Haha, just for discussion.. Old V-Tec more powerful than current V-Tec.. Hate to say I told u so
http://asia.vtec.net/Reviews/4GCityPrev/index.htmlWhy 4g City (120ps) lose to 3g City (110ps)
the mechanicals of the new 4G City will be the biggest change. The engine remains the 1.5l L15A but is now SOHC i-VTEC. In this case, i-VTEC, like in the R-Series, doesn't imply the existence of VTC which changes valve opening overlap, but rather that the ECU activates VTEC intelligently based on a set of sensor readings, instead of just blindly opening VTEC after a fixed rpm. The biggest upgrade to the L15A is that it now uses what some enthusiasts calls the 'power-VTEC' implementation, i.e. instead of the 12V-16V VTEC system used in the outgoing L15A-VTEC, the new L15A i-VTEC operates 16V full time and has two different cam lobes for the intake valves. One, the 'low-cam (lobe)' operates in low-rpm and mild operating conditions while the 'wild-cam (lobe)' activates when power is needed. In this sense, the new L15A i-VTEC is similar to the original 1990's D15B SOHC VTEC engines in the (JDM) EG8 Civic VTi for e.g., though rated at 120ps, it is still 10ps lower in power than that engine.
Honda has removed the i-DSI engine variant from the new 4G City. While this may seem surprisingly, it really is not because while the L15A i-DSI was designed to deliver better fuel economy (and consequently lower power) than the L15A VTEC, in real-world conditions, the fuel economy difference was trivial. The power disparity however was not trivial and while the CVT gearbox still gave the City i-DSI plenty of oomph, the City VTEC clearly was much, much faster. So with little to gain in fuel economy and lots in performance, the choice is obvious and only the price worked in the i-DSI's favour.
The biggest change in this new 4G City in terms of performance however, would have to be the gearbox. HRT has discontinued use of the CVT-7 gearbox in this new 4G City, replacing it with a normal automatic gearbox. True it is equipped with 5-speeds, the highest spec'ed regular AT in a car of the City's class, but in the end, it is still a normal automatic gearbox. This means the new 4G City no longer has the superb driving flexibility of the outgoing 3G City.
Actually, it is not that straightforward. An aspect of the CVT-7 which affects its performance is its operational characteristic - how HRT programmed it to work. Bear in mind that this is not a real 'weakness' per se, but rather a function of how the CVT-7 is designed to operate. What I am referring to is the rather 'soft' (some would call it 'weak') take-off of the CVT-7. By this, I am referring to the fact that from standstill, no matter how much throttle we give the engine, the City has a rather indifferent take-off, lack-lustre might be a good description. Actually this characteristic is pretty much in all of the 5AT gearboxes equipping Honda's current models. From what I understand, Honda intentionally programmed a 'soft' take off because they don't want a 'rocking horse' effect, especially in slow moving or start-and-go traffic. By this 'rocking horse' effect, what is meant is that the car more or less 'jerks' forward when the throttle is pressed and if traffic is a painful stop-and-go, this means harder than normal braking is needed almost immediately lest the car rear-ends the one in front. So in this kind of driving, it can be quite unpleasant on the occupants (not so much driver but more the passengers) as the car charges and then stops quite suddenly each time traffic crawls forward a few metres. So Honda designs the gearbox to engage gradually so that even with heavier than normal throttle, the take-off is gradual and smooth and consequently, the brakes don't have to pushed so hard to stop the car shortly after.
When one wants to 'get a move on' however, and especially from standstill, this characteristic can be a hinderance. Apparently, the start-up clutch on the CVT-7 accentuates this. The new 4G City uses a regular 5AT gearbox which of course uses a torque converter and this engages stronger than the CVT-7 with its start-up clutch. So expect more 'urgency' from the gearbox when giving the throttle a harder than normal push from standstill.
In real-life driving what this translates to is a false sense of 'power' from the engine. Of course the new L15A i-VTEC is 10ps more powerful than the L15A VTEC (120ps versus 110ps). But in truth the amount of low end torque/power difference is going to be little or none. However, it is the better 'bite' of the 5AT and the subsequent 'surge' of the car to heavy throttle inputs that will make the uninitiated feel that the new 4G City is 'more powerful'. Unfortunately, this won't last because the 5AT just won't have the flexibility of the CVT-7. And so once moving, the engine will have to climb through the rpm band upon each gear-change. What it means is that when pushed hard, the engine will now feel like it runs out of breath faster compared to the old L15A VTEC with the CVT-7 (which would be running constantly at 6000rpm all the time, like it never runs out of breath). So the feeling of 'more power' on the new City will quickly give way to complaints of 'lack of power' when we push it hard, eventhough the new L15A i-VTEC do actually have more power in the high-rpm than the old L15A VTEC. Bear this in mind because there is a very good chance that you will be reading vastly contrasting reviews, some proclaiming the new City to be more powerful while others will probably be complaining about a lack of power from the new engine.
Performance is of course not totally defined by just acceleration alone. Braking is a much more important element of performance and for the new City, I do expect an improved braking system, especially in terms of braking 'feel', even if only just a little bit. Bear in mind that Honda's brakes are not exactly universally loved by enthusiasts and many, especially I myself, have always felt that Honda needs to do a lot better in the brakes department.
One area which I am quite confident of all round improvement in the new 4G City, compared to the 3G City, is the suspension. In terms of ride quality, handling, and stability, I expect the new 4G City to be much improved over the old 3G City. This has been proven even in the mid-term MMC for the 3G City and with the ability to actually improve the geometry and design of the suspension (rather than just change specs of the components), I am quite confident of a lot of improvement in this area.
Mar 11 2010, 07:26 PM
I am TC 388 
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