Blog / Mazda Safety Technology

SKYACTIV®-X: All you need to know!

Have you heard about Mazda’s “well-to-wheel” approach to reducing vehicle emissions? If you have, you may very well be familiar with Mazda’s SKYACTIV®-X engine. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, keep reading for all the great details.

More than Just Going Electric

Mazda knows that reducing greenhouse gas emission is not as simple as switching cars from gas to electric. No. It’s more involved than that. Mazda takes into consideration fuel extraction, manufacturing and shipping as well ad driving. One part of this plan is Mazda’s innovative new combustion engine. It’s called SKYACTIV®-X. The SKYACTIV®-X engine certainly is a revolutionary engine. It is actually a world first! According to Mazda, is uses a special method of combustion, compression ignition, to be exact. Many in the automotive manufacturing industry have been trying to master this method for over twenty years.

How Does it Work?

Here’s how SKYAVTIV-X works:
  • In a gasoline engine, the fuel-air mixture is ignited by a spark from the spark plug.
  • In a diesel engine, the fuel-air mix is compressed and ignites through pressure and heat alone. Diesel is more energy dense than gasoline, which also means more air and less fuel goes in, making for better fuel economy.
  • And although diesel engines tend to release less carbon dioxide than gasoline engines, they emit particulates that, unless trapped or treated, can cause pollution.
  • Diesels, which are often turbocharged, have a reputation for having lots of torque even at low revs, while gasoline engines can rev higher and produce more horsepower at those high revs.
  • SKYACTIV®-X offers the best of both diesel and gasoline engines with none of the disadvantages. It does this thanks to a new technology called Spark Controlled Compression Ignition (SPCCI).
  • Running on regular gasoline, SPCCI works by compressing the fuel-air mix at a much higher compression ratio, with a very lean mix.
  • The SKYACTIV®-X engine uses a spark to ignite only a small, dense amount of the fuel-air mix in the cylinder.
  • This raises the temperature and pressure so that the remaining fuel-air mix ignites under pressure (like a diesel), burning faster and more completely than in conventional engines.

Want to learn more about SKYACTIV®-X?

By all means, please call Beach Mazda today. We have the Mazda experts on hand to help you!
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