The Hyundai engines are known for its reliability, durability and robustness. One of its such an engine is 1.2 liter kappa petrol engine which is widely used in Hyundai’s several cars. This engine actually has proven its reliability over an decade. So today we will see how Hyundai 1.2 Kappa Engine are good?
Is the Hyundai 1.2 litre engine good?
We will first see the specification of the engine in detail and will discuss its potential and its features. We also will discuss its design, its technical specifications, its development over the years and how it performed over all these years.
The engine is 4 cylinder 16 valve, DOHC CVVT(variable valve timing) engine. This is an undersquare engine in which the bore size is smaller than the stroke size. When a bore/stroke ratio becomes less than 1 it is called as undersquare engine.
Undersquare engine’s low and mid torque is good and these are fuel efficient too. These are designed in such way to become fuel efficient. These are also known as Long Stroke engines. The compression ratio is 10.5:1 of this engine.
This engine is MPFI (multipoint fuel injection) in which the air fuel mixture is mixed in port itself before entering to the combustion chamber. It is a light weight aluminum diecast engine. There are other steps taken to keep this engine weight low. The engine designed in such a way to reduce the friction also. Keeping the Friction low is focused more in its overall architecture. If friction will be minimum the engine will run under low stress condition and will improve the fuel economy. The top speed of this engine is 150kmpl
The engine cover and the Engine manifold is built from plastic to keep the weight low. The block is made up of aluminum diecast. Also the cylinder liner is made up of lightweight iron for keeping it long lasting and reduce friction as well.
This engine is built after hardwork and using high level engineering over multiple years. In this engine the crankshaft is used is an Offset crankshaft. It is not placed at center like other crankshafts. So that the wall friction becomes minimum. In the centered crankshaft the side wall will get more friction effect so more wear and tear and less fuel economy. The power loss in the offset crankshaft is less.
The piston and pistons rings are cover by superalloys made of molybdenum. Also the valves are made up of nickel alloys to produce less friction, more smoothness, less stress and high fuel economy and longer engine life. There are three rings on the cylinder head where in the last oil ring is made of Chromium Nitrate Coating again to make it long lasting.
Also advanced level Hydraulic Lash Adjusters Tappet are used to reduce the tappet noise. The normal tappets make noise over time and we need to make it tight in car service. but the hydraulic tappet are made in such a way to reduce its noise. Regular tappet setting is not required in this type of tappet.
What is the difference between a Kappa engine and a normal engine?
The engineering used in developing these engines make them different from others. Hyundai uses longer tip or we can say longer reach spark plug so that they can reduce heat more. These are known as M12 spark plugs. Due to its design the cooling efficiency gets increased.
The valve spring is also designed differently in Kappa Engines. Its width is less at the top corners so that the tappet load is reduced significantly and the engine becomes more fuel efficient. The Timing Chain is also different then a regular timing chain. The regular Timing Chain is a double roller chain but here silent timing chain is used by Hyundai. It helps in reducing the engine noise.
Many parameters need to be watched every second when a car is in running condition. So to work efficiently Hyundai used 2 microprocessor chips of 32hertz in its ECU. These chips help in having a precise control on everything like ignition, combustion, air fuel mixture, knocking reduction and the emissions control etc. So this engine becomes efficient in term of reliability due to these microprocessors. ECU tunning is the most important step in an engine working as well as the engine designing.
Dual VVT and DOHC technology is used efficiently in this engine. Dual overhead camshafts are linked with VVT (variable valve timing) actuators. These actuators make the Valve opening and closing variable and adjustable as per the different speed conditions. This makes the engine more efficient and the valve timing becomes more regulated. The engine is thus able to give better mileage. The opening and closing time of the valve can be decided as per the need and it is not fixed. If less load on the engine then less fuel will be injected to the combustion chamber.
All the transmission like Torque Converter, CVT, DCT, Manual are designed and developed by the Hyundai groups themselves by their Subsidiary company Hyundai Transis. They also provide these types of parts to other companies including Kia.
Although the highway riding in these kappa engines feels less energetic. They feel under powered on the highways. It require down shifting in overtakes, the instant kick is less and the high torque is not available in these kappa engine. After all we have to consider this engine is an NA engine tuned for reliability and efficiency. Still this engine is 4 cylinder which is very silent.
Also Read: Which Type Of Automatic Transmission Is Best | CVT vs DSG vs Torque Converter
What are the benefits of the Kappa engine?
The Hyundai kappa engines are most reliable engines these are not much heavy rather on lighter side. Engine parts are easily available. These engines using high end engineering and the parts of high quality making it smoother and refined engines. Even in their 4 cylinder engines they are able to produce good fuel economy. These have very low NVH level and very silent in driving. These kappa engines are to become long lasting and they are good for city use. It requires less maintenance too. Hyundai has strong service networks in India.
How long will a 1.2 L engine last?
Any engine for that matter is designed with keeping in mind the longevity and low emissions levels. The kappa 1.2L engine usually long lasting. It can last up to the running of 1.5 to 2Lakh kms. Also these engines are still running for 15 and even more years. So if they are kept well maintained and Servicing regularly the 1.2 L kappa engines last long.
Also Read: 3 Cylinder Engine vs 4 Cylinder Engine Which Is Better
Is the Kappa engine a 3 cylinder or 4 cylinder?
The 1.2 L kappa Engines are 4 cylinder engines. They are known for their smoothness, low NVH and silence. These are very reliable and long lasting engines which are build using advanced technology. With these 4 cylinder engines Hyundai is able to follow BS6 norms by keeping the emission level very low. When all the other companies have launched their 3 cylinder engines to comply with the norms. Hyundai is producing cars with 4 cylinder engine for providing overall better driving experience.
