Last updated TDI badgeTDI embossed on the engine coverVolkswagen Marine 3.0-litre V6 TDI 265-6 marine engineVolkswagen Group products which feature a TDI engine display a TDI badge
A turbocharger, colloquially known as a turbo, is a turbine-driven forced induction device that increases an internal combustion engine's efficiency and power output by forcing extra compressed air into the combustion chamber. This improvement over a naturally aspirated engine's power output is due to the fact that the compressor can force more air—and proportionately more fuel—into the combustion chamber than atmospheric pressure alone.
Volkswagen AG, known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany and indirectly majority owned by Austrian Porsche and Piëch families. It designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines, and turbomachinery and offers related services including financing, leasing and fleet management. In 2016, it was the world's largest automaker by sales, overtaking Toyota and keeping this title in 2017 and 2018, selling 10.8 million vehicles. It has maintained the largest market share in Europe for over two decades. It ranked seventh in the 2018 Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies. Volkswagen Group sells passenger cars under the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Škoda and the flagship Volkswagen marques; motorcycles under the Ducati brand; and TRATON under the marques MAN, Scania, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. It is divided into two primary divisions, the Automotive Division and the Financial Services Division, and as of 2008 had approximately 342 subsidiary companies. Volkswagen also has two major joint-ventures in China. The company has operations in approximately 150 countries and operates 100 production facilities across 27 countries.
A light commercial vehicle (LCV) in the European Union, Australia, New Zealand is a commercial carrier vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 3.5 metric tons (tonnes). The LCV designation is also occasionally used in both Canada and Ireland.
TDI engines installed in 2009 to 2015 model year Volkswagen Group cars sold through 18 September 2015 had an emissions defeat device,[8][9] which activated emissions controls only during emissions testing. The emissions controls were suppressed otherwise, allowing the TDI engines to exceed legal limits on emissions.[10] VW has admitted to using the illegal device in its TDI diesel cars.[11]
A defeat device is any motor vehicle hardware, software, or design that interferes with or disables emissions controls under real-world driving conditions, even if the vehicle passes formal emissions testing. The term appears in the US Clean Air Act and European Union regulations, to describe anything that prevents an emissions control system from working, and applies as well to power plants or other air pollution sources, as to automobiles.
In many countries, TDI is a registered trademark of Volkswagen AG.[2]
The TDI designation has also been used on vehicles powered by Land Rover-designed diesel engines. These are unrelated to Volkswagen Group engines.
Land Rover is a luxury car brand that specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles, owned by British multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover, which has been owned by India's Tata Motors since 2008. The Land Rover is regarded as a British icon, and was granted a Royal Warrant by King George VI in 1951. In 2001 it received the Queen's Award for Enterprise for outstanding contribution to international trade.
Overview
The TDI engine uses direct injection,[1][2] where a fuel injector sprays atomised fuel directly into the main combustion chamber of each cylinder,[1][2] rather than the pre-combustion chamber prevalent in older diesels which used indirect injection. The engine also uses forced induction by way of a turbocharger[1][2] to increase the amount of air which is able to enter the engine cylinders,[2] and most TDI engines also feature an intercooler to lower the temperature (and therefore increase the density) of the 'charged', or compressed air from the turbo, thereby increasing the amount of fuel that can be injected and combusted.[1][12] These, in combination, allow for greater engine efficiency, and therefore greater power outputs[2] (from a more complete combustion process compared to indirect injection), while also decreasing emissions and providing more torque[2] than the non-turbo and non-direct injection petrol engined counterpart from VAG.
A combustion chamber is that part of an internal combustion engine (ICE) or a reaction engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned.
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work. Cylinders may be sleeved or sleeveless. A sleeveless engine may also be referred to as a "parent-bore engine".
Indirect injection in an internal combustion engine is fuel injection where fuel is not directly injected into the combustion chamber. In the last decade, gasoline engines equipped with indirect injection systems, wherein a fuel injector delivers the fuel at some point before the intake valve, have mostly fallen out of favor to direct injection. However, certain manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Toyota have developed a 'dual injection' system, combining direct injectors with port (indirect) injectors, combining the benefits of both types of fuel injection. Direct injection allows the fuel to be precisely metered into the combustion chamber under high pressure which can lead to greater power, fuel efficiency. The issue with direct injection is that it typically leads to greater amounts of particulate matter and with the fuel no longer contacting the intake valves, carbon can accumulate on the intake valves over time. Adding indirect injection keeps fuel spraying on the intake valves, reducing or eliminating the carbon accumulation on intake valves and in low load conditions, indirect injection allows for better fuel-air mixing. This system is mainly used in higher cost models due to the added expense and complexity.
Similar technology has been used by other automotive companies, but "TDI" specifically refers to these Volkswagen Group engines. Naturally aspirated direct-injection diesel engines (those without a turbocharger) made by Volkswagen Group use the Suction Diesel Injection (SDI) label.
