Toyota introduces a new range of fuel-efficient engines
04-10-14, 10:48 AM
#1
Toyota introduces a new range of fuel-efficient engines
Promises to improve fuel efficiency by up to 30 percent
Toyota has unveiled a new range of fuel-efficient engines that promise to achieve fuel efficiency improvements of at least 10 percent over current vehicles.
One of the engines is a newly-developed 1.3-liter petrol that runs on the Atkinson cycle which is typically associated with hybrid engines. As Toyota explains, "Use of the Atkinson cycle provides an increased expansion ratio and reduces waste heat through a high compression ratio (13.5), resulting in superior thermal efficiency." The engine has also been equipped with a distinctive intake port that creates a strong tumble flow - a vertical swirl of the air-fuel mixture - inside the cylinder. This and other innovations should enable the engine to be about 15 percent more fuel efficient than current models.
The company also unveiled a 1.0-liter engine that was jointly-developed with Daihatsu. It eschews the Atkinson cycle but has a similar tumble flow-generating intake port, a cooled EGR system and a high compression ratio. When combined with a start/stop system and "various other fuel consumption reduction technologies," the engine can be up to 30 percent more fuel-efficient than current models.
The engines will be used in several upcoming models and Toyota says we can expect a total of 14 new engine variations to be introduced by 2015.
Toyota has unveiled a new range of fuel-efficient engines that promise to achieve fuel efficiency improvements of at least 10 percent over current vehicles.
One of the engines is a newly-developed 1.3-liter petrol that runs on the Atkinson cycle which is typically associated with hybrid engines. As Toyota explains, "Use of the Atkinson cycle provides an increased expansion ratio and reduces waste heat through a high compression ratio (13.5), resulting in superior thermal efficiency." The engine has also been equipped with a distinctive intake port that creates a strong tumble flow - a vertical swirl of the air-fuel mixture - inside the cylinder. This and other innovations should enable the engine to be about 15 percent more fuel efficient than current models.
The company also unveiled a 1.0-liter engine that was jointly-developed with Daihatsu. It eschews the Atkinson cycle but has a similar tumble flow-generating intake port, a cooled EGR system and a high compression ratio. When combined with a start/stop system and "various other fuel consumption reduction technologies," the engine can be up to 30 percent more fuel-efficient than current models.
The engines will be used in several upcoming models and Toyota says we can expect a total of 14 new engine variations to be introduced by 2015.
04-10-14, 01:03 PM
#4
Lexus Test Driver
04-10-14, 01:25 PM
#7
this is pretty interesting - it is adoption of VVT-IE and Atkinson cycle for small series of engines. I believe VVT-IE was introduced first on LS460... who would think that it would end up in tiny/affordable vehicles in 2015.
Both were already efficient engines - this is KR and NR engine series. So to be able to improve on these already existing designs by 15% and 30% is stunning.
38% is almost Prius efficiency, this means that now small cars from Toyota will get similar mpg to Prius.
Going back to 15% improvement to NR series of engines, when Toyota introduced Valvematic to new ZR engines, they said that improvement is around 7-8%... in new Corolla for NA, Toyota claimed "more than 5%". So this new tech is going to be very effective if it is 15% better.
What is even more important is that they are planning to introduce 14 new engines in MMC's across their lineups in 2015....
Both were already efficient engines - this is KR and NR engine series. So to be able to improve on these already existing designs by 15% and 30% is stunning.
38% is almost Prius efficiency, this means that now small cars from Toyota will get similar mpg to Prius.
Going back to 15% improvement to NR series of engines, when Toyota introduced Valvematic to new ZR engines, they said that improvement is around 7-8%... in new Corolla for NA, Toyota claimed "more than 5%". So this new tech is going to be very effective if it is 15% better.
What is even more important is that they are planning to introduce 14 new engines in MMC's across their lineups in 2015....
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04-10-14, 04:10 PM
#8
04-10-14, 07:01 PM
#9
Lexus Champion
One of the engines is a newly-developed 1.3-liter petrol that runs on the Atkinson cycle which is typically associated with hybrid engines. As Toyota explains, "Use of the Atkinson cycle provides an increased expansion ratio and reduces waste heat through a high compression ratio (13.5), resulting in superior thermal efficiency."
In an Atkinson Cycle engine, the intake valve is held open longer -- past bottom dead centre -- so that some of the air in the cylinder actually escapes out the open intake valve during the compression stroke before the valve closes. So the effective compression ratio is actually less than 13.5:1, although the expansion cycle is a true 13.5:1.
07-14-14, 06:17 AM
#10
AutoNews
Toyota Motor Corp., after long neglecting the humble internal combustion engine in favor of hybrids, is preparing a sweeping powertrain makeover.
The automaker is designing common parts to spread costs across large numbers of engines.
This will allow it to economically customize engines for specific vehicles with fuel injection, turbocharging and more.
The new engine strategy will catapult Toyota ahead of rivals, Koei Saga, senior managing officer in charge of powertrain development, told Automotive News.
Toyota is seeking fuel economy increases of up to 30 percent and cost cuts on key components of up to 50 percent.
The strategy underscores how Toyota is playing catch-up in a fundamental field, as rivals gain on the automaker's top fleet average fuel economy in the United States with big advancements in such fuel-saving technologies as direct injection, turbocharging and stop-start systems.
For years, Toyota has focused on its best-selling gasoline-electric hybrid systems. It hasn't abandoned that track.
But flush with record profits, the world's biggest automaker is channeling big investments in making its base engines more competitive.
Its gambit: The more money it can save through common parts, the more it can spend on such add-ons as turbochargers, which Toyota engineers internally refer to as kanzashi, the traditional ornamental hairpins worn by geisha.
