Toyota Produces a 44% Thermally Efficient Turbo Diesel

And not meant for North American consumption... Again.

Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – June 21, 2015

One of these days we will receive a TD from the Big T that is 15 percent more fuel efficient with 25 percent more maximum torque too. Just not today.

Toyota's newly developed direct-injection turbo diesel engines raise the bar with the world's very first use of Thermo Swing Wall Insulation Technology (TSWIN) making the all-new 175 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque 2.8L one of the most thermally efficient in existence. Up to 44 percent according to Toyota. Despite smaller engine displacement than to the current KD engine, maximum torque is improved by 25 percent and low speed torque improved by 11 percent, while fuel efficiency has received a 15 percent boost.

The engines also have Toyota's first-ever urea Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system. The newly developed 2.8L is currently available in the new Hilux small pickup truck launched in Thailand in May 2015, and in the partially redesigned Land Cruiser Prado launched in Japan on June 17.

The new engines have proven their high thermal efficiency, quiet operation, and powerful performance.

The new turbo.

By adjacent positioning of the catalyst for cleaner performance and other improvements, catalyst size has been reduced by roughly 30 percent and number of exhaust system layouts reduced from 18 to just three, vastly simplifying the global deployment process and lessening the environmental burden.

Thanks to the world-first use of Thermo Swing Wall Insulation Technology and the use of silica-reinforced porous anodized aluminum (SiRPA) on the pistons, cooling loss during combustion is reduced by approximately 30 percent. SiRPA is a high insulation and dissipation material that is easy to heat and easy to cool.

A port shape more conducive to air intake drastically increases the amount of air flow into the cylinders. Additionally, a newly developed piston combustion chamber shape and a common-rail fuel injection system that achieves higher pressure and more advanced control of fuel injection pressure are used to optimize the injection of fuel into the combustion chamber. This maximizes air consumption, enabling high thermal efficiency and low emissions.

Precise pilot injection matching the state of the ambient air occurs before the main injection to shorten ignition delay, achieving stable combustion even in the world's harshest environments, while ensuring quiet operation and high thermal efficiency.

The new turbocharger used by the GD engines is 30 percent smaller than its current equivalent, and features a newly developed turbine that improves efficiency, and a newly developed impeller that provides instantaneous acceleration response and produces maximum torque over a wide range of RPM.

Toyota's all-new 2.8L Turbo Diesel Engine and Piston

The current globally deployed KD engines will be gradually phased out and replaced with GD engines. By 2016, production will reach approximately 700,000 units a year with introduction in approximately 90 markets, set to expand to at least 150 markets by 2020.

Toyota Produces a 44% Thermally Efficient Turbo Diesel