Referring to the small-displacement turbocharged engine of the 1.4T class, many people must first think of Volkswagen. Indeed, from the earliest EA11 to the current EA211, the Volkswagen 1.4T engine has almost always been the domestic “arcade”. But even so, the Volkswagen 1.4T engine never appeared on Ward's top ten list. However, the Koreans did not do what the Germans did. Why does the modern 1.4T engine win this honor? We are still "disassembling first!"

● What is special about this Korean small displacement supercharged engine?

Since 1994, Ward's AutoWorld magazine has selected the top ten engines in the U.S. market every year. They will give comprehensive results based on the engine's power, torque, NVH, technical content, and actual vehicle performance. Although it is only aimed at the U.S. market, it will give some guidance to our domestic consumers, as many award winning engines will be introduced domestically, such as the modern Kappa 1.4T engine.

Kappa is not the "back-to-back" we wear here. It is the name of the latest three- and four-cylinder small-displacement engine of the Hyundai Group. In addition to the one we have demolished today, it also includes 1.0L, 1.2L and 1.25L. Wait for several Kappa series machines.

It is said that in order to develop this series of engines, South Koreans spent more than 400 million U.S. dollars, mainly focusing on improving their fuel economy and meeting more stringent national emissions regulations. From the comparison of dynamic parameters, it can be seen that with regard to the adjustment of dynamics, Hyundai did not produce eye-catching data.

Since the technical content belongs to the mainstream level, the dynamic parameters are not outstanding. How did it win the praise of Americans? "Car and Driver" rated it as "Quiet and quick turbo engine, mpg exceeds expectations." Yes, excellent engine noise levels, sensitive power response speeds, and unexpected fuel economy may be the largest of this engine. The advantages. Let's talk about how to improve fuel economy by disassembling the Kappa 1.4T engine.

The fuel-efficient way of a modern Kappa 1.4T engine

Fuel saving is one of the most important points for every consumer. Fuel saving is money saving, but for car companies, they are not just thinking about consumers, but also meeting increasingly stringent emission regulations. We must know that in 2020, domestic The average fuel consumption of new passenger cars should reach 5.0 L/100km. How to improve fuel economy in traditional internal combustion engine power, let's take a look at modern practices.

Fuel-efficient first move: weight loss

The engine uses an aluminum alloy cylinder block and cylinder head. Lightweight material controls the weight of the entire engine. Compared to the previous Gamma 1.4T engine on the modern i20, the Kappa 1.4T engine lost 14 kg. There is a saying "Ning Shao less than 10 horsepower, not more than 1 kilogram". Lightweight is an unchanging issue in the development of automobiles. It has reduced weight and benefits both fuel economy and power.

Nowadays, it is not unusual to use aluminum alloy cylinders. In recent years, most of the new engines use aluminum alloy cylinders. Of course, there are differences between different brands of engines, and the gap between car companies is also the processing technology of aluminum alloy shells. The pros and cons of the technology are related to the actual problems of oil leakage and other problems during the later period of use.

In addition, the engine's cylinder head integrated with the exhaust manifold, integrated exhaust manifold design can reduce the weight of the engine to a certain extent, but weight loss is not the main purpose of this design.

On the one hand, the integrated exhaust manifold allows the engine to reach normal temperatures in a cold-start state. On the other hand, the exhaust manifold is located in the cylinder head with a cooling line, enabling high-speed and high-load operation. Effectively lowering the exhaust temperature and preventing the high temperature from causing the catalytic effect of the three-way catalytic converter to decrease, based on this design, the official said that it can reduce fuel consumption by 5%-7% at high speeds.

The second fuel-efficient approach: "a reasonable diet"

Prior to the invention of variable valve timing technology, the engine was usually at a low speed, because the valve overlap angle is greater than the ideal value, so that part of the fresh gas mixture is carried away by the exhaust gas, resulting in an increase in fuel consumption and emissions; at high speeds, due to The valve overlap angle is smaller than the ideal value, and the intake air volume is insufficient, resulting in a decrease in the maximum power of the engine. In short, it is just as impossible to order just the right amount of vegetables when ordering in the restaurant. How can the valve overlap angle be adjusted in real time according to different speeds and operating conditions to achieve the desired value? Variable valve timing technology was born.

The third measure of fuel-efficient: Mechanization becomes electronic

Behind the iterations of automotive technology is the development of the entire industry. At first, the automobile is the most primitive mechanical tool. Then it continues to increase the number of electronic and electrified equipment. Now that it has more intelligent interconnection functions, technological changes have brought about many benefits. On this 1.4T engine, we can also see that the transition from a mechanical structure to an electronic device has had a positive effect on fuel economy.

The fourth fuel-efficient approach: reducing losses

Toyota's thermal efficiency has reached a maximum of 41% in mass production engines. That's right, which means that more than half of the energy is wasted! It is a pity that it is not, but even raising the thermal efficiency by 1% is a very remarkable matter. In addition to digging from the perspective of the combustion itself, such as studying lean burn, tumble effects, turbocharged effects, etc., there is actually a means to reduce energy loss.

The energy loss of the internal combustion engine mainly includes several aspects such as mechanical loss, friction loss, and pump loss. With regard to frictional losses, Hyundai improved on this 1.4T engine and applied a low-friction system coating on the piston ring that rubs against the inner wall of the cylinder, thereby reducing fuel consumption by 0.3%.

In addition, modern improvements to the engine thermal management system also reflect a 0.5% increase in fuel consumption. It is mainly to separate the cylinder and the cylinder head of the two "constitution" guys to manage, generally the cylinder part is more likely to "fever", so the use of a more cooling system to control the circulatory system.

to sum up:

This Kappa 1.4T engine won the Top Ten Engine Award from the Americans. It not only illustrates the modern strength of the small-displacement turbocharged engine, but also shows that Americans accustomed to large-capacity self-priming engines have begun to accept this type of engine. Machines, and behind all this is the result of global emission regulations and fuel consumption requirements. Of course, an engine alone cannot constitute a sufficient reason for us to buy a car, but also depends on the effect of the final match to the real car. Does it take the lead and ix25 to meet all your needs, or do you have the final say?