VW Gives In

[lalli]

VW has finally decided to abandon its unique diesel fuel injection system.
When common rail injection was invented by Fiat in the 1990s, it was rapidly adopted by every other car manufacturer. Common rail works by pumping fuel into all the cylinders from a common pipe, or rail. However, VW insisted it had a better solution called pump-duese that involved a separate injection system for every cylinder. No one else could really see the point of this complex solution and VW has decided to go the same route as the rest of the industry from 2007.

Given the growing cost difference between VW's unique approach and a system that is being produced by the million for everyone else, VW had to admit defeat. (reuters)

See, Fiat have always been the masters of diesel and will always be!!!

 

[JTD Monkey]

One small correction; 'Common Rail' was jointly developed by Mercedes Benz, Bosch and Fiat.

It was not a whole-Fiat project

 

[santa]

I thought it was developed by Fiat together with researchers at Zurich University, and then sold to Bosch for final production.

 

[Ben R]

I work for a VW dealer & I haven't heard anything about dropping the PD engine, TBH I don't think they will it's too popular.

 

[lire100]

I thought it was developed by Fiat together with researchers at Zurich University, and then sold to Bosch for final production.

this is what i knew too

 

[dave]

I thought it was developed by Fiat together with researchers at Zurich University, and then sold to Bosch for final production.

:yeahthat: what i thought

 

[JTD Monkey]

I work for a VW dealer & I haven't heard anything about dropping the PD engine, TBH I don't think they will it's too popular.

By Jens Meiners
Automotive News Europe / October 31, 2005

MUNICH -- Volkswagen group will switch completely to common-rail technology when it launches a new generation of three- and four-cylinder diesel engines starting in 2007.

The German automaker is dropping the unit-injector fuel management system from its diesels.

VW decided it would be too difficult to adapt the system, which it calls Pumpe-Düse, to work with the particulate filters. The filters must be added so diesel systems can meet tougher European Union emission laws due to take effect before the end of the decade.

When it was introduced in 1998, VW's unit-injector system was touted as a revolutionary technology that made diesel engines quieter, more powerful and more efficient than engines with traditional fuel-injection systems.

But unit-injector systems have lost their technological edge over common-rail fuel-injection systems.

VW uses common-rail systems on its models with V-6 and V-8 diesel engines.

Common-rail benefits

The latest common-rail systems are cheaper to manufacture than unit-injector systems. They also run more quietly and can handle the injection cycle demanded by diesel particulate filters much better than unit-injector systems.

Robert Bosch supplies 1.8 million unit-injector systems a year to VW, its only customer for a technology that Bosch developed.

A Bosch spokesman said the company is in talks with VW to supply the carmaker with Bosch common-rail systems to replace the unit-injector technology.

Bosch supplied 5.8 million common-rail systems to customers in 2004 and 25 million since 1997. One of its customers is VW subsidiary Audi.

Last November, VW opened a E240 million joint-venture plant in Stollberg, eastern Germany, with Siemens VDO Automotive to manufacture injectors for unit-injector systems.

A VW source said the plant could be used to produce other parts, likely common-rail system components.

Siemens VDO is a leading supplier of piezo-actuated injectors for common-rail systems.

I thought it was developed by Fiat together with researchers at Zurich University, and then sold to Bosch for final production.

A quick search of the internet shows it is not entirely clear who created it. Bosch certainly cite brininging common-rail to the market in 1997. However, other studies suggest it was Fiat. And I can't find Mercedes anywhere. My statement was based on an article in Autocar some years ago.

 

[santa]

A quick search of the internet shows it is not entirely clear who created it. Bosch certainly cite brininging common-rail to the market in 1997. However, other studies suggest it was Fiat. And I can't find Mercedes anywhere. My statement was based on an article in Autocar some years ago.

There is some info on http://www.italiaspeed.com/new_models/2005/fiat/grande_punto/engines.html.

Scroll down to the part "The Multijet system on the second generation JTD engines".

 

[JTD Monkey]

Indeed, but it is just one of a number of conflicting articles/ statements that I have read. However, the article also points out that Fiat adopted common rail technology that had been developed by the University researchers in Zurich, which tells me it had already been developed rather than Fiat developing it.

So I am confused right now

 

[lalli]

Fiat had developed it together with the university of zurich. mercedes had not developed. Does no one believe that Fiat developed the common-rail system???:bang:

I remember mercedes i think used to use pump duse technology and dropped it in favour of common rail. (cdi)

 

[Gav]

Where as Ford and Vauxhall just buy in diesel engines!

 

[T14086]

VW decided it would be too difficult to adapt the system, which it calls Pumpe-Düse, to work with the particulate filters. The filters must be added so diesel systems can meet tougher European Union emission laws due to take effect before the end of the decade.

Was reading about the particulate filter on the new punto other day...so expect loads of posts on this from feb 2006 onwards