subject: Mazda 6 Engine: Engine Behind The Most Successful Mazda [print this page] Mazda 6 Engine: Engine Behind The Most Successful Mazda
The Japanese car manufacturer Mazda started producing Mazda 6 in 2002 as a mid sized family vehicle, which was successor of Mazda 626 model. In Japan Mazda 6 is known as Mazda Atenza but in international market it was branded as Mazda 6. Design philosophy of Mazda 6 was inspired by Mazda Rx 8, because of its spirited design and superior reliability Mazda 6 sales have crossed the one million mark globally, making it first Mazda vehicle to reach this honor.
Initially the first generation (2002-2008) Mazda 6 was launched in saloon, estate and hatchback styles, saloon was 4 door version while estate and hatchbacks were 5 door variants. Soon enough a sportier 4 door version was also added in 2005 as Mazda Speed 6, which boasted a turbo charged engine along with sportier wheels and amped up sound system. It was developed to compete with Subaru Legacy GT and Mitsubishi Evolution. irst generation Mazda 6 cars were offered in 4 speed sport automatic, 5 speed manual/ automatic and 6 speed manual/ automatic gearbox configurations. However, Mazda Speed 6 came only with a 6 speed manual gearbox.
Current generation (2008 till present) of Mazda 6 has similar body styles and gear box options however 4 speed sports automatic is discontinued. From 2002 to 2011 Mazda 6 engines were produced with varying engine codes. These codes vary according to engine capacity and technology. These include.
L8 Engine:
This 16 valve, 1.8 litre petrol engine was produced from 2002 till 2011. It was based on DOHC EFI technology.
LF Engine (launched in 2002):
LF engines were also 16 valve engines, however these were 2 litre petrol engines and like L8 engines they were also DOHC EFI engines. They were produced from 2002 to 2011.
LF Engine (launched in 2007):
LF is a more modern 2 litre petrol engine based on similar technology as that of LF and L8 engines. These were produced in 2007 and continued till 2011.
L3 Engine (launched in 2002):
Mazda launched these 2.3 litre non turbo engines in 2002 and continued production till 2011. These were 16 valve VVT-I petrol engines.
L3 Engine (launched in 2007):
These engines were launched after 2007 and specifications wise they are identical to their predecessor L3 engines. They are based on similar VVT-I petrol engine with 16 valves.
LN Engine:
These are the most powerful Mazda 6 engines. The 2.5 litre petrol engine is based on older DOHC EFI technology and was produced from 2007 up till 2011.
