Diesel-Like Engine Could Boost Fuel Economy By 50% 721
bonch writes "Autoparts manufacturer Delphi has developed a diesel-like ignition engine running on gasoline, providing a potential 50 percent efficiency improvement over existing gas-powered engines. Engineers have long sought to run diesel-like engines on gasoline for its higher efficiency and low emissions. Delphi's engine, using a technique called gasoline-direct-injection compression ignition, could rival the performance of hybrid automobiles at a cheaper cost."
Was only a matter of time (Score:4, Interesting)
From what I understand, the major challenge of combustion without a spark plug for gasoline is preignition. High pressure direct injection allows normal spark-plug motors to run at higher compression ratios with lower chance of knock (preignition), so that was part of it, but I wonder what other fabulous tech was used to get this to be feasibly production ready. Very cool.
What's the advantage over diesel? (Score:4, Interesting)
OK, yes, this makes a gasoline engine more efficient by emulating a diesel. Why not just go with diesel, then?
Is there more energy density in gasoline? Is it cheaper to produce? Or is this just about gasoline being more widely available and consumers being more comfortable with it?
I'm asking. Someone here knows, I bet.
Re:From a buffoon (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:We need new power plants ... (Score:2, Interesting)
Or people like me put up solar panels to power the electric car.
And night time charging is ok in most places. If we had a smart grid, EV's could help provide power at some times, and could be told when was a good time to charge.
As for this new engine, it is a good thing. But, would still like to see stop-start tech at a minimum. Basic plug-in hybrid is better, and if it can be run as a generator at a constant speed more efficiently, then a Volt type EREV is the way to go.
Re:Well let me be the first to say... (Score:5, Interesting)
For the vast majority of uses it won't matter. If you could get me 60mpg I would take 20 seconds 0-60. Old beetles were that bad and lots of people bought those. They also had crap for a top speed and were not what anyone would call responsive.
Re:Redundant (Score:4, Interesting)
This. Personally I can see all-electric cars being even more capable than fossil fuel cars, at a lower cost, and cheaper to run, over the coming twenty years.
Re:Redundant (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't think it's much of a moving target ... electric needs to reach a 600 mile range and charge in 10 minutes. That will make it an effective transportation alternative for all current automotive travel. It really doesn't need to get any better than that.
It's hard to see how electric can be beat in the long run. Even a 50% decrease in fuel use won't make gasoline fueling the cheaper choice.
Re:Redundant (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't think it's much of a moving target ... electric needs to reach a 600 mile range and charge in 10 minutes. That will make it an effective transportation alternative for all current automotive travel. It really doesn't need to get any better than that.
It's hard to see how electric can be beat in the long run. Even a 50% decrease in fuel use won't make gasoline fueling the cheaper choice.
How much will it cost to purchase the electricity to recharge that battery pack? It is naive to assume that electricity to recharge cars will be cheaper than gasoline to power cars once the electricity is the primary fuel source. Gasoline is not priced by supply and demand, it is priced by what the market will bear. Why would you expect electric recharging to be any different?
Re:From a buffoon (Score:2, Interesting)
Performance, NVH, emissions, and reliability (for GM, anyway) in the 1980s
Cost and perception in the 1990s and early 2000s (when gas is cheap, why spend a lot of money on a diesel?)
Cost and emissions in the late 2000s
Cost, reliability, fuel quality, and efficiency (which are all severely worsened by the emissions control systems used now on diesels - so emissions are no longer a problem, but in exchange, you get a much more expensive engine that hydrolocks in a freeze/thaw cycle (although the Passat has worked around that by being even MORE expensive) and has $8000 fuel system failures, and it gets barely any better fuel economy than direct injection small displacement turbo gas engines) in the 2010s
Honestly, the only advantages that a modern US-spec diesel has over the best gas engines, unless you violate federal law and make the emissions control devices go missing, is torque delivery, and slightly better fuel economy that's absorbed by the fuel price difference.
Rip off the $3000-5000 of emissions controls, and suddenly you get a lot more power, a lot more torque, and go from 45 to 50-55 mpg. Then it makes sense.
Re:Someone correct me (Score:4, Interesting)
GDI is nothing new, but it didn't become viable until recently.
Ford calls their turbocharged GDI engines EcoBoost - I was shocked at the mileage I got from a rental Ford Edge with one of these in it. Good mileage from a fairly large vehicle that also had great acceleration.
Mazda calls it Skyactiv (Probably fairly similar to EcoBoost due to the historical close relationship between Ford and Mazda)
Hyundai doesn't apply any fancy marketing terms for it, but they have had GDI engines in their non-turbo (and maybe the turbo too) Sonatas for 2-3 years now. 6-speed + GDI engine = car that hauls serious ass while still getting great mileage (Along with the Edge, the Sonata was one of the best rentals I've had in the past few years.)