It is stated that the First Law of Thermodynamics is to never speak about thermodynamics. Although I may have that wrong, the second law, however, states that ‘heat cannot spontaneously flow from a colder location to a hotter location.’ In lieu of the second law of Thermodynamics, thermal efficiency is a dimensionless performance measure of a device that uses thermal energy. For example, the internal combustion engine.
That brings us neatly to the cylinder liners of Toyota’s new Dynamic Force engine. It has achieved an unheard of 40% Thermal Efficiency. It does it with things that aren’t yet revealed. Only that it runs on a 13:1 compression ratio. Jason Fenske of Engineering Explained, erm, explained that Toyota employed simple engine design and tuning tricks on its port- and direct-injected 2.0-liter inline-4 engine. The intake flow has also been optimized.
Watch this for a more detailed presentation:
Together with that high compression ratio we’re thinking maybe all-forged internals, a freer-flowing exhaust and somewhere around 200 bhp like the old 3S-GE mill – albeit more efficient and economical. The Dynamic Force engine is set to debut in the 2019 Corolla.
It’s nice to see that manufacturers aren’t giving up on petrol power just yet. Mazda’s SkyActiv-X program introduces a diesel-like compression and Infiniti is having a variable compression design. More importantly, it’s nice to see that Japan is back at building not only reliable and efficient cars, but exciting ones.