Mazda previews new gasoline, diesel engines

Mazda previews new gasoline, diesel engines
By Andrew Ganz - Posted September 29th 2009

Mazda took the wraps off of its new gasoline and diesel engines, as well as a new high-efficiency automatic transmission, ahead of the powertrains’ official debut next month at the Tokyo Motor Show.
The SKY-G direct injection gasoline engine (first two photos) promises improved torque and fuel economy – up about 15 percent from Mazda’s current 2.0-liter MZR powertrain – thanks to the advances. Mazda hasn’t said when the SKY-G engine will enter production, but it’s a good bet that it will eventually show up in the Mazda3 sedan in North America. We’d anticipate it to crank out around 170 horsepower while achieving around 30 mpg combined in the Mazda3, although the automaker hasn’t officially released numbers.
Not likely bound for North America is the new SKY-D clean diesel engine (third and fourth photos). Again boasting upgrades in both power and fuel efficiency, the engine utilizes a two-stage turbocharger, piezo injectors and a redesigned engine block. Mazda says to anticipate fuel economy about 20 percent higher than in its current 2.2-liter diesel.
Finally, the automaker’s new SKY-DRIVE transmission helps improve fuel economy five percent on its own. It’s apparently a traditional automatic and not a dual-clutch system, though Mazda says that its rapid-fire shifts should give it a similar feel to those race-inspired transmissions used in an increasing number of competitors.
53 COMMENTS
1. snoogah303 days ago
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  does that mean theyre gonna get 170hp out of their 2L engine? if so thats awesome
  
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2. Bosley303 days ago
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  Ha, another company not bringing a diesel to North America! At least they’re all consistently stupid. Them and the people that refuse to buy them…..
  
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3. zeegone303 days ago
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  I think I gave up on Mazda with the RX-8 and it’s ridiculously slow, gas-guzzler of an engine. I still don’t understand the point of that engine other then being rotary-powered and different. Where are the pros. They should have dropped the mazdaspeed 3′s engine in there the second it was released. Faster car with better mileage, where’s the logic Mazda?!?
  
  I agree with Bosley about the diesel engines, why do us Americans always getting shorted on our options of engines?
  
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4. archknight303 days ago
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  I love it!! Mazda is stepping up to the plate and doing exactly what I thought would, develop small powerful engines with new transmissions without compromising what made the brand popular. Hopefully this engine or a more powerful version making it way under the hood of the new MX-5 which would give me a reason to shop for a weekend toy.
  
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5. worst 3303 days ago
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  170hp sounds very possible for a now 2.0L, may have to rev a bit more but probably not, the torque should be up a bit too do to probably a bit above 45fl/lb thanks to DI. not a huge fan of Mazda but the engine should be a great base engine for car of it weight wit good acceleration for a base engine. like to see the next gen that goes in to the speed3.
  
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6. DenverGuy217303 days ago
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  I wonder who will be the first manufcturer to finally make an attempt to compete against VW in the US with diesels in their small and medium car lines…. Will they all change their colors after the next refinery mishap and gas price spike?
  
  Sounds like it could be a good business case for FIAT to use diesels to differentiate themselves/Chrysler with their future models
  
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7. JakeK66303 days ago
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  The 2.0 in Protege5 was by far more of an engine than the 2.3 Duratec in the Mazda6 I owned. I think the 2.0 is one of the best small engines on the market as it is, I’d be tempted to but a base MAzda3 over a Mazda3s just because of the sweet sounding 2.0. They’ll eventually give up on Ford engines all together eventually, and this is the first step.
  
