The Honda P engine is an inline three-cylinder gasoline engine designed for use in Honda kei car

Kei car

Kei cars, K-cars, or , are a Japanese category of small vehicles, including passenger cars, vans, and pickup trucks. They are designed to comply with Japanese government tax and insurance regulations, and in most rural areas are exempted from the requirement to certify that adequate parking is...

s. The P engine was first used in the fourth generation Honda Life, as a successor to the Honda E07A engine

Honda E07A engine

-E05A, E07A SOHC 4 Valve:EH-cylinder engine which two series-successor, SOHC 4-cylinder engine series 3 cross-flow valve. D structure of a miniature engine, the same as conventional reverse direction...

. The P engine is produced in only one displacement variant: 658 cc, either naturally aspirated or turbocharged (the legislated maximum displacement of engines used in kei cars is 660 cc).

Design

The P-series engine was introduced in the fourth generation Honda Life in September, 2003. The engine uses a single overhead camshaft to drive two valves per cylinder (one intake, one exhaust, for a total of six). It also features the i-DSI ("intelligent dual and sequential ignition") spark ignition system, which utilizes two spark plugs per cylinder. The spark plugs fire sequentially, one after the other, in order to more completely burn the fuel charge for more power, lower fuel consumption and fewer emissions. Fuel is delivered using Honda's PGM-FI

Programmed fuel injection

Programmed Fuel Injection, or PGMFI/PGM-FI, is an electronic fuel injection system initially developed by Honda more than 20 years ago. This system has been applied to Honda motorcycles, Formula One racing cars, and automobiles.-History:...

 electronic fuel injection

Fuel injection

Fuel injection is a system for admitting fuel into an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in automotive petrol engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s....

 system.

An unusual feature of this engine's design is that it does not have a separate exhaust manifold

Exhaust manifold

In automotive engineering, an exhaust manifold collects the exhaust gases from multiple cylinders into one pipe. The word manifold comes from the Old English word manigfeald and refers to the folding together of multiple inputs and outputs.In contrast, an inlet manifold is the part of an engine...

. Instead the exhaust gasses collect in the passages of the cylinder head

Head

In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do....

 itself and are fed directly into the catalytic converter

Catalytic converter

A catalytic converter is a device used to convert toxic exhaust emissions from an internal combustion engine into non-toxic substances. Inside a catalytic converter, a catalyst stimulates a chemical reaction in which noxious byproducts of combustion are converted to less toxic substances by dint...

. Honda claims this design helps to warm the catalyst quicker in order to more effectively filter out harmful emissions.

P07A

• i-DSI SOHC 6 valves
• Displacement: 658 cc
• Bore × stroke (mm): 71.0 × 55.4
• Power:
  • September, 2003 - October, 2008: 38 kW (52 PS; 51 hp) @ 6,700 rpm
  • November, 2008 - present: 38 kW (52 PS; 51 hp) @ 7,100 rpm
• Torque:
  • September, 2003 - October, 2008: 61 N·m (6.2 kgf·m; 45 ft-lb) @ 3,800 rpm
  • November, 2008 - present: 60 N·m (6.1 kgf·m; 44 ft-lb) @ 3,600 rpm
• Used in:
  • Honda Life
    Honda Life
    Introduced on 21 August 1973, this version of the Life was designed as a pick-up truck. Production ended in 1974, with no more than 1,132 vehicles produced.-Second generation :...
    
     (JB5, JB6, JC1, JC2)
  • Honda Zest
    Honda ZEST
    Honda Zest is a kei car, released in 2006, by Honda. Equipped with a turbo charged engine, 3 cylinders, and 4 doors. It was the first kei car available with optional side curtain airbags. It was available in two distinct versions — Zest and Zest Sports. In fall/winter 2008, the Zest Sports was...
    
     (JE1, JE2)

P07A (turbocharged)

• i-DSI SOHC 6 valves
• Turbocharged
• Displacement: 658 cc
• Bore × stroke (mm): 71.0 × 55.4
• Power: 47 kW (64 PS; 63 hp) @ 6,000 rpm
• Torque: 93 N·m (9.5 kgf·m; 69 ft-lb) @ 4,000 rpm
• Used in:
  • Honda Life
    Honda Life
    Introduced on 21 August 1973, this version of the Life was designed as a pick-up truck. Production ended in 1974, with no more than 1,132 vehicles produced.-Second generation :...
    
     (JB7, JB8, JC1, JC2)
  • Honda Zest
    Honda ZEST
    Honda Zest is a kei car, released in 2006, by Honda. Equipped with a turbo charged engine, 3 cylinders, and 4 doors. It was the first kei car available with optional side curtain airbags. It was available in two distinct versions — Zest and Zest Sports. In fall/winter 2008, the Zest Sports was...
    
    (JE1, JE2)

External links

• Honda Motor Co. (Official)
• digest Technology i-DSI (Official)
• i-DSI turbocharged Technology Digest (Official)