How much gas does a i4 engine normally waste?
2 Answers
Depends on what you mean by "waste." Typical gas engines manage to turn about 20% of the energy in the gasoline into useable energy (it's called "thermal Efficiency"). That isn't as bad as it sounds since any engine will have losses. But it also averages the times when the engine isn't being used efficiently as it could. The Accord Hybrid gains efficiency in two main ways: its I4 Atkinson-cycle engine can get as much as 40% under the right conditions, and the hybrid system allows it to work closer those conditions more often than a conventional car.