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8. SVT2WRX303 days ago
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  170hp out of 2.0L sounds a lot like a 2.0L that Cosworth tuned for the SVT crowd in the Focus, and that still could get over 30mpg… Sounds like they need to up their game some more
  
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9. leftwingagenda303 days ago
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  bosley, i can’t speak about this with complete authority, but i’ll repeat what i know…american air quality standards are higher than european standards, which has allowed them to adopt more diesels than we have over here…you get better mileage with a diesel, but they’re dirtier…so this is not just a question of manufacturers being stupid, as you suggest, but there are probably greater issues at work that limit diesel use in this country…
  
  i’m not claiming to know all the factors involved, but i don’t think these car companies are so dumb as to not sell something here that the public would buy…i’m guessing that the cost of making these motors meet our air quality standards may not justify the sales numbers…that sort of thing…
  
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10. Bosley303 days ago
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  @leftwing, you may be right, I don’t know the specifics regarding pollution numbers, I’m only commenting on gas mileage/efficiency being an important sales point as gas prices continue to rise. Similarly, I’m in Canada so I don’t know if we have different restrictions than the US but VW has re-introduced their diesel here in recent years. If VW is committeed to diesels, it can’t be a totally bad idea/impossible business model. But I as well, admittedly don’t know all the factors they use to determine what engine is good where. Also similarly, I have heard that bio-diesel ad ethanol-fuel mixes are just as dirty or dirtier than ‘regular’ diesel, so I don’t really know what i know, ya know,……..
  
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11. Bosley303 days ago
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  I just thought of all the pickups that have diesels in the US, don’t they pollute more than a diesel in VW would (bigger engine, more weight, etc.)? Just wondering……
  
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12. Ic3m4n303 days ago
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  Leftwing, that use to be the case with diesels back in the 80′s being ‘dirtier’ but not anymore. With the improvements in diesel technology over the years thats not true anymore. The emissions from a ‘regular’ gas engine are actually worse for the enviroment than diesels. I think people see a little black smoke from a diesel just assume that because you can really see whats coming out the tail pipe they assume its worse than what comes out of a ‘regular’ engine
  
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13. worst 3303 days ago
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  Pickups/SUVs are under different rules then cars are when it comes to mpg and pilution, and the 2500+ are in another set of rules the n the 1500.
  
  but yest they do pollute more per mile.
  
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14. johnnycanuck303 days ago
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  I have a ’95 Neon in my garage that made 150 horse from 2.0l in 1994 so I hardly think an extra 20 ponies over the course of 1.5 decades is a reason to book my next holiday in Hiroshima. The real gains are when it comes to emissions, as I’m sure my little DOHC puts out the equivalent of Greyhound bus’ worth compared to Mazda’s latest.
  
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15. Sorcerer303 days ago
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  I am with leftwing on this.
  The current European emission standard is much relax than in US. Diesel engines may operate cleaner now but still have a hard time to meet the US emission regulations. VW and Mercedes’s efforts to “get” thier diesel engines certified in all 50 states probably caused a lot of money in reengineering their engines. Other companies will not have the financial might or marketing goals to justify these investments in redesigning their engine. However, I believe the European have a very tough emission rules set forth in 2014 or there about (probably tougher than the emission standard here). So I would guess everyone will have their diesel engines modified by then and only then shall we see more diesel engines coming in.
  
  An unrelated topic from other thread. I can see why ethanol additive to the gas can reduce (not eliminate) the reliance on foreign oil. I can see having ethanol additive can boost the economic and technology well being in the country. But diverting corn production for the gas production will drive up the overall food price because other corn base food products have to compete with the oil refinery for the same basis item – corn. This will have a significant impact beyond our borders as well.
  
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16. leftwingagenda303 days ago
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  yeah, trucks are another category altogether…veedub is an example where diesels can be made suitable for US regulations, among others, but i guess after you get over the legal hurdles you have to deal with the public perception issue…
  
  in a hippy liberal place like seattle, for example, you probably wouldn’t have much of a problem selling clean burning diesels with an emphasis on higher mpg, yadda yadda…in other places, it would probably be a tougher fight…
  
  also, the US taxes diesel differently than in europe, so if we were all to switch to diesel, i’m not sure what the consequences would be…the price could adjust higher due to demand and work against further adoption…
  
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17. A4303 days ago
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  Yayyyy another diesel the US wont get!
  
