Engineers at Vauxhall-Opel have made a significant breakthrough with the diesel engines to feature in the new Vauxhall-Opel Insignia model – by reducing both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 12 per cent.
The trio of 2.0litre Opel Insignia engines will now be equipped with start/stop technology and fuel consumption has been reduced by 0.6litres per 100km. For example, the 118kW/160hp 2.0 CDTI ecoFLEX engine reports fuel economy of 55mpg while emitting just 115g/km of CO2; while the 81kW/110hp variant produces 53mpg and emits 116g/km.
All of the engines benefit from a number of environmentally enhancing measures. For example, the combustion process is optimised via cylinder-integrated pressure sensors that reduce nitrogen oxide and soot particles. In addition, they are all fitted with an electronically controlled exhaust gas recirculation and the bearings of the dual overhead camshafts have been changed to needle bearings to reduce friction and consumption.
Another focus has been the fuel injection strategy with the aim of cutting the typical noise and vibrations associated with diesel engines. For example, a third-generation common-rail system operates with injection pressures up to 1,600 bar while an electro-magnetically controlled injection nozzle allows multiple injections per cycle and ensures precise combustion control with the engines additionally insulated against noise.
