Visteon claims breakthrough in engine boosting

Automotive News Europe

Visteon Corp. has developed an engine boosting technology that delivers extra torque with little or no modification to existing engines.

The Visteon Torque Enhancement System, or V-TES, can be applied to naturally aspirated or turbocharged gasoline-powered engines or turbo-diesel engines.

Visteon said it is in discussions with major European carmakers about the technology. It did not name the carmakers but said the first application of V-TES would likely appear by mid-decade in 1.4 liter turbodiesel engines.

Using V-TES would raise output to the equivalent of 1.9 liters, allowing automakers to subsitute smaller and lighter engines, said Jeff Brown, Visteon's customer applications manager for advanced powertrain systems.

In car terms, torque is pulling power generated by twisting force from the crankshaft. The greater the torque, the more force the engine can apply to the driven wheels.

New engines designed around V-TES will appear in Europe in 2008, Brown said.

V-TES has been under development exclusively in Europe since 1998, said Guy Morris, Visteon's Senior manager for advanced powertrain systems. The program is centered at Visteon's Coventry, England plant.

Morris said Visteon has spent millions of euros examining the traditional turbocharging and supercharging approaches to achieving large-engine performance with small-engine economy.

Designed to operate only when needed, a turbocharger uses waste exhaust gases to drive a turbine, which forces additional air and fuel into the combustion chambers.

The greater amount of air-fuel mixture produces more power when ignited. By contrast, a supercharger uses a full-time compressor driven by a belt attached to the engine, but it also pumps more air-fuel mixture into the cobustion chambers.

Both systems have drawbacks that have limited their use. Besides added mechanical complexity, turbochargers have a slow response to driver demand because the air-driven turbine doesn't work until it reaches full speed. Full-time superchargers increases fuel consumption.

V-TES provides an intelligent boost solution, Morris said. The system uses an air management system with an electronically controlled and electrically powered supercharger at its heart.

In trials in a naturally aspirated 1.2 liter gasoline engine, V-TES gave a 30 percent to 40 percent improvement in torque, Brown said. Acceleration improved to almost that of a 1.8 liter engine without affecting fuel economy.

Wonder which European car makers they're working with (My guess is VW). Wouldn't it be cool to apply this to the 2.5 liter engine?

I remember hearing about 'electronically controlled' (read: runs off a motor) on-demand centrifugal superchargers made for motorhome use a decade ago.

So it's just an electric blower--a supercharger with an electric motor instead of being conected to the crankshaft?

Actually I'm wondering why they didn't use it sooner.

Really would like to have this on my 325. If they add this to valvetronic... my car feels so obsolete...

Originally posted by fuz
So it's just an electric blower--a supercharger with an electric motor instead of being conected to the crankshaft?

Actually I'm wondering why they didn't use it sooner.

Really would like to have this on my 325. If they add this to valvetronic... my car feels so obsolete...

Prolly because existing 12V systems aren't powerful enought to make a damn.

I think it's either Visteon or Delphi that's also developing the 42V electrical systems.

The new E60 5 series is supposed to have the 42v electrical system. I was surprised the E65 did not have it, BMW has been developing it for a while.

Audi had it on the outgoing A8 too, didn't they?

Last I checked, it was 48V.

Originally posted by Nick325xiT 5spd
Last I checked, it was 48V.

Damn those injun-neers. How they s'pose we keep up?