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18. leftwingagenda303 days ago
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  another thought just popped up…the emissions standards in california are probably key here…the economy of cali is so big that it can’t be ignored as a market for cars…so not only would a diesel have to meet US standards, it’d have to meet cali standards, which tend to be tougher…
  
  with sorcerer’s 2014 timeline, if the US and europe synch air quality standards, and companies engineer their engines to match, then you’ll probably see a greater flow of diesels over here…(then that whole tax problem becomes more important)…
  
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19. The Stig303 days ago
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  No water pump … they must have gone electric or internal. Nice.
  
  Too bad about the diesel.
  
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20. Mailand303 days ago
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  170 hp from 2.0 L? Well…whats so impressive about that? BMW has been doing it for years..
  
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21. jayjc08303 days ago
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  sorcerer- Good post. Consider though, and I mentioned in the E15 forum, that by adding 5% ethanol we will only be saving about 0.5-2% on gas, versus and actual 5% difference. The reason for this is your consuming more E15 quicker than you would E10 because of the ethanol mix, and you’ll be filling up more often with more E15 mix. Figuring the extra 5% ethanol hurts your fuel economy by 1-3%, and guessing you’ll be filling up with the new mix, you’ll only be saving about 1-2.5% on gasoline over the traditional E10 mix
  
  And yes, then there is the food issue. At the moment I feel like I’m being squeezed from every side by politicians. Higher taxes, more restrictions and more intrusiveness on my life. I don’t need food to be turned into fuel, mandated by our government, be my next issue of even higher food prices.
  
  Diesel isn’t quite the answer either, but I would like to see more diesels in America simply out of curiosity and a little bit of pressure off of petrol.
  
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22. jayjc08303 days ago
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  *0.5-2% on gas with a 5% increase in ethanol.
  
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23. 2WheeledSpeed303 days ago
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  I don’t care what Mazda does until they replace that god awful rotary.
  
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24. worst 3303 days ago
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  @Mailand
  
  The fact that this the car will start at around 15k less minimum and will be doing this on regular gas not premium. it may produce more then 170hp.
  
  based on compression the bmw 2L i would assume require premium
  
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25. Borat303 days ago
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  sorcerer & lefty I think you are on to something, but not exactly. VW has diesel in US (including CA) that can satisfy US air requirements and regulations. Honda certified its diesel in all 50 states and decided not to introduce it. There are couple of reasons. The first one is stricter NOX regulation then in Europe, but particulate filters take care of it. The second problem is crappy requirement for diesel fuel. Our fuel sucks compare to European, hence higher cost of cleaning it up. And lastly, and I think the most important is economic reason. Since all manufacturers sell diesel engines in Europe (including Korean and Japanese) those engines are build and designed for European diesel fuel. It will cost extra to build engine that works on both (sh!tty US fuel and European) in the same engine. I assume (I really don’t know) that VW engines for US are different (at least software) then European counterparts. You probably don’t want penalize European motor by programming it to run on US and European fuel. VW has factory in Mexico that makes cars exclusively for NA market. For Mazda this is not an option: they have to manufacture cars for all markets under one roof in Japan. Honda chose not to sell diesel in US – it is a less expensive alternative. Perhaps BMW will step up to the diesel plate: their cars sell for more they do have room to maneuver. I think VW grabbed to this niche, because otherwise their sales would be non-existent. Diesel sells and bring customers into showroom.
  
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26. foamypirate303 days ago
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  I agree that 170HP from a 2.0L isn’t all that impressive. Considering Honda has had 1.6L engines that have cranked out 185 HP since the early-mid 90s, 1.8L that have cranked out 200, and in Europe, they had 2.2L cranking out 220HP, etc.
  
