While electric, hybrid and diesel power trains have been grabbing headlines in recent times, work continues unabated on the good ol’ gasoline internal combustion engine and some significant headway has been realized with the news of a new Nissan Micra which will run a supercharged, direct injection 1.2 litre power-plant. The lightweight, low-friction, three-cylinder engine emits just 95g/km, produces 72kW (98PS) and 142Nm, and delivers combined cycle fuel economy figures of a staggering 68.9mpg. The car will debut in Geneva, will be available in both manual and CVT transmissions and will have a healthy top speed of 112mph. Technical innovation has been packed into the engine. The DIG-S uses the Miller cycle and direct petrol injection to raise the compression ratio to 13 to 1 for greater combustion efficiency and a supercharger for instant throttle response and added power.
By minimizing heat, friction and pumping losses as much a possible, Nissan's engineers have created an engine that sets the standard for the rest of the industry. Its three-cylinder configuration gives many benefits including less weight and further reductions in friction loss, thanks to having fewer moving parts. Further gains are made thanks to the adoption of advanced engine management systems with Start/Stop and energy regeneration. One of the biggest advantages of a small car with such a frugal engine are very low running costs, not just from the fuel economy but also thanks to tax concessions based on its emissions and to lower servicing bills from the smaller engine. For example, cars producing less than 100g/km of CO2 attract no annual road tax in the UK and are exempt from London’s daily congestion charge.
The DIG-S will be given its European debut at the Geneva Motor Show (March 3-13) with sales starting mid-year.
High voltage multi-spark ignitions and static charge fuel atomizers
The use of these technologies collectively can boost the power of an engine by anywhere from 10-40% and the efficiency anywhere from 20-50% realistically, depending on the inherent efficiencies of the engine.
I\'m not opposed to direct injection, multi-valves and induction chargers, but they would be wise to make cheaper improvements that yield higher gains first.
The production of batteries and other parts, shipping and manufacture of hybrids have a huge impact, much larger than on a non-hybrid.
Nonetheless, if you really believe that the use of multispark and fuel atomizers can \"realistically\" increase an ICE engine\'s efficiency 50%, then I\'m willing to bet that most of the engineering decisions that the car companies make \"mystify\" you.
I just don\'t understand why they don\'t put \"bipolar\" magnets on the fuel line and install the \"tornado\" in the intake! That would increase efficiency at least 378%! Right?