1) Cam-Changing VVT
Honda pioneered road car-used VVT in the late 80s by launching its famous VTEC system (Valve Timing Electronic Control). First appeared in Civic, CRX and NS-X, then became standard in most models.You can see it as 2 sets of cams having different shapes to enable different timing and lift. One set operates during normal speed, say, below 4,500 rpm. Another substitutes at higher speed. Obviously, such layout does not allow continuous change of timing, therefore the engine performs modestly below 4,500 rpm but above that it will suddenly transform into a wild animal.
This system does improve peak power - it can raise red line to nearly 8,000 rpm (even 9,000 rpm in S2000), just like an engine with racing camshafts, and increase top end power by as much as 30 hp for a 1.6-litre engine !! However, to exploit such power gain, you need to keep the engine boiling at above the threshold rpm, therefore frequent gear change is required. As low-speed torque gains too little (remember, the cams of a normal engine usually serves across 0-6,000 rpm, while the "slow cams" of VTEC engine still need to serve across 0-4,500 rpm), drivability won't be too impressive. In short, cam-changing system is best suited to sports cars.
Honda has already
improved
its 2-stage VTEC into 3 stages for some models. Of course, the more
stage
it has, the more refined it becomes. It still offers less broad spread
of torque as other continuously variable systems. However, cam-changing
system remains to be the most powerful VVT, since no other system can
vary
the Lift of valve as it does.
| Advantage: | Powerful at top end |
| Disadvantage: | 2 or 3 stages only, non-continuous; no much improvement to torque; complex |
| Who use it ? | Honda VTEC, Mitsubishi MIVEC, Nissan Neo VVL. |
Example - Honda's 3-stage VTEC
Honda's latest 3-stage VTEC has been applied in Civic sohc engine in Japan. The mechanism has 3 cams with different timing and lift profile. Note that their dimensions are also different - the middle cam (fast timing, high lift), as shown in the above diagram, is the largest; the right hand side cam (slow timing, medium lift) is medium sized ; the left hand side cam (slow timing, low lift) is the smallest.
This mechanism operate like this :
Stage 1 ( low speed ) : the 3 pieces of rocker arms moves independently. Therefore the left rocker arm, which actuates the left inlet valve, is driven by the low-lift left cam. The right rocker arm, which actuates the right inlet valve, is driven by the medium-lift right cam. Both cams' timing is relatively slow compare with the middle cam, which actuates no valve now.
Stage 2 ( medium speed ) : hydraulic pressure (painted orange in the picture) connects the left and right rocker arms together, leaving the middle rocker arm and cam to run on their own. Since the right cam is larger than the left cam, those connected rocker arms are actually driven by the right cam. As a result, both inlet valves obtain slow timing but medium lift.
Stage 3 ( high speed ) : hydraulic pressure connects all 3 rocker arms together. Since the middle cam is the largest, both inlet valves are actually driven by that fast cam. Therefore, fast timing and high lift are obtained in both valves.
Another example - Nissan Neo VVL
Very similar to Honda's system, but the right and left cams are with the same profile. At low speed, both rocker arms are driven independently by those slow-timing, low-lift right and left cams. At high speed, 3 rocker arms are connected together such that they are driven by the fast-timing, high-lift middle cam.You might think it must be a 2-stage system. No, it is not. Since Nissan Neo VVL duplicates the same mechanism in the exhaust camshaft, 3 stages could be obtained in the following way:
Stage 1 (low speed) :
both
intake and exhaust valves are in slow configuration.
Stage 2 (medium speed) :
fast intake configuration + slow exhaust configuration.
Stage 3 (high speed) :
both
intake and exhaust valves are in fast configuration.