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GASOLINE
DIRECT
INJECTION
The Fuel Economy Solution?
BY MIKE DALE
Federal fuel economy standards have been
changed, with substantial improvements
mandated within a tight time frame.
Manufacturers are turning to gasoline
direct injection (GDI) to meet the new goals.
T
38
he world’s carmakers are in the
midst of a major technology
change. The fuel prices of a year
ago, combined with long-term
financial stability issues, have
forced new arrangements for
the companies, their workers and financial
investors and—most importantly—
big changes in the vehicles themselves.
Our government has struggled for
years with the idea of how to create a
national energy policy, and it looks like
it may finally be possible.
The technical side of all of this is all
about how to achieve major improvements
in fuel economy. Not only are
CAFE standards going to be moved up
to 39 mpg from the current 27.5, but
the time frame in which to do it will be
shortened to 2016 instead of 35 mpg by
2020. A 35% improvement is a huge
goal that will take major technological
advances to accomplish.
The most obvious way to realize better
fuel economy is to make vehicles
smaller, lighter and, yes, slower. So far
July 2009
motorists have not shown any great interest
in these solutions.
If the size of vehicles cannot change
very much, then the two options are to
use lighter, more expensive materials
and higher-technology, more fuel-efficient
drivetrains. Given the nature of the
challenges, we’re certain to see all of the
above, plus electric-drive options as well.
Right now the technological centerpiece
of the quest for improved fuel efficiency
is gasoline direct injection
(GDI). This will likely be coupled with
mild- and full-hybrid technologies to
meet the fuel economy targets. Clearly,
full-electric vehicles are coming, but it
may be a while before they’re a major
factor in the market.
So what is GDI? The easy thing would
be to describe GDI as a new location for
the fuel injector. It is that, but also so
much more. To support the new injector
location there are new sensors, new fuel
pump technologies, new transmission
parts, changes to the fuel system and intense
software and computer hardware
upgrades. The list goes on and on.
It would also be easy to say that gasoline
direct injection has already been
with us for a while and that there’s nothing
new here. This isn’t quite correct.
There have been limited production
models by Mitsubishi and others since
the late ’90s. Now we have Ford saying
that its Ecoboost GDI system will cover
90% of its production by 2013 or sooner.
GM has several GDI engines in production
now and is rapidly expanding
the applications across the board. All of
the European and Japanese makers
have versions on the way and more are
coming. Bosch, for example, is already
onto its second generation of GDI technology.
The widespread adoption of
gasoline direct injection is upon us.
This means that the hardware you see
in your service bays is going to
change…a lot. This trend will continue
as hybrids and electric vehicles become
far more common. Buckle your seatbelts;
you’re going to have a lot to learn if
you want to stay in the service business.
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