After the new Excelle returned to the market, various media outlets commented on the car. Among the most enthusiastic about the new Excelle, all models were equipped with a three-cylinder engine. The main reason was our impression. The three-cylinder engine has always been synonymous with cheapness, fatigue, and jitter; this situation also occurs in models with a three-cylinder BMW 1 Series sedan and a tenth-generation Civic 1.0T. , Why is everyone's impression of the three-cylinder machine so bad? Three-cylinder machine is really nothing?
Why does a three-cylinder machine leave such a bad impression?
This problem goes back to Xiali! As early as 1986, Xiali carried a three-cylinder engine, code-named TJ376. This engine benefits from lower cost, lighter weight than four-cylinder machines, and easier maintenance. Xiali became a national sedan.
However, Xiali’s three-cylinder engine is also a three-cylinder engine. Due to factors such as process materials, Xiali’s engine has always had problems such as large jitter, loud noise, and poor power. Therefore, Xiali’s acquisition of a Good reputation, in that year was even jokingly referred to as 'the battle machine in the dregs', and this has become everyone's inherent impression of the three-cylinder engine.
Nowadays, with the advancement of industrial technology, the three-cylinder machine has been greatly improved in terms of power and noise. However, due to the limitation of physical characteristics, the three-cylinder machine's shaking phenomenon is still more serious than the four-cylinder machine with the same displacement.
If you have studied the working principle of the car engine, you should know that the four-cylinder machine completes a work cycle (intake, compression, work, exhaust), the engine crankshaft needs to rotate 720° (two revolutions), and the crankshaft rotates 180° Each cylinder of a four-cylinder engine will start to ignite and work, so that the cylinder can work continuously and continuously, ensuring consistent and smooth power output.
The working principle of a three-cylinder engine is basically the same as that of a four-cylinder machine. To complete a work cycle, the crankshaft also needs to be rotated by 720°, the crankshaft is rotated by 180°, and the cylinder will start to work, but you must know that the angle of ignition of the three-cylinder machine It is 240°, which also means that when a cylinder finishes work once, it needs to wait for the crankshaft to rotate another 60° before another cylinder starts to work, which will make the power output of the three-cylinder machine intermittent, resulting in the current market Most of the three-cylinder machines have problems such as large jitter, and as a result, many media say wet phenomenon: The car equipped with a three-cylinder engine is not as comfortable as a model equipped with a four-cylinder engine.
Since there are so many drawbacks, why are car companies still keen to use three-cylinder machines?
The situation is mainly driven by the situation. In 2017, the “Measures for the Concurrent Management of Passenger Vehicles' Average Fuel Consumption and New Energy Vehicle Integration” issued by relevant authorities in China stipulated that by 2020, the target value of the average fuel consumption of automobiles is 5.0L. /100km.
This means that regardless of whether you are an imported car company, a joint-venture vehicle company, or an independent brand car company, the average fuel consumption of the cars you sell or produce must be less than 5.0L/100km, otherwise you will face heavy penalties. In order to achieve compliance, Small-displacement three-cylinder machine has become the object of car companies keen to research and development.
Of course, saving costs is not a factor that is overlooked. It should be noted that most of the three-cylinder machines on the market today have come from reduced cylinders. For example, BMW's N54 six-cylinder supercharged engine has been reduced to three cylinders and it has become today. The 1.5T engine, SAIC's 1.4T engine lost one cylinder and shortened the cylinder stroke, it became a 1.0T engine. Through the sharing of engine technology and parts, car companies can significantly reduce the cost of developing a three-cylinder engine.
Is the adoption of a three-cylinder machine less advantageous to the vehicle?
The answer is obviously negative. The reduction of the cylinder, the most significant advantage of the engine is smaller, help to further increase the space inside the vehicle, and the weight is lighter, fuel economy is also more excellent.
In addition, thanks to turbocharging, direct injection of cylinders, and variable intake and exhaust timing technologies, the performance of the three-cylinder engine is comparable to that of the smaller ones, such as the tenth generation Civic. The 1.0T engine, the maximum horsepower of 125 horsepower and the maximum torque of 173N·m, have enough data performance to surpass many 1.6L engines, and the daily car will not suffer from fatigue. It can be said that some of the three-cylinder machines are still able to better Take into account the power and energy saving.
It can be seen that the prevalence of the three-cylinder machine is basically a combination of technological enhancement and market demand drivers. Although the current three-cylinder machine still cannot solve the problem of 'dithering', it adopts various advanced technologies. The overall performance of the cylinder machine is still good.
It is worth mentioning that there are some three-cylinder machines on the market that have also won many awards. For example, Ford's 1.0LEcoboost three-cylinder engine has won the best engine title in the following five-liter displacement group for five consecutive years. In addition, PSA's The Citroen 1.2THP three-cylinder engine was also ranked third in the world's top ten engines.
Finally, let's talk about the choice between three-cylinder and four-cylinder. If you have a limited budget, if you have a three-cylinder engine, the price of the three-cylinder model is closer to the public, so choosing a three-cylinder model is not bad. The models equipped with a three-cylinder engine are not much different from the models equipped with a four-cylinder engine, so the four-cylinder model is the best choice. After all, the four-cylinder engine can give you better ride comfort.
