NISSAN TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE
Reducing is evolving: Downsized Engine Combines Low Fuel Consumption and Power. Generally we tend to think an engine is evolving if its getting larger, but actually there is another approach. We call this downsizing. Downsizing is now a major trend in the industry. In recent years, car-makers have been adopting multiple strategies to make fuel consumption more efficient. And yet, in truth, just to make gas mileage better is a simple matter. All you have to do is cut the number of cylinders and the displacement in the engine. For example you could change a four cylinder engine to three cylinders and say 1.5-liter displacement to 1.2-liter. If there are less cylinders and cylinder capacity, the engine becomes lighter, which directly leads to lower fuel consumption. Also if we consider that the engine is a reciprocating machine, reducing the cylinders also then reduces the friction. Thus, the movement of the engine becomes more efficient and gas mileage is better. The technology