TDIMeister
Phd of TDIClub Enthusiast, Moderator at Large
The last month has been a very busy one for me as I attended several automotive conferences.
In one, I heard VW present technical details on the new 2.0L common-rail 16V TDI. But probably the highlight for me was sitting front-row-center in an audience at the Professional Motorsport World Expo in Cologne, Germany two weeks ago and having the opportunity to personally ask questions of Dr. Ulrich Baretzky, architect of Audi's LeMans R10 TDI program.
Among my questions, I asked him about Audi's choice of selecting a 5.5L V12 layout for the R10 TDI when a V10 or even V8 would have offered clear advantages in terms of packaging, weight and parasitic losses. I inquired if the 2009 ACO rule change mandating closed-cockpit cars will mean a ground-up redesign of the R10, or an evolutionary revision of the current cars. I asked him to comment on his oft-quoted apparent displeasure with IMSA for penalizing the R10 among other cars in the ALMS field (incidently, he was seated on the same table next to me with members of the Penske-Porsche team, and made a joking comment to be careful with his words in front of his new Porsche owners...). Other questions raised in the invitation-only Q&A luncheon included subjects such as Biofuel use in motorsport; technology transfers between motorsports and production cars; and smoke emission BEFORE the DPF (very, very interesting answer).
Although technical details were not disclosed, my own research revealed a few things... calculating from publically disclosed information, I estimate the Audi R10 engine (and presumably the Peugeot LeMans Diesel engine) is running an exceptionally low compression ratio, certainly under 16:1 and probably even as low as 14:1. The turbocharger compressor can be seen (I stuck my nose in every nook of the displayed engine at the Shell stand) as a GT37 (note to the turbo-swap guys), and the engine makes power to at least 6000 RPM... Cam timing is not very much different from a street TDI, but I feel vindicated in the cam design I made some years ago as being in the right direction.
By the way, if anyone is so inclined, you can go directly to the Bosch Motorsport website and buy every component practically off the shelf similar to the very pieces that went into the R10 engine, and build yourself a common-rail system WITH a Bosch Motronic MS15.2 Diesel ECU to drive piezo injectors (EUR 9,875!!) and swap it into a VE TDI....... You have the money, I can do it for you.....
In one, I heard VW present technical details on the new 2.0L common-rail 16V TDI. But probably the highlight for me was sitting front-row-center in an audience at the Professional Motorsport World Expo in Cologne, Germany two weeks ago and having the opportunity to personally ask questions of Dr. Ulrich Baretzky, architect of Audi's LeMans R10 TDI program.
Among my questions, I asked him about Audi's choice of selecting a 5.5L V12 layout for the R10 TDI when a V10 or even V8 would have offered clear advantages in terms of packaging, weight and parasitic losses. I inquired if the 2009 ACO rule change mandating closed-cockpit cars will mean a ground-up redesign of the R10, or an evolutionary revision of the current cars. I asked him to comment on his oft-quoted apparent displeasure with IMSA for penalizing the R10 among other cars in the ALMS field (incidently, he was seated on the same table next to me with members of the Penske-Porsche team, and made a joking comment to be careful with his words in front of his new Porsche owners...). Other questions raised in the invitation-only Q&A luncheon included subjects such as Biofuel use in motorsport; technology transfers between motorsports and production cars; and smoke emission BEFORE the DPF (very, very interesting answer).
Although technical details were not disclosed, my own research revealed a few things... calculating from publically disclosed information, I estimate the Audi R10 engine (and presumably the Peugeot LeMans Diesel engine) is running an exceptionally low compression ratio, certainly under 16:1 and probably even as low as 14:1. The turbocharger compressor can be seen (I stuck my nose in every nook of the displayed engine at the Shell stand) as a GT37 (note to the turbo-swap guys), and the engine makes power to at least 6000 RPM... Cam timing is not very much different from a street TDI, but I feel vindicated in the cam design I made some years ago as being in the right direction.
By the way, if anyone is so inclined, you can go directly to the Bosch Motorsport website and buy every component practically off the shelf similar to the very pieces that went into the R10 engine, and build yourself a common-rail system WITH a Bosch Motronic MS15.2 Diesel ECU to drive piezo injectors (EUR 9,875!!) and swap it into a VE TDI....... You have the money, I can do it for you.....