Peak ICE?

[OzS550]

Have we reached peak ICE development? Would any car companies still be investing in further R&D on the pure internal combustion engine?

No doubt hybrid tech getting most attention with ICE.

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[Hack]

Frankly, I don't think the ICE needs development. It just needs sufficient displacement and all is well.

Current ICE engines are not as good as those from the 90s as far as longevity and rebuilding go. That's the biggest problem with the state of the art. Most manufacturers are making really expensive engines that aren't worth rebuilding and instead need to be replaced when they are worn. And many current engines have too many failure modes built in with excessive complexity.

 

[EFI]

Have we reached peak ICE development?

No, because as long as we use hybridization (ICE + electric motor), the biggest difference in overall efficiency and emissions will come from the ICE side. So if manufacturers need to improve things, they would need to improve the engine itself. Until we go full EV, ICE will still need tweaking to stay on top.

 

[shogun32]

Only Mazda is really making ICE advancements IMO. I'm not saying there arn't some adjustments to eek out a fraction of a percent, but diminishing returns is a thing and we need to quit focusing on tech solutions to behavioral problems. The most efficient engine in the world does no good if it's idling in traffic going nowhere. No amount of auto-start/stop is going to help, if it's just going to wear the engine out in half the time it should have.

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