How does the Hybrid engine work?

Question

Do you know about the new hybrid engines

Answer 1

Think of it as a regular engine with a little helper. The little helper is an electric engine which supports the combustion engine's efforts.

There are currently two systems:

Toyota's system uses the electric engine to push off from the line and adds the combustion engine once a certain speed is reached.

Honda's system works by the electric engine supporting the combustion engine all the time.

Answer 2

Honda is on the fourth generation of its integrated engine/motor design. The `06 Civic combines a 1.3 liter iVTEC 4-cylinder engine with a 20-hp electric motor to deliver a total of 110 hp. The new powertrain is 20 percent more powerful and five percent lighter than the previous model. The Civic Hybrid uses eight spark plugs that operate in two modes: sometimes they fire one after the other, with the plug situated near the intake valve firing first and the exhaust plug firing later. Flexibility with the firing order allows for a more complete combustion of fuel in the cylinder. The Civic Hybrid uses an improved motor magnet design developed for the Accord Hybrid. The wire windings in the motor are now made with rectangular shaped wire instead of round wires, to provide larger wire surface area. And there`s better integration of the electric motor and control units for more precise digital control. The result is increased output horsepower by 50 percent and improved maximum torque by 14 percent. When idling, the airconditioning and accessories run exclusively off the electric motor. The AC and accessories can also run off the motor when the car is moving, depending on the driving conditions.

Answer 3

Check out this site for some simple information:

http://www.personal.psu.edu/caw291/egee101/HybridEngines.htm

There are two types out there -- gas engine with electric assist (Honda Civic, like I have) or electric engine with gas assist (Toyota Prius). The second one gets some better gas mileage in the city, but I like the looks of the Civic better. No one even knows I drive a hybrid unless they look for the word on the trunk! LOL!!