I’ve tried out BMW’s 2.0 litre inline-4 turbodiesel engine used in the BMW 320d and have had good experiences with it, despite the noticable turbo lag. BMW has upped the ante once again with it’s second twin-turbodiesel engine after the 3.0 litre twin turbodiesel used in the 535d and 335d.
The previous 3.0 litre twinturbo was a record in production car turbodiesel application, making 91 horsepower per litre and ridiculously huge amounts of torque. This new 2.0 litre twinturbo inline-4 surpasses that, making roughly 100hp per litre – it’s power figures are 204 horsepower and 400Nm of torque! For comparison’s sake, it’s single-turbo sibling in the 320d I tested makes 163hp at 4,000rpm and 340Nm of torque between 2,000rpm to 2,750rpm.
The 400Nm figure is as much torque as what the new M3’s 4.0 litre V8 makes. All 400 Newton meters kick in at a low 2,000rpm, but that’s not the best part. Half of that, which is 200 Newton meters, is available from just 1,200rpm! That’s only slightly above idle!
The twin turbocharging system is a sequential one, instead of parallel like the 335i‘s N54 Bi-Turbo. In this sequential system, a smaller turbo takes care of the low revs while a bigger one boosts power towards the redline. Despite all that power, fuel consumption is just 4.9 litres of diesel per 100 km.
Opel currently unofficially holds the record of the highest horsepower per displacement for a turbodiesel. It’s OPC division developed 1.9 litre ECOTEC CDTI twin-turbo makes 112hp per litre, for a total of 212hp and 400Nm of torque, which kicks in lower at only 1,400rpm. However, since it’s announcement in early 2004, it has not been used in any production car yet.
One more photo and a torque curve graph after the jump.
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Well, look a bit sophisticate to me.. 2 turbo in one 4-inline engine… wow.. I can merely see the smaller turbo in the up, then follow the bigger one down there.. Hmm… izzit the air being suck by the larger turbo then bypass the second smaller turbo or is it both free on its on.. a bit strange the piping.. Hmm.. really high tech for me..
I think at lower revs the smaller turbo is activated and the air will bypass the large turbo. At high revs the opposite happens, the small turbo is bypassed and the large turbo is doing the job. In between there probably will be a time when both turbos are in action. Not a new idea but the increased advancement in controling these two turbos and the air/exhaust stream that feed it is what makes this a technological wonder.
"Despite all that power, fuel consumption is just 4.9 liters of diesel per km."
Is JUST 4.9 liters of diesel per km??? Which means, RM7.75 per km.. That's h*ll lot of fuel.. and it is definitely not JUST…. :D
sorry, typo. its 4.9 liters per 100km.
Paul,
Boss, i think your comparison is a bit outdated. The latest BMW 2 Liter Single-Turbo (Diesel) engine produced 177HP and 350NM of torque (not 163HP, 340NM). You should compare this new diesel engine to the new 2 Liter Twin-Turbo.
The figure in your comparison is from it’s OLD single-turbo sibling.
Wow, interesting, all that power and torque from a diesel, just add twin turbos. Wow, I'm getting ideas for my car already :p
myboy, i know the engine has been updated, but i was trying to illustrate what i felt in the 320d i tested to the new numbers that this engine will provide. edited the post to illustrate what i mean.
Paul,
Thanks for paying heed. Just contributing in my own way.
Hope PaulTan.org will become the best automotive website and the manufacturer/distributor will treat you the way they treat other automotive journalist in a form of giving PaulTan.org more test drive opportunities.
I wonder if the same method can be applied for 4G63T? I probably use a TD025 from an Eterna and TD05-16G from Evo 3.
instead of variable geometry turbo to overcome turbo lag, this sequential turbo is an alternative, just need piping and gating, abit busy,
guick initial start of first small turbo first reall wakes up the torque,
bmw really go for effiency now, seriously ,wonder how hybrid could batter of, internal comustion really improves a lot with its light weights, gdi for patrol, variable inlet/exh, start stop, energy regeneration, so on,
batter for enviorenment, ….fan of internal combustion engine lives on,
proton GL,
As far as i know, this Twin-Turbodiesel approach is much better in reducing turbo lag compared to Single-VTG-Turbodiesel.
myboy
i must say you re right , base on the inertia of a bigger single turbo is greater.
just that VGT, is SIMPLER solution get the tubine spin premeturely ,
both have the same goal ,
INERTIA wise ,smaller turbo of the twin, sipn healthier initially before the next,
proton GL,
Yes bro, its about inertia. Nowadays this configuration has become norm if we are talking about low lag and high specific power output (with high reliability) due to the advancement in electronic management, metallurgy, manufacturing method and other related field.
God I can't wait to afford one of these babies, maybe in Australia where luxury cars are an achievable goal.
cool….