Since starting production in July 1985 with just 94 workers, the plant has grown to accommodate more than 2,800 Honda employees, who manufacture V6 and four-cylinder engines, high-precision steel camshafts, crankshafts, cylinder sleeves and CVT pulley components for the Japanese car maker.
In 2014, Honda spent US$340m constructing a third assembly line which features over 100 robots and recently started producing all-new turbo engines for the Civic, including the VTEC turbo that powers the company’s new Civic Type R. The engines are sent from Ohio to Honda’s UK factory for installation, while the rest of the factory’s 1.16 million four- and six-cylinder engines are sent to Honda factories in Ohio and Indiana, Canada and the UK for other applications.
Honda recently launched its new Type R for Europe-only sales, before increasing sales worldwide with the launch of a new generation car in 2016. The turbocharged 2-liter, four-cylinder direct-injection VTEC unit produces 310ps at 6,500rpm, and peak torque of 400Nm at 2,500 rpm.
Honda’s variable valve timing technology is used to increase exhaust pressure at low revs to reduce turbo lag, and the mono scroll turbocharger with electronically-controlled wastegate is designed to increase responsiveness and enable the engine to rev up to a 7,000rpm red line.
Other features include cast aluminum pistons, aluminum VTEC rocker arms, forged conrods and a lightweight crankshaft to minimize the overall weight, size and rotational mass of the engine.
July 24, 2015