Honda's New 3.5-Liter V-6 Goes DOHC, Drops VTEC

Cam bearing caps incorporated into the valve cover? Cylinder deactivation? Fake exhaust tips? This is obviously not done to excite anyone but rather to meet emissions "through 2030". Oh well, at least they're not touting it as a performance engine and the owners can brag about the 'three squirt' per combustion cycle.

What happened to Honda?
 
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All new 3.5L V6(Block, Heads, Internals). See at 2:53 in the video. According to this video, the new J35 still has VVT & VCM
 
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Interesting...I see a claim of NOx reduction, and power kept about the same. My knee jerk reaction would be that overall efficicency, especially at higher throttle settings will be reduced. I'd like to see BSFC maps for the new variant as compared to the old. I know I was impressed with the power and efficiency of the old variant when I had it in my Saturn Vue Redline. AWD brick that moved out pretty well, and could still get 25+ mpg gallon on the highway.
 
I get the shift to DOHC but VTEC will be missed...it evokes something special when you hear it activate on a WOT run. I would expect the new version to rev a little quicker with the DOHC.
 
I was seriously considering it, but decided to get slightly used Atlas (15k miles).
Biggest issue I have is torque being at 5,000rpm. That is ok in sports car, but here at altitude, it will be always there to do anything.
10 speed is too much. It will constantly hunt gears going uphill.
I think they made big progress considering last Pilot, but they introduced a lot of new things, 10 speed, and mpg actually dropped 1mpg per EPA. But, first reviews are saying drop is actually bigger in real world.
 
I get the shift to DOHC but VTEC will be missed...it evokes something special when you hear it activate on a WOT run. I would expect the new version to rev a little quicker with the DOHC.

It's still a 4V engine is it not?
I'm not sure why having 2 separate camshafts would help it rev any faster than having 1.

I'd wager they switched to DOHC primarily to gain the benefits of independent intake and exhaust cam phasing -- the ability to constantly change valve overlap has a lot of benefits for both emissions and low-end and mid-range torque/VE.
 
It sounds like they just slapped some DOHC heads on the old block. Bore and stroke is identical, it still uses a timing belt, etc. Not that this is bad, I'm just saying.

Scott
Nope, the new block has been seriously beefed up, mostly to deal with the boost in the turbo versions of the engine. They're using 6 bolt mains and some seriously thick cylinders. I've been keeping my eye on people playing around with them it does look like a whole lot of things will swap between the generations. You can apparently bolt the DOHC head on the older blocks, whether you can make it work is another question, but Honda didn't stray too far from the old reliable J Series. I do question their choice to put slots between the cylinders though, that didn't work out for Ford on their Ecoboosts.
 
Same old issue saddling owners with $1500 timing belt change . Mine is due on my 2015 Pilot just considering I’d get something else or drop the $1800 for plugs/timing belt / valve adjust for a paid for vehicle I am indifferent about.
 
The "new" engine is very much upgraded from what I can find.

It would not surprise me if the new DOHC uses the same bore-center as the old SOHC; that saves a lot of machining changes from happening.
 
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Same old issue saddling owners with $1500 timing belt change . Mine is due on my 2015 Pilot just considering I’d get something else or drop the $1800 for plugs/timing belt / valve adjust for a paid for vehicle I am indifferent about.
Mazda CX-5/CX-9 is calling your name :cool:
 
Would anyone know what oil viscosity the new Honda dual over-head cam 3.5L V6 engine is speced for?
 
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