The most economical diesel engine in the world is Chinese. This is as useful for industry as it is useless for our cars.

While this may seem like a joke, in China, which is leading the transition to electric vehicles and where the government has proposed promoting the technology (to the point of alerting the European Union), the 2024 World Internal Combustion Congress was held.

Tianjin, located near Beijing, was chosen as the location for the event, which was celebrated with the presentation of a local product that attracted everyone’s attention. This is the Weichai Power diesel engine, a diesel engine that boasts unrivaled efficiency.

The most efficient diesel engine in the world

What Weichai Power has unveiled is essentially the most efficient diesel engine known to date. This milestone is approved by the China Center for Automotive Technology and Research, an organization specializing in the testing of internal combustion engine vehicles, as well as the prestigious TÜV SÜD, an international technical provider of testing, certification, inspection, training and technical assistance to various industrial sectors.

According to the brand and confirmed by these experts, this Chinese diesel engine Efficiency 53.09%. This record figure is the result of a development that began in 2015, where propellant, to which small improvements have been applied, achieves higher and higher percentages in terms of efficiency year after year.

In their latest advances they have been working on high expansion combustion for 0.3% improvement, mixed flow supercharging (0.25%) and high efficiency injection (0.2%) as explained in diarimotor. This, coupled with a 0.15% increase in efficiency due to the use of low friction components, has increased efficiency from 50.23% in 2020 to the current 53.09%.

These improvements, which seem minimal, are a truly impressive achievement. If we talk about numbers fuel economyIt is believed that the transition from efficiency from 45-46% to 53.09% allows reducing diesel consumption by 14%.

In accordance with Motor.esA tractor that uses this engine and travels 250,000 kilometers per year will save about 12,000 liters of diesel fuel, which will be equivalent to approximately 98,000 yuan in annual savings (about 12,640 euros). And it is no coincidence that the comparison was made with a tractor.

But to no avail for our machines

We won’t see this fuel on the streets, at least not in cars. Moreover, this is an in-line six-cylinder engine weighing 1060 kg and producing 530 hp. And although it may not seem like it, it is tiny.

Because the only way to achieve such efficiency figures is to use a huge engine at very low speeds. Actually, maximum torque This engine is huge (2500 Nm), but it revs between 1000 and 1400 rpm. To understand: in a diesel car, it is not recommended to change gears until the speed exceeds 1500 rpm.

As explained in MotopassionA diesel engine for passenger cars has an efficiency of 30 to 45%. To achieve the best performance, it is necessary to use giant engines, such as those used in large stationary generators or on huge ships.

Therefore, miniaturizing this diesel engine to a size suitable for use in tractors and bringing its weight to under a ton is a major milestone. Although we don’t see this in our carswhen applied purely while driving, it’s really useful for trucks and agricultural machinery, where the transition to electric vehicles is even more difficult than in the automotive world.

Image | Weichai Power

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