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27. leftwingagenda303 days ago
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  nice work, b…and kudos for having a thread that didn’t dissolve into the standard flame war…
  
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28. Sorcerer303 days ago
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  I understand US fuel is “dirtier” than European or the rest of the world. But that was in the past right. Isn’t it true that cleaner diesel (i.e. lower sulfur content) has been mandated a 1~2 years ago and the diesel fuel we get from gas stations is this cleaner diesel?
  Also isn’t it true that earlier this year, the current administration struck a deal with all 50 states (California included) that there should be only 1 set of unified emission rules in the US (in exchange for something which I forgotten).
  Another question. Ford still owns some % of Mazda right? Wonder what is the chance Mazda shares some of these new efficient gas engines with Ford.
  
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29. worst 3303 days ago
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  it not all that impressive no but to to archive 170hp and get good fuel economy in the 30s combined it is a gode engine, not revolutionary though but it not supposed to be.
  
  fomaypirate i don’t know what engines you are talking about in particular but if there NA they probably don’t have the torque that this 2.0 will have or the fuel economy and emission quality. Most of those engine are high revving and lack power at low rpms I would assume. I may be wrong because i don’t know what engine you talking about for sure.
  
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30. aesir303 days ago
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  I learned something in this thread. Thanks Borat.
  
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31. ChuckTown86303 days ago
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  This is good news to hear for I will be looking to downsize in a year or two and the Mazda 3 5-door is one of the cars I may be looking into. In addition to the new engines, in an effort to facelift the Mazda 6, I would like to see Mazda bring the Japanese-Spec Mazda 6 hatch and wagon to the U.S. and create a Mazdaspeed6 hatch. I am in a tossup over the Japanese-Spec 6 sedan and U.S.-Spec 6 sedan. They both look great and the only difference is from the B-pillar to the rear fascia. IMO the U.S. version looks a bit better and more substantial and solid.
  
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32. Tetsujinn303 days ago
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  @ sorcerer and leftwingagenda
  
  From what I’ve read and talked about with some biochem engineers, we can now produce biodiesel from algae that use an insignificant amount of land and water. Therefore, we can leave corn and any other method of getting biodiesel in the past. The algae can even consume CO2 emission from coal power plants and therefore create even less of an impact on the environment. So far the only reason I can think of for not bringing diesels into the US is an image problem.
  
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33. The Stig303 days ago
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  @Tetsujinn,
  
  … which translates, inevitably, into an education problem.
  
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34. sprockkets303 days ago
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  “I have a ‘95 Neon in my garage that made 150 horse from 2.0l in 1994″
  
  You did. Tell us how long your car lasted.
  
  And btw, 30mpg today means around 37mpg from yesterday standards. Don’t forget engines today have to meet much stricter emissions standards than in 1995.
  
  “I don’t care what Mazda does until they replace that god awful rotary.”
  
  Man, people who say Mazda should put anything else in the RX-8 are complete idiots.
  
  The rotary is all about weight and engine placement for a ride that cannot be duplicated in any other vehicle. Doesn’t have much torque, but that isn’t the point of the RX-8. They are improving the engine anyhow.
  
  “I agree that 170HP from a 2.0L isn’t all that impressive. Considering Honda has had 1.6L engines that have cranked out 185 HP since the early-mid 90s, 1.8L that have cranked out 200, and in Europe, they had 2.2L cranking out 220HP, etc.”
  
  They had a 2.0l producing 240HP, but just like everyone else here complaining about the rotary, it didn’t really go until 7000rpm. Honda’s S2000 and the rotary are made for performance cars, not an everyday driver.
  
  Everyone looks at the HP rating, because that’s all they understand, and car makers know this and milk it as well. They forget a cars performance has more to do with the overall design of the vehicle, and not just HP. 150HP means nothing if the torque curve sucks or peaks at the wrong RPM, or the transmission is geared for MPG and not for speed, and other factors.
  
