Three races into the 2012 IndyCar season Chevrolet is proving to be the engine to have. The Ilmor-built Chevrolet 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 seems to have the edge in power, acceleration, and fuel economy, which is why all three pole positions and three races have been won by Chevrolet-powered Penskes.
Ilmor built all the Honda engines, which powered the IndyCar series exclusively from 2006–2011,which possibly gives that factory an edge. The new Chevy engine’s twin turbos spool up quickly, providing instant acceleration out of slow corners, such as are found on road and street courses—the first four racers of the season are on such courses. The Chevy engine also seems to offer better fuel economy than its rivals.
Chevy has had its problems. All 11 Chevy teams lost 10 grid positions at Long Beach because the factory mandated an engine change after seeing issues in testing at Sonoma. Apparently the issue was electronic, not mechanical; 11 identical engines were swapped in and none had an issue in the race.
A problem with keeping the battery charged, which sidelined Tony Kanaan at St. Pete, was fixed after that race.
Honda Performance Development, which builds engines and chassis for Honda cars in other series, builds the Honda IndyCar engines. Honda went with a single large turbocharger, which apparently creates serious lag issues on road and street courses (it should be fine for ovals.) Honda’s engine isn’t bad, by any means; Simon Pagenaud proved that by nearly beating Penske’s Will Power at Long Beach.
