Photo: PSP Images

Team Dynamics happy with progress of new Honda engine

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Anyone trackside at a BTCC event in 2016 will notice a considerable noise difference between the majority of the grid and the three Team Dynamics Honda Civic Type-Rs, thanks to the introduction of a new power unit for the Honda works team.

Once again working with Neil Brown, the new engine produces a much deeper growl when compared to the Swindon engineered TOCA unit or the Mountune built Ford Ecoboost engine of Motorbase Performance, which was evident at the four hour test session at the Donington Park season launch.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes approximately halfway through the test session, Team Dynamics technical director Barry Plowman admitted there had been a couple of teething problems, but the team is confident the engine will prove successful come the opening round of the season at Brands Hatch.

“So far the engine’s not been too bad,” Plowman said. “We’ve had a few small problems with it but they’re really just teething problems. The biggest difference between the old Honda redtop engine, the K20, and the K20-C is the new engine has an integrated exhaust manifold, which means it has no separate exhaust manifold. All the ports in the head join in to one and the exhaust pipe will just go straight on to that, whereas the old engine would have an exhaust manifold.

“There’s improvements in some areas and not in others, it’s very much swings and roundabouts. We’ve got a full day [of testing] tomorrow at Brands, which will be a bit more meaningful than the half day we’ve got here. We’re quite happy with what we’ve got, we’ll be alright.”

The new Honda engine is not the only new engine for 2016, with Mountune also building the flat-four Boxer engine for Team BMR’s new works Subaru outfit, although Team Dynamics’ Matt Neal is more wary of the Swindon engine than that of the Subaru.

“The strength of the TOCA engine looks strong,” Neal told TouringCarTimes. “That’s the one worrying thing for us…[and] to be honest, I don’t think the [Subaru] engine will be as strong as the TOCA engine.”