HOW TO

IMPROVE FUEL
ECONOMY IN
MODERN CARS

4/3/2016

By: Nicholas Montao

How to improve fuel economy in modern cars

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summery .......................................................... 2
Introduction ....................................................................... 3
How an Internal Combustion Engine Works ................ 3
Methodology .................................................................... 4
Results ................................................................................ 4
Discussion........................................................................... 5
Recommendation .............................................................. 7
References ........................................................................ 8

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How to improve fuel economy in modern cars

Executive Summery
The purpose of this report is to determine what fuel efficient technologies will provide our car with the best
combination of fuel economy and engine power. After researching the four main technologies that improve
fuel efficiency, I concluded that the best way to increase fuel economy without losing engine power is to install
a turbocharger system, Variable Valve Lift and Timing, and an 8 speed automated manual transmission. My
methodology for this report was to research government and scholarly reports over these fuel efficient
technologies, give a brief explanation of how an internal combustion engine works to help the reader
understand the technical language of the report, clearly and carefully label and structure the contents of the
report, and analyze the cost and efficiency of each technology. The results from my research showed that
turbocharging a downsized engine resulted in a 15% increase in fuel economy, Variable Valve Lift and
Timing resulted in an 11% increase in fuel economy, cylinder deactivation systems resulted in a 7.5% increase
in fuel economy when used alone and only a .7% increase in economy when used with Variable Valve Lift and
Timing, and an 8 speed transmission resulted in an 8% increase in fuel economy. From my research, I devised
a plan that combines these technologies to best increase fuel economy and power. This plan consisted of
implementing a turbocharger system, Variable Valve Timing, and an 8 speed transmission. In addition to this,
I recommend that we use a twin turbo charger system to provide the greatest increase of power for our
engine and an 8 speed automated manual transmission to give the driver a better driving experience.

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How to improve fuel economy in modern cars

Introduction
Today, consumers desire vehicles that have performance handling and engine power. However, they demand
that these vehicles also be fuel efficient. Because of this, car companies are required to design new cars
every year that keep up with these demands. This report will in detail explain the best methods to achieve
these demands. According to the US
Department of Transportations
National Highway Traffic Safety
Fuel economy standards are expected to be 40.3-41.0
Administration, fuel economy
miles per gallon (mpg) by 2021 and 48.7-49.7 mpg by
standards are expected to be 40.341.0 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2021
2025 our company needs to stay on top of this
and 48.7-49.7 mpg by 2025 (Cost).
demand.
This means that our company needs to
stay on top of this demand by
implementing the use of fuel efficient
technologies. If we do not, consumers
will go to other companies that do this to purchase vehicles. Technologies that will improve fuel economy in our
vehicles include turbochargers, cylinder deactivation, variable valve timing, and 8+ speed transmissions. This
report will go over the effectiveness and general cost of each of these methods.

How an Internal Combustion Engine Works

An internal combustion engines main components are its valves, cylinders, pistons, crankshaft, and camshaft.
The pistons are located inside the cylinders and are connected to the crankshaft by piston rods. As the pistons
move up and down, they rotate the crankshaft, which then provides power to the rest of the drive train,
causing the wheels to turn. The camshaft is connected to the crankshaft by a chain; as the crankshaft rotates,
the camshaft also rotates. The camshaft has lobes on it which cause the valves to open and close. The valves
are located in the cylinder above the
pistons. There are four per cylinder,
two exhaust valves and two intake
valves. Like the picture to the left
shows, as the piston goes down in its
first stroke, air and fuel enter the
cylinder through the intake valves. As
the piston goes up, it compresses the air
and fuel. At the top of this stroke, the
spark plug ignites the fuel and air and
cause the piston to go down; this is
where the power comes from. Finally,
the piston goes up for a final time and
expels the burned fuel and air through
the exhaust valves, completing the
cycle. The pistons then repeat this cycle
over and over again.

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How to improve fuel economy in modern cars

Methodology
For this report, I began by researching scholarly reports and government issued reports on modern car
technologies that improve fuel economy. I made sure that most of these reports over fuel efficient
technologies were written within the past 5 years so that all the
information is as recent as possible. Only one report was written
I made sure that most of these
outside of this time period, but it still had modern information that
reports over fuel efficient
agreed with my other research. I also looked for information and
technologies were written
graphics over how internal combustion engines work so that I could
within the past 5 years so that
include a brief explanation to further help readers understand the
all the information is as recent
technical terminology of this report. All of my research centered on
as possible.
the research question and focused on what modern car technologies
allowed an automobile to get better fuel economy. Thankfully,
there has been extensive research done on this subject, so I had
plenty of information to sort through. I broke up my report into sections that covered each individual
technology. For example, I have sections over turbochargers, valve train, transmissions, and cylinder
deactivation systems. Because of this, the report has a very smooth flow from one subject to another. It also
allows the reