation engines.
I think it is Mungen who has a 2.2L engine which they are testing now. Last winter I read about a 2.5L engine (Temple of VTEC? I can't remember) with performance like our engines. That would make it around 200ft.lbs of torque and 290hp. The 2.0L engine was choosen for Honda' s 50th birthday and also the celebration of Y2K. Don't forget, back in the early 60s Honda's first roadster was released as the S500, a few years later the S600 was released. And before the close of production in 70 or 71 the S800 was released (Honda never shipped any of those cars to the U.S.). Each time the engine was increased in size and power output. What I would really like to see, is a 2.8L V6 with a redline around 9000 rpm. I hope Honda of Japan reads this ! It would sure make a lot of us Happy. The new NSX will be an 8 cyl. 4.0L engine with the personality of our 2.0L. Maybe Honda will give the S2000 6cyl. and call it S2800.

The big question is when the next generation Honda roadster will be released. 2005 after the NSX !

 

Putting a bigger engine in the s2k would take away half the fun. I love when people driving their big American 8s or their German 6s have a hard time keeping up! There have been a lot of awesome 4s - consider the Lotus Espirit S4S, which has close to the same acceleration numbers as the V8. Also, if you look at the the Road and Track issue (i think 1984) that tested the Ferrari 308, Porsche 928 (V8), the Corvette, and the Porsche 944 (I4), the 944 won (I am the proud owner of a 944 as well). I agree that normal aspiration is another large portion of the fun factor.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by StwoK
[B]...snip

 

Im not much of a mechanic but I thought a V design has to have equal cylinders on each side. So a V5 would have 3 on one side and 2 on the other? weird? I can understand a I-5 but a V5?

 

You would think engines would have to have round pistons also but Honda invented an oval piston V4 that had all the properties of a V8 to get around the 4 cylinder restriction in F1 bike racing years ago.

Bottom line is anything Honda wants to do with an engine they can do.

 

Bieg is right...also, don't assume that just because two cylinders are on one side and three on the other that the engine will never be able to balance. It depends on when each piston reaches top dead center and therefore depends on the firing order of them, as well.

It's been done...it takes a little extra engineering, but it's doable.