2.4 4 Cylinder i-VTEC Engine
3.5 V6 i-VTEC VCM Engine
There is a total of four available engines for the 2008 Honda Accord, 2 inline four-cylinder engines and two V6 engines. The base engine is a 2.4-liter i-VTEC inline four-cylinder powerplant in the LX Sedan and LX-P Sedan. With 177hp, this engine delivers an increase of 7% in horsepower compared to its predecessor, while operating on regular unleaded fuel (as before). The highly-efficient power plant meets Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV) (Automatic Transmission only) or ULEV-2 emissions standards and delivers EPA-estimated City/Highway fuel economy of 21/311 mpg (Sedan AT).
In the Accord LX-S Coupe and all EX and EX-L models, an even more powerful inline four-cylinder engine is standard. With a high-flow muffler and reprogrammed Powertrain Control Module (PCM), the 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder generates 190 horsepower at 7000 rpm and 162 lb-ft. of torque at 4400 rpm. Though it's by far the most powerful four-cylinder engine ever offered in a North American Accord, this powerplant is designed to run on regular gas, and also meets PZEV (Automatic Transmission only) or ULEV-2 emissions standards. With a 5-speed automatic transmission, it also delivers EPA-estimated City/Highway fuel economy of 21/311 mpg (Sedan Automatic Transmission) using the new 2008 EPA methodology. That makes it just as fuel efficient as the less-powerful four-cylinder engine found in the LX and LX-P Sedan.
Fuel economy ratings and horsepower are unchanged, but these engines comply with tougher PZEV requirements, in part, by virtue of a special i-VTEC system that leaves one exhaust valve closed in each cylinder at low rpm, and the use of new fuel injector and dual probe spark plugs that improve combustion, in addition to the near-zero evaporative emissions equipment.
Accord Coupe and Sedan V6 models equipped with 5-speed automatic transmissions are powered by a 3.5-liter i-VTEC V6 that is the most powerful engine ever offered in a Honda vehicle. It features a new generation of Honda's advanced Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) variable displacement technology with a special SOHC i-VTEC valvetrain that allows it to operate in three different modes. Depending on driving conditions, the engine operates on three, four or all six cylinders to help boost fuel economy or power as needed.
With a 16% increase in displacement compared to the previous 3.0-L V6, this new powerplant delivers 268 horsepower at 6200 rpm and 248 lb-ft. of torque at 5000 rpm, operating on regular unleaded fuel. That is a 10% increase in horsepower and a substantial 18% boost in torque as compared to the previous V6. The Accord V-6 meets PZEV (Automatic Transmission only) or ULEV-2 emissions standards. Though it is larger and more powerful than any engine ever offered in Accord, the V-6 returns EPA-estimated 19/29 City/Highway fuel economy, using the 2008 EPA methodology. That makes it more fuel efficient than the smaller, less powerful engine it replaces when 2007 and 2008 models are tested using the identical 2008 EPA fuel economy evaluation parameters.
The Accord EX-L V6 Coupe with 6-speed transmission has a unique variant of the Accord V6 that uses VTEC valve gear without VCM to achieve enhanced low- and midrange performance. This engine has the same peak horsepower and torque as the i-VTEC VCM engine, and meets ULEV-2 emissions standards. It is paired with a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission for maximum performance and driving control.