The SDI engine is a design of naturally aspirated (NA) direct injection diesel engine developed and produced by Volkswagen Group for use in cars and vans, along with marine engine and Volkswagen Industrial Motor applications.
Because these engines are relatively low displacement and quite compact, they have a low surface area. The resulting reduced surface area of the direct injection diesel engine reduces heat losses, and thereby increases engine efficiency, at the expense of slightly increased combustion noise. A direct injection engine is also easier to start when cold,[13] because of more efficient placing and usage of glowplugs.
Direct injection turbodiesel engines are frequent winners of various prizes in the International Engine of the Year Awards. In 1999 in particular, six out of twelve categories were won by direct injection engines: three were Volkswagen, two were BMW, and one Audi.[citation needed] Notably that year, the Volkswagen Group 1.2 TDI 3L beat the Toyota Prius to win "Best Fuel Economy" in its class.[citation needed] The TDI engine has won "Green Car of the Year" award in the years 2009 (Volkswagen Jetta 2.0-litre common-rail TDI clean diesel) and 2010 (Audi A3 TDI clean diesel) beating other various electric cars.
The first passenger car to be powered by direct injection was the 1986 Fiat Croma 2.0 TD i.d. (The Turbo Diesel iniezione diretta pump was developed by Bosch in accordance with Fiat's engineering specifications).[citation needed]
Rover introduced its MDI turbocharged direct injection diesel developed with Perkins, (also known as the Perkins Prima) in 1988 in the Rover Montego. It was also sold in marine form by Volvo. It used a Bosch VE injection pump. The engine had been launched in naturally aspirated form for commercial vehicles in 1986.
The first Volkswagen Group TDI engine was the Audi-developed 2.5-litre R5 TDI – an inline five-cylinder engine (R5), introduced in the Audi 100 in 1989[citation needed] – and this variant is still used today in Volkswagen Marine applications. The TDI arrangement has been enhanced through various stages of development – by improving the efficiency of the turbocharger, increasing the pressure at which fuel can be injected, and more precisely timing when the injection of fuel takes place. There have been a few major 'generations', starting with what are known as "VE", and "VP" (German: VerteilerPumpe) engines,[citation needed] which use a distributor-type injection pump. In 2000, the Pumpe Düse (PD, variously translated "pump nozzle", "unit injector", "pump injector") TDI engine[1] began to appear in Europe, eventually coming to North America a few years later.
The Pumpe Düse design was a reaction to the development of high-pressure common rail fuel injection systems by competitors – an attempt by Volkswagen Group to create an in-house technology of comparable performance that would not require any royalties to be paid.[citation needed] While Pumpe Düse engines had a significantly higher injection pressure than older engines, they are slightly less refined when compared to the very latest common rail[citation needed] and, with the original solenoid-operated unit injectors, were not able to control injection timing as precisely (a major factor in improving emissions).[citation needed] Some current PD TDI engines now use piezoelectric unit injectors, allowing far greater control of injection timing and fuel delivery.
From the 2009 model year onwards, TDI engines using the common rail (CR) technique, again with piezoelectric injectors, are now used in various Volkswagen Group models.[1] The CR engines are available in many sizes, including 1.2, 1.6, 2.0, 2.7, 3.0, 4.2 and 6.0 litres, with outputs from 55 to 368kW (75 to 500PS) from these engines.
On 18 September 2015 the US EPA and California Air Resources Board served notice to VW that approximately 480,000 VW and Audi automobiles equipped with 2.0 TDI engines sold in the US between 2009 and 2015 had an emissions compliance defeat device installed.[8][9] The defeat device, in the form of specially crafted engine management unitfirmware, detects emissions testing conditions, and in such conditions will cause the vehicle to comply with emissions regulations by properly activating all emissions controls. However, under normal driving conditions, the emissions controls are suppressed, allowing the engine to produce more torque and get better fuel economy, at the expense of emitting up to 40 times more nitrogen oxides than allowed by law.[10] Such NOx emission levels are not in compliance with US regulations. VW has since admitted to these allegations, and said that the illegal software was in use in its diesel cars worldwide, affecting some 11 million vehicles.[11]
A motor racing version of the common rail TDI engine made an impact in March 2006 when it was used in the Le Mans Prototype (LMP) Audi R10 TDI, and made its debut win in the 12 Hours of Sebring race.[14][15][16] This victory was followed three months later by another one in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, becoming the first diesel-powered car to win these prestigious endurance races.[17][18][19] Fuel economy was a significant factor, as the car did not have to refuel as often as petrol engined race cars in the race.[20] The car was fueled with a special synthetic V-Power diesel from Shell.[21] The Audi R10, R15 and R18 TDIs have won at Le Mans eight times in nine years, from 2006 to 2014, with only the 2009 race being won by Peugeot's 908 HDi FAP, which is also a diesel powered car.
The fuels required for TDI engines include diesel fuel (also known as petrodiesel), or B5, B20, or B99 biodiesel, depending on emissions equipment, location dependent.
