Mazda Sky Active X! (HCCI gas engine: compression & spark ignition)

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by niky

To be fair, you still use a starter motor, but having the engine "parked" with one cylinder primed to fire lessens the strain on the starter and minimizes the amount of juice needed.

What do you mean by "primed"?

[BLSTIC]

It likely stops the engine at or near the start of the compression stroke with just enough fuel to charge that volume under no compression. Quick hit of the starter to make sure the engine rotates the right direction, fire the spark plug, instant power stroke, suddenly doing 600rpm.

[redpoint5]

iStop? I don't know why iMac annoyed me so much, but I can't believe 2 decades later and marketing still thinks preceeding things with a lowercase "i" makes the name cool. I'm already embarrassed at having to explain this nonsense to my future children.

Anyhow, I have a 2017 Mazda CX5 on order. I'm guessing it won't have any of this cool stuff mentioned here. I know very little about the vehicle since it is company provided.

[niky]

The one issue is that you require a deep cycle battery, which costs... well... not an arm and a leg, but a few fingers and toes, at least.

Friend uses a regular battery in his car.

He simply wedges the iStop button down with a piece of folded paper. No iStop, no need for deep cycle.

[BLSTIC]

Why is a deep cycle battery needed?

[JockoT]

Because of the start stop function you require an AGM battery. This allows multiple starts and rapid charging in between, something a normal car battery doesn't need to do.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by niky

The one issue is that you require a deep cycle battery, which costs... well... not an arm and a leg, but a few fingers and toes, at least.

Friend uses a regular battery in his car.

He simply wedges the iStop button down with a piece of folded paper. No iStop, no need for deep cycle.

IIRC Mazda was featuring its newer vehicles with capacitors, which are basically maintenance-free, in order to handle the start-stop without any harm to the regular battery. Anyway, those deep-cycle batteries are still quite expensive, but seem to worth it even in a more conventional application.

[niky]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

IIRC Mazda was featuring its newer vehicles with capacitors, which are basically maintenance-free, in order to handle the start-stop without any harm to the regular battery. Anyway, those deep-cycle batteries are still quite expensive, but seem to worth it even in a more conventional application.

The caps are there, but you still need the special battery for the odd charging-discharging cycles.

Especially when running cabin ventilation, lights and entertainment while the engine is stopped.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by niky

The caps are there, but you still need the special battery for the odd charging-discharging cycles.

Indeed. But what would be that so-called "special" battery? Something similar to those Optima batteries that have been around for a while?

Especially when running cabin ventilation, lights and entertainment while the engine is stopped.

Indeed.

[niky]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Indeed. But what would be that so-called "special" battery? Something similar to those Optima batteries that have been around for a while?

Pretty much. Japanese units use Panasonic batteries that cost around the same as an Optima. Our units use locally produced batteries that are slightly cheaper... but only because they're not shipped from overseas.