Wouldn’t it be great if we could have the best of both a gasoline and diesel engine combined into one? For those who don’t understand the benefits of a diesel engine these engines offer us much better torque numbers and more fuel efficiency but emit more harmful fumes into the atmosphere. The benefit to the gasoline engines is higher horsepower numbers and fewer toxic emissions, which makes them the more likeable engines on the market. The ability to combine these two engines and have the best of what each one provides would make for a significant improvement in what we currently have on the market.
It seems we may be on the verge of having such an engine under the hood of some vehicles. This engine is being called a Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine and will be fueled by gasoline but ignite the fuel in the same compression manner as a diesel. This should result in an engine that can give us the best of what we want to enjoy. While this engine is currently only in the testing phase of its life cycle, it already offers some challenges to engineers such as knock problems and fuel detonation issues win the combustion is not controlled within a small window of range.
The Homogeneous Charge has to do with the gasoline and air mixture that’s typical in a gasoline engine. The difference is that a diesel engine compresses the air and then sprays in the fuel to the mixture for ignition. With the Compressed Ignition the air and fuel mixture is sprayed in like a typical gasoline engine and then compressed to create ignition. This will even reduce the need for a flame front which causes the emissions that we experience, making the HCCI engine a great choice to show lower emissions and better overall fuel efficiency.
An HCCI engine can operate on lower internal combustion temperatures which mean these engines are able to be better than both gasoline and diesel when they are used. The reason these engines haven’t been used on the market yet is because of the small window of temperature to avoid problems with the engine. By adding variable valve timing the HCCI engine could be used and avoid issues that could severely damage your engine. If this engine were to make it to the market as the next internal combustion engine we could see emissions regulations that are much stricter than they are currently, which might mark the end of diesel engines altogether.
Aren’t we headed to a time when all that’s used is electric propulsion? Yes and no, we are seeing more EV models on the market and when the Tesla Model 3 comes to market there will be a huge spike in the numbers, but we haven’t seen actual evidence of these vehicles allowing us to enjoy a better lifestyle with our vehicles yet. Because of this we’ll still be reliant on the internal combustion engine for several more years and maybe it will be the HCCI that becomes the main engine used. You can learn more about the HCCI engine and what makes it so efficient by watching this video.
This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning a commission is given should you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no cost to you. All products shown are researched and tested to give an accurate review for you.