Critical Thinking & Communication Module

Honda led the industry by introducing VTEC ( Variable Valve Timing & Lift Electronic Control) , a groundbreaking innovation that provides users with many benefits through its dual-profile camshaft and lift control, despite not being the first manufacturer to introduce variable valve technology. VTEC can increase the engine’s maximum speed, which leads to higher peak power as much as a 25% increase (Layosa, 2014) . This is because a s the engine revolution speed increases, the engine control unit signals a spool valve to channel oil pressure, activating a pin that will lock the other two outer rocker arms to the arm in the center. This will then force the two outer arms to react upon the center cam, leading to a longer duration, higher lift, and timing optimized for high-end horsepower, as explained by Honda themselves ( VTEC® , 2022). The implementation of VTEC achieves the balance of power and fuel economy. At lower to mid-range engine revolution per minute (RPMs), the engine can

  The Webpage "What is Honda vtec and how it works" (Alex Hevesey, 2023) introduces the concept of VTEC(Variable Vale Time and Electronic Lift Control), which are mainly used in the japanese automotive maker, Honda. VTEC makes use of rocker arms and camshaft to control the power which the engine is outputting. Principally, at low RPMs, the rocker arms are engaged with the camshaft lobes which are of a less aggresive profile, which in this case of the article, 2/3 of the rocker arms are engaged to the camshaft. Higher RPMs would see all 3 rocker arms on each cylinder fully engaged and performing at its peaked potential. VTEC was essentially made with the idea of maximising your mileage(Km/L) while still ensuring the vehicle is still able to eke out every bit of performance that is available in the engine thru the activation/deactivation of the rocker arms and camshafts. VTEC is a groundbreaking technology that Honda innovated, giving them an edge over their industry rivals.

The team had the same idea of working on this topic for this specific bike engine. Zaki used to own one while Yi Han is currently riding one. Through everyone’s experience in riding the Honda CB400 SuperFour Revo, the team have prior knowledge in this bike engine. The team did a general Google search on this bike model and engine, gathering several links to articles and videos. The articles are mainly from motorcycle review platforms, technical articles about Honda’s VTEC system. There are more articles that refers to VTEC system applied in cars, which the team have decided to pick out the relevant points and explain it in the context of motorcycle engines. Zaki found three articles about the VTEC system while Yi Han also found 3 articles and a video explaining the working principle, the advantages from VTEC system. The team is also using Chat GPT to find out the differences between the application of VTEC system in cars and motorcycles, also obtaining an overview of how the Honda VTEC

  https://youtu.be/4MjkIku6C1w?si=3ki3WMopNcXPOpki