Newer TDI engines, with higher injection pressures, are less forgiving of poor-quality fuel than their 1980s ancestors. Volkswagen Group's warranty does not cover damage due to bad fuel (diesel or bio), and has in the past recommended that only mixtures up to 5% biodiesel (B5) be used. Volkswagen Group has recently permitted mixes up to B20, and has recommended B5 be used in place of 100% petroleum-based diesel because of biodiesel's improved lubricating properties.[28][unreliable source?][citation needed]
In North America, No. 2 diesel fuel is recommended, since it has a higher cetane number than No. 1 fuel, and has lower viscosity (better ability to flow) than heavier fuel oils. Some owners in North America, where cetane levels are generally poor (as low as 40), use additives, or premium diesel, to get cetane numbers closer to the standard levels found in the European market (at least 51) where the engine is designed. Improved cetane reduces emissions while improving performance, and may increase fuel economy.
New ultra low-sulphur petroleum-only diesels are known to cause some seals to shrink,[29] and may cause fuel pump failures in TDI engines used in 2006 to 2009 models. TDI engines from 2009 on and before 2006 are designed to use ULSD exclusively; biodiesel blends are reported to prevent that failure[citation needed].
The SEAT Ibiza is a supermini car manufactured by Spanish car manufacturer SEAT since 1984. It is SEAT's best-selling car. The Ibiza is named after the Spanish island of Ibiza, and it is the second SEAT model to be named after a Spanish city, after the SEAT Ronda.
The SEAT León is a hatchback compact car built by the Spanish car manufacturer SEAT since October 1998.
The Volkswagen Păssat is a large family car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen since 1973, and now in its eighth generation. It has been marketed variously as the Dasher, Santana, Quantum, Magotan, Corsar and Carat. The successive generations of the Passat carry the Volkswagen internal designations B1, B2, etc. Originally these designations paralleled those of the Audi 80 and A4 with which the Passat shared platforms, however this is no longer the case.
The Volkswagen Touareg is a mid-size luxury SUV produced by German automaker Volkswagen since 2002 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant. The vehicle was named after the nomadic Tuareg people, inhabitants of the Saharan interior in North Africa.
The Audi A4 is a line of compact executive cars produced since 1994 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group.
Common-rail direct fuel injection is a direct fuel injection system for diesel engines.
The Volkswagen G60 and G40 engines are inline-four cylinder automobile petrol engines, which uses a specific method of forced induction - by way of a scroll-type supercharger. The G60 engine was formerly manufactured by the German automaker Volkswagen Group, and was installed in a limited number and range of 'hot hatch' cars from their Volkswagen Passenger Cars marque from August 1988 to July 1993.
BlueTEC is Daimler AG's marketing name for engines equipped with advanced NOx reducing technology for vehicle emissions control in diesel-powered vehicles. The technology in BlueTec vehicles includes a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system that uses diesel exhaust fluid, and a system of NOx adsorbers the automaker calls DeNOx, which uses an oxidizing catalytic converter and diesel particulate filter combined with other NOx reducing systems.
The Green Car of the Year is an award from the Green Car Journal. The winner is selected by an 11-member panel comprising automotive and environmental experts. Invited jurors have included Mario Andretti; Carroll Shelby, Jay Leno, Carl Pope, Christopher Flavin, Jonathan Lash and Jean-Michel Cousteau.
The Volkswagen Golf Mk5 is a compact car, the fifth generation of the Volkswagen Golf and the successor to the Volkswagen Golf Mk4. Built on the Volkswagen Group A5 (PQ35) platform, it was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in October 2003 and went on sale in Europe one month later. A compact MPV version of the car was produced as the Golf Plus.
BlueMotion is a tradename for certain car models from the Volkswagen Group with an emphasis on higher fuel efficiency.
Unit injector (UI) is a high pressure integrated direct fuel injection system for diesel engines, combining the injector nozzle and the injection pump in a single component. The plunger pump used is usually driven by a shared camshaft. In a unit injector, the device is usually lubricated and cooled by the fuel itself.
Diesel engines began to be used in automobiles in the 1930s. Mainly used for commercial applications early on, they did not gain popularity for passenger travel until their development in Europe in the 1960s. Diesel cars continue to develop into highly desired, high performance while retaining power and performance. In terms of pollution, diesel engines generally produce less carbon dioxide than gasoline-based engines but produce more nitrogen oxides
The Volkswagen emissions scandal, also known as Dieselgate or Emissionsgate, began in September 2015, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automaker Volkswagen Group. The agency had found that Volkswagen had intentionally programmed turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel engines to activate their emissions controls only during laboratory emissions testing which caused the vehicles' NO x output to meet US standards during regulatory testing, but emit up to 40 times more NO x in real-world driving. Volkswagen deployed this programming software in about eleven million cars worldwide, including 500,000 in the United States, in model years 2009 through 2015.
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