Under today's increasingly stringent emission regulations, more and more OEMs have canceled the research and development and use of large-displacement engines, but consumers will not reduce the power performance requirements of vehicles because of the shrinkage of displacement, so OEMs can only make a big fuss about increasing the power. GM's eighth-generation Ecotec's new 1.5T four-cylinder direct injection turbo engine has a maximum power of 155kW, and a liter of up to 103kW/L in the same displacement, why this engine can have such a strong power performance, today we will conduct a comprehensive analysis of it.
First of all, let's first introduce the new 1.5T engine of the eighth generation of GM Ecotec, as the latest member of the Ecotec engine family, this engine continues the design concept of "single cylinder optimal", using modular architecture development and integration, not only with the eighth generation of Ecotec engine series "high performance, high performance, high durability" product characteristics, but also to achieve "more performance, smarter, quieter" outstanding characteristics.
Available in high/low power versions, it can be matched to the needs of different models. It is mated to the 9-speed Hydro-Matic intelligent transmission and the CVT continuously variable transmission. At the same time, it has a strong derivative expansion capability, which can be combined with 48V light hybrid technology, strong mixing or PHEV insertion and mixing system as needed.
The maximum power rating range of the new 1.5T engine is 135kW to 155kW, which is 26% higher than that of the previous generation engine, the maximum torque output is increased by 8%, the range is 250N·m~270N·m, and the peak torque continuous output speed range is also wider. In addition, according to the more stringent WLTC test standards, the fuel economy of the new engine is 6% higher than that of the previous generation, fully meeting the requirements of China VIb and the world's most stringent California evaporation emission regulations.
It is worth mentioning that with the VIP (Vehicle Intelligence) intelligent electronic architecture that can meet the aviation-grade network security, the engine control system can not only be efficiently interconnected with the transmission control system, chassis control system, body control system, etc., but also realize the interconnection with the cloud for the first time, supporting a comprehensive OTA upgrade including the underlying control software, engine controller software and calibration, so that the engine has the opportunity to further release the hardware potential and expand performance.
Of course, the all-round improvement of the engine is naturally inseparable from the support of hardware. The engine has many upgrades and changes in terms of hardware compared to the previous generation, such as the 35Mpa high-pressure in-cylinder direct injection system, ATM thermal management system, Dual Fast camshaft phase adjustment system, water-cooled intercooler system, etc. Next, take the 1.5T high-power engine with 48V light hybrid system as an example, and present the core hardware and design highlights of this engine one by one.
Compared with the competitors of similar engines, we analyze it from two aspects. First of all, let's compare the power, here are the Honda 1.5T high-power version, the Volkswagen EVO 1.5T high-power version, the Great Wall's latest 1.5T and Chery's latest 1.6T. As can be seen from the figure, GM's new 1.5T engine has a maximum power of 155kW that is far ahead of the competition in the same class. Compared with the Honda engine of the same displacement, the output power is 12kW higher, and even the 1.6T engine with a larger displacement does not occupy the "displacement advantage" in front of it.
Greater power means that when both vehicles have the same drivetrain hardware/tuning and curb quality, the more powerful vehicle will have better rear-section acceleration and higher extreme speeds when driving in the same road conditions.
Competitive engine torque output comparison table
Of course, a good engine torque performance is just as important as power, so let's take a look at the torque comparison with competitors. As can be seen from the curve chart, the same is still these five engines, although the universal full 1.5T is not particularly top-notch in terms of peak torque, but it can be seen that its starting speed can output 258N·m at 1500 rpm, about 95% of the peak torque, and then 1700 rpm to reach the peak torque, until 5500 rpm began to fall, the torque platform is very broad.
Among the other four engines, although the Great Wall 1.5T and Chery 1.6T have a maximum torque that is better than the GM 1.5T, both engines have a common characteristic, that is, the torque platform is narrow, the former has a torque platform of 1400-3000 rpm, and the latter is 2000-4000 rpm. Too narrow a torque platform can lead to poor acceleration at high speeds in the vehicle, as well as shift shocks and power interruptions during large throttle acceleration. The torque platform of the GM 1.5 engine can cover almost all the torque needs of the full speed range in various operating conditions, which is a good choice for users who pursue driving smoothness and long-term acceleration.
The ATM active thermal management system used in this engine is composed of an intelligent thermal management module and an electronic water pump, and only SAIC-GM in China currently adopts this practice. The active thermal management system can not only allow the engine to warm up faster, provide air conditioning and warm air earlier in low temperature climates, but also when the engine is turned off, the electronic water pump can still continue to work, dissipating heat for components such as turbines, extending their service life, reducing the failure rate, and improving the overall stability of the engine.
*Note: Robustness refers to the characteristics of the control system that maintain certain other performance under certain (structure, size) parameter perturbation. According to the different definitions of performance, it can be divided into stable robustness and performance robustness.
Editor's comments: GM's eighth-generation Ecotec's new 1.5T engine is called the "Avatar" engine inside North American GM. The reason why it is called so is because it has a savage flesh, superhuman wisdom, savage flesh means the highest power of the same level and a wide torque platform, which can bring users a smooth power performance; superhuman wisdom is VIP electronic architecture, OTA upgrade function, 35Mpa high-pressure in-cylinder direct injection system, ATM thermal management system, Dual Fast camshaft phase adjustment system and many other high-tech intelligent software and hardware, making this engine more performance, smarter and quieter. In today's environment of squeezing power, this engine can stand out with such a high specification, which shows that its strength cannot be underestimated!