The Power and Innovation Behind Honda's Variable Valve Timing Technology

Although automotive technology may often seem stale, it often takes a major or r
evolutionary change to make a difference in a field that has grown so large. Alt
hough not recent, perhaps one of the most innovative and
intelligent ideas to come out of car engine technology can be found in the form
of the Honda Motor Company's VTEC engine.
Many may have heard the phrase "VTEC" associated with import cars or those who c
are about performance in their vehicles. However, even many who do have a Honda
or Acura with a VTEC engine may be unaware of how it actually works.
Before diving right into explaining the VTEC though, a little discussion is prob
ably necessary on the some of the basics of how a normal engine works. An engine
creates combustion by letting fuel and air into the cylinders and then "sparkin
g" it, or creating a small explosion. These explosions are what drive the vehicl
e, enabling the car to put power to the wheels. However, there are a wide variet
y of factors that influence how quickly the engine creates combustion and also h
ow quickly it expels the exhaust waste that is created. One of the most importan
t factors, though, are the engine valves. The valves on an engine are the princi
ple parts that allow air to enter the engine, and are responsible for releasing
exhaust. If the valves are not opened and closed in a certain way, an engine bec
omes completely useless. Thus, a camshaft is used to open and close the valves.
How does that happen? Well, a camshaft has a number of lobes on it, when rotated
, these lobes push or hit against the valves, thus opening and closing them in a
certain order.
Camshafts are incredibly important to engines, and especially for running an eng
ine at the correct ranges and speeds. To simplify a bit, a camshaft is usually d
esigned with a "profile" in mind. This entails the range in which the car is des
igned to run the best or with the most power. One car may be equipped with a low
rpm camshaft, for instance, which is designed to function best when the engine
is running at a very low rotational rate. However, another car may have a camsha
ft which is designed to open and close the valves in rapid succession when runni
ng at a very high rpm. Herein we have one of the major factors in determining th
e performance of a vehicle. A car needs an entirely different camshaft profile t
o effectively run at both high and low speeds. Perhaps one can now see why it is
almost impossible for a car to perform perfectly both at lower speeds and still
maintain good performance in the upper rpm ranges.
Honda, though, figured out a way for an engine to have multiple camshafts, and e
ffectively switch them out as needed. They named the system, "VTEC", and that wo
rd has become a legend to anyone interested in import vehicles and performance.
The word stands for "Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control".
The idea and concept behind a VTEC is actually a very simple one, to allow an en
gine to run at maximum efficiency through the entire RPM range, without weakness
at one particular spot or range. While the idea may sound simple, accomplishing
it is somewhat of a labor.
One can actually tell a VTEC simply by looking at the camshaft. Whereas most cam
shafts have small primary and secondary lobes with which to push on the valves,
a close look at a VTEC camshaft reveals a bigger lobe centered between the two s
maller, main lobes. At first, this idea may seem entirely confusing, and the ide
a of big central lobe may seem to complicate more than help, but with the proper
system in place, that big lobe can make all the difference in the world.
The point at which the VTEC lobes begin to act on the engine is commonly referre
d to as "VTEC crossover". This is nothing other than the point at which the syst
em is engaged,
When a VTEC does kick in, a small hydraulic pin is pushed through the three sepa
rate lobes, in fact creating one large lobe designed to run at incredible effect
iveness at high RPM. Usually the crossover point in a stock car is somewhere aro
und 5,000 or 5,500 RPM. Although aftermarket products are sold which enable one
to mess around with the point at which the VTEC is activated.
However, a VTEC does not just simply turn on, a variety of factors have to be pr
operly read by the ECU and determined to be in the correct position before the s
ystem will work. Generally, a VTEC equipped car's ECU will read oil pressure, wh
ich is of essential importance in the system, engine speed and rotation, positio
n of the throttle, water temperature, and several other factors which may be dif
ferent depending on which car is being analyzed.
Although the VTEC is a powerful system, recently, Honda engineers have come out
with something which is called the "i-VTEC". Although the i-VTEC is in fact very
similar to the normal VTEC system, it acts to determine the proper opening and
closing of the valves at nearly every level, instead of simply setting a crossov
er point. This enables a small, four cylinder engine to put out incredible power
. In fact, the RSX Type-S, with only a 2.0 liter engine, produces nearly 205 hor
sepower.
A VTEC is a truly innovative and powerful idea, and although the system was not
specifically created by Honda, one can now find it on many other makes of vehicl
es. Companies such as Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes, BMW and others have realized the
incredible power advantage that an engine with variable valve timing brings wit
h it.