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35. worst 3303 days ago
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  a lot of the corn used for biodiesel is not edible or at least with out major prepossessing, and dose contribute a lot to many states economys.
  
  but I bet the Algae is more efficient by a lot. just curious dose the Algae produce the biodiesel as a waste or dose the Algae need to be processed in to it? do you have any links with more info Tetsuijinu
  
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36. johnnycanuck303 days ago
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  sprockkets, no need to use the past tense. My Neon has 147k kms and still runs like a top. Believe it or not but even a Dodge will last if you take care of it.
  
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37. 2WheeledSpeed303 days ago
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  Sprockkets, I have a 98 Neon R/T, still running…
  
  The Rotary in the RX8 is anemic, the ONLY thing it’s fans can come up with to defend it is “great ride/handling”. Which is true, but that’s about it. I mean come on, the automatic version only has 212 horsepower and gets worse gas mileage than a V8 Mustang! Plus, I’ve never heard nice things about the reliability or long life of rotary engines (I know several RX8 owners who needed new engines well before 100K). Wonder why Mazda is the only company that uses them? It’s because they aren’t quite as sweet as Mazda would lead you to believe…
  
  And to say that the ride can’t be duplicated in any other vehicle? Come on… I know the thing handles great, but it’s not the only great ride on the street. So I buy Mazdas premier sportscar and I get a vehicle that gets worse mileage than a 4.6L V8… only 12 more HP (In automatic guise) than a 4 Cylinder Honda Civic Si… But hey! It turns great!
  
  I’d rather buy a Miata if I wanted great handling, at least I could trust the engine.
  
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38. Soravia303 days ago
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  I don’t think the top HP figure is the point here for econo cars. Most barely use that unless on highway. The point is making that much HP at certain RPM using certain amount of fuel, which is torque made per amount of fuel used. Basically, more work done for less fuel and less emissions due to less loss of power before delivering to the drive-shaft output.
  
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39. leftwingagenda303 days ago
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  http://environmentdebate.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/verticrop.jpg
  
  i’m a big fan of the potential for algae-derived biofuels, but i think we’re still a few years off…i work in the biosciences, and this is something i’ve been paying attention to for a while…lots of companies are in the start up phase…the economy of scale isn’t there yet, but there’s a lot of r/d going into it right now…cool stuff, for sure…
  
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40. aesir303 days ago
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  @The Stig then, we’re just screwed because people in the United States think school is waste of time and either don’t go or don’t study or get a degree in something that is a waste of time.
  
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41. johngalt303 days ago
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  I had a love/hate relationship with my (slightly modified) 13B-equipped 1979 RX-7. Back when the 5.0L Mustang GTs were hot, half the fun was in the torque curve. At 5500 RPM, the engine was ready to get started. From there, it always felt like it was at peak torque. Up to 9000 revs, shift, and there you had 5000 again. When I was young and stupid enough to race on the streets, I rarely lost one. The car didn’t weigh anything, so 250 hp and handling that was ahead of its time made the blue bitch a real sleeper.
  
  The engine’s durability was a paradox of sorts. It was a very simple motor to work on, but only if you knew someone who knew what they were doing. The only real issues I ever had were apex seals broken by cheap plugs. Now, sadly, the car sits at the garage of the guy who built it, waiting (forever, maybe) for me to reinvest in it. Mazda used to race some of their cars with 3-rotor engines, and I always wanted to find one I could freshen up and drop into the ’79. Of course, then, exhaust, running gear, et cetera would require replacement… Never found the time to mess with it.
  
  Please excuse my trip down rotary lane. The point is, in a sports car, with little regard for fuel economy, that engine had a time and a place. Now, fuel mileage standards, emissions standards (engine oil is part of the combustion mixture), and a lack of interest in, and understanding of, the concept all make a rotary engine-powered car prohibitive to market.
  
  I wonder if “Ol’ Blue” still sits there…
  
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42. A4303 days ago
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  I see Neon’s on the road all the time, even the old purple ones with the half chipped off paint. They seem to run forever.
  
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43. Soravia303 days ago
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  Most cars run great and for a long time so long as simple user TLC was done. It’s not that engines are bad on cars, it’s that users are bad at taking care of the cars and some engine would run longer with bad users, like that little Geo Metro with less than a quart of dirty old engine oil or that Acura Integra with oils leaking all over including the spark plugs. People just don’t change oil or coolant and expect the engine to run forever without checking for possible component wear over time.
  
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44. Stix303 days ago
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  If I get this correctly, I think Mazda is trying to claim that it’s 2.0L engine develops 170 HP from lower grade fuel like 87 octane or something, whilst still getting 30 MPG. BMW could easily develop more from their 2.0L engines, but those engines would require premium grade fuel to run like 91 or above.
  
  Getting results like those with lower grade fuel is actually a good thing.
  
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45. Borat303 days ago
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  Sorcerer & Lefty, US fuel is “dirtier” then European again. Although the sulphate particles number went to 50 in US it went down to 15 in Europe (it was 600 in US only 3 years ago). But that is only part of diesel story. The fuel burning qualities are measured by cetane number: cetane number in Europe about 10 times higher then in US (sort of like octane number, but for diesel. Our diesel fuel is real piss, no thanks to EPA. If our diesel would become on par with European, all hybrid BS would be just a BS. Since diesel is much less polluting where it really counts in CO2 content.
  
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46. worst 3303 days ago
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  thankyou leftwing for the picture
  
  seeing that it could really help where farmland is to nutrient deficient and/or is to hot for normal farming, and it much more crop and potential for fuel per square ft. you could even put these on top of buildings to create fuel, may be even on you roof.
  
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47. sprockkets303 days ago
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  Guys, it is nice if your Neon runs, but that’s the exception. It isn’t a secret that Dodge cut every corner making the car, and thus, each breaks down more than a Civic or Corolla.
  
  Btw, the only Neons I see running are the r/t. Of course those usually die when a teenager rams them into a tree at 60mph.
  
  However, all your points about rotaries is true. I wouldn’t buy one either. It was nice to drive one though, but I wouldn’t want to own one.
  
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48. 2WheeledSpeed303 days ago
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  In the Northern VA area I see Neons every single day (And I’ve only ever seen 2 R/Ts besides mine). I’d never make the case that the Neon is a great car and I admit they have their problems, especially the early ones, but they’re decent cars for what they are. Plus mine will still outrun stock Civics and Corollas that were built yesterday.
  
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49. johnnycanuck303 days ago
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  I only drive mine 3 months of the year. I use it as a spring warm up ride until the Mustang GT comes online for summer duty. And I flog the living crap out of it for those 3 months. Granted I do baby it when it comes to maintenance but it just seems to love punishment. I wish it was a woman.
  
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50. leftwingagenda303 days ago
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  ah, b, that’s even worse i wonder what a gallon of EU quality diesel would cost in the states…probably a lot more than current prices…that would make the tax situation even more pronounced…
  
  you’re welcome, worst 3…algae farming could be a big thing shortly…
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel
  
  there’s some basic info on the wiki, too, with a bunch of references if you want to dive deeper…
  
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51. Mailand302 days ago
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  @ Worst 3 =>
  Good point, however it should be possible to get more power from a newly developed 2 liter engine.
  
  Wonder why they didn’t make a 1,6 turbo instead – that would easily make 170 HP and give a great low-end torque and probably an equal or better fuel-economy. It’s a downsizing trend after all at the moment
  
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52. cory281 days ago
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  please mazda please, give me a turbo diesel
  
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53. deneway132 days ago
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  Mazda should see if they can borrow the 2.0 Ecoboost that the 2011 Edge is getting.
  
  Unlikely though since the Ecoboost is only going to be made in Europe and USA.
  
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