HONDA The Power of Dreams

The RA166E was the engine that powered Honda in 1986 to aim for the title, win races, and clinch its first constructors’ championship title.

The 1985 RA165E, despite being an all-new design, had demonstrated its potential with four wins. The new RA166E was an improved version, a high-performance V6 turbo engine that pursued even higher rpm and power output, and improved fuel economy and intelligence.

In order to improve combustion efficiency, the bore / stroke of the RA166E were reexamined and reduced to 79 / 50.8 mm, a 3.5 mm longer stroke than the RA165E. This long stroke technology was again based on mass production engine technology to achieve high revs, high output, and good fuel economy. In addition, the strength of the engine was improved to ensure reliability and durability, and even the materials used for the engine auxiliaries and turbocharger were carefully examined and modified.

Finally, a telemetry system was developed to detect the status of each engine component and communicate data while the engine was running, achieving the highest level of engine intelligence at the time. Data from the engine could now be sent in real time to the Honda R&D Center in Japan, let alone to the pits at the race tracks. Since this system was Honda’s proprietary technology, it was a powerful weapon that helped it to outperform rival teams and contribute to victory. Other teams soon followed by introducing similar systems, which became standard equipment for all F1 teams.

In the 1986 season, the amount of fuel allowed was restricted from 220 L to 195 L, in order to prevent an excessive power war between turbocharged engines, but there were no limits on fuel composition and turbo boost pressure. All teams had to take fuel economy into account in the race, which curbed the power war to an extent, but also intensified the war in qualifying, in which teams were able to increase power without considering fuel consumption, use special fuels, and push boost pressure to the limit, not worrying about whether the engine could survive. The sheer scale of the power war could be seen in reports of dedicated qualifying engines that produced 1,500 horsepower.

Although the Honda F1 team was aiming to win steadily, it still competed for power in qualifying by increasing boost pressure to over 5.0 bar and using a special fuel that was 85% toluene.

The Williams FW11 powered by the RA166E from the opening round of the 1986 season won 9 out of 16 races, driven by Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell, earning the constructors’ title.

Honda had finally won the F1 championship, the only motorsports title that Honda’s founder, Soichiro Honda, had failed to win during his career. The Honda F1 Team’s comment at the Round 14, Portugal, ended with the sentence, “We can't wait to see Soichiro Honda’s happy face.”