For mainstay nameplates such as the Camry sedan, it could mean dumping a V-6 engine option and turning to downsized turbocharged 4-cylinder engines.
"We would like to achieve No. 1 performance in fuel economy and cost for all the engines that we will be developing," Saga said in a Monday, July 7, interview at the company's global headquarters.
"We are spending more time concentrating on improving the basic performance of engines," he said. "That means we can maintain leadership in the market for a long time."
Toward 10 million
The new engines will be the cornerstone of Toyota's overhauled product development strategy. The approach, dubbed Toyota New Global Architecture, or TNGA, aims to maximize common parts in a new era in which its annual sales exceed a massive 10 million units.
Toyota's makeover comes as rivals such as Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. overhaul their engine lineups to meet increasingly stringent fuel economy regulations. Honda's line of Earth Dreams engines taps direct injection technology and turbocharging. Mazda's Skyactiv engines pair fuel injection with high compression ratios.
Toyota's 1st TNGA cars, complete with new platforms, are due in 2015.
But the 1st of the fresh engines debuted in April in the Toyota Passo, a Japan-market hatchback. That 1.0-liter powerplant, equipped with stop-start technology, delivers 30 percent better fuel economy than the outgoing engine.
It is 1 of 14 engines to be introduced through next year, covering 30 percent of Toyota's global nameplates.
Other nameplates in line for the new engines: the next-generation Prius hybrid, due at the end of 2015, and the next-generation Camry, which could arrive around 2016.
The goal is to cut costs and maximize performance by standardizing the basics: bore, stroke, combustion cycle, valve timing and components such as engine blocks, cylinder heads, cam-shafts and crankshafts. After that is where the hair ornaments come in.
"1st, we have to improve the performance of the base engine itself, then on top of that we will be utilizing kanzashi as occasion demands," Saga said.
"Just like putting something beautiful on top of your hairdo, by using kanzashi through such things as turbocharging or downsizing, you can improve the performance of the engine."
Kanzashi add-ons may include direct fuel injection, exhaust gas recirculation systems or stop-start technologies that turn off the engine when the vehicle stops.
"We have a wide variety of kanzashi," Saga said.
The usual downside of kanzashi is added cost. But Toyota aims to rein in cost by standardizing the base engines, thereby freeing funds to invest in customized tweaks. After the overhaul, the number of engine families should remain the same at 7. But the number of variants will be greatly reduced, Saga said.
By simplifying the lineup, Toyota expects to generate 2 to 3 times the cost savings over previous engine overhauls. The cost of some components will fall by half, he said.
"Traditionally, when you add new kanzashi, that increases cost, and we struggled to absorb it and profit margin deteriorated," Saga said. "But by improving our design and bundling volume, in some cases we were are able to reduce costs by half."
The 1st wave of engines is being manufactured on existing engine lines. But future engines, including those for the next-generation Camry, will get retooled engine lines.
The engine architecture will underpin Toyota's lineup for 10 to 15 years, Saga said.
The EPA's annual report on fuel economy trends, which calculates automakers' fleet average fuel economy based on sales, shows Toyota losing ground to rivals such as Nissan and Mazda. For example, in 2010, Toyota's U.S. fleet average fuel economy was 25.4 mpg. In 2013, it was 25.2 mpg.
Meanwhile, Mazda improved from 24.4 mpg in 2010 to 27.5 mpg in 2013, and Nissan rose from 23.3 mpg to 24.6 mpg during the period.
Turbo Camry
The next Camry will be the 1st vehicle getting Toyota's full TNGA treatment, complete with a new platform and an engine built on a TNGA-tailored line. Other TNGA cars arriving before then, including the Prius, will get TNGA engines made on existing lines.
One possible "hair accessory" for the Camry: Toyota is considering a downsized inline-4 turbo as an alternative to the V-6, Saga said.
"It might be able to replace a 6-cylinder with a 4-cylinder plus turbo plus direct injection," he said. "Compared to a V-6, we think this solution will be less costly."
But marketers are evaluating whether Americans will accept the idea.
"Eventually we think this is where the technology is going, but right now we don't know what the reaction of U.S. customers will be," he said. "So probably right up until the last moment, we will have to be ready with both and watch customer feedback."
Toyota's caution comes as rivals plunge into downsized turbocharging, especially Ford Motor Co. with its EcoBoost line of small, fuel-efficient turbocharged engines.
The engines are the first developed at Toyota's new Powertrain Joint Development Building, a massive 12-story r&d center that opened last year at Toyota's global headquarters. Saga is the center's vice president.
For the base engines, Toyota takes a multipronged approach to better fuel economy:
• Lean-burning Atkinson cycle combustion in regular cars, not only hybrids.
• New intake ports create a vertical air-fuel swirl for more rapid combustion.
• Expanded variable valve timing improves combustion efficiency.
• A high compression ratio improves power and efficiency.
The deployment strategy marks the first time Toyota will put an Atkinson cycle engine in a vehicle that isn't a gasoline-electric one.• New intake ports create a vertical air-fuel swirl for more rapid combustion.
• Expanded variable valve timing improves combustion efficiency.
• A high compression ratio improves power and efficiency.
07-14-14, 08:26 AM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
good stuff. with everyone else going or having gone turbo/DI everything in a few smaller sizes, this is pretty logical.
07-14-14, 02:14 PM
#14
One possible "hair accessory" for the Camry: Toyota is considering a downsized inline-4 turbo as an alternative to the V-6, Saga said.
"It might be able to replace a 6-cylinder with a 4-cylinder plus turbo plus direct injection," he said. "Compared to a V-6, we think this solution will be less costly."
"It might be able to replace a 6-cylinder with a 4-cylinder plus turbo plus direct injection," he said. "Compared to a V-6, we think this solution will be less costly."
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