Honda J engine

The J-series is Honda's fourth production V6 engine family introduced in 1996, after the C-series, which consisted of three dissimilar versions. The J-series engine was designed in Japan, with engineering taking place in the United States. It is built at Honda's Anna, Ohio, and Lincoln, Alabama, engine plants. The J-series is a 60° V6 unlike Honda's existing 90° C-series engines. Also unlike the C series, the J-series was specifically and only designed for transverse mounting. It has a shorter bore spacing (98 mm (3.86 in)), shorter connecting rods and a special smaller crankshaft than the C-series to reduce its size. All J-series engines are gasoline-powered, use four valves per cylinder, and have a single timing belt that drives the overhead camshafts. VTEC variable valve timing is used on almost all applications, with exceptions being the J30AC and J35Y8 (which use Variable Timing Control [VTC] instead). One unique feature of some J-family engine models is Honda's Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) system. Initially, the system turns off one bank of cylinders under light loads, turning the V6 into a straight-3. Some versions were able to turn off one bank of cylinders or one cylinder on opposing banks, allowing for three-cylinder use under light loads and four-cylinder use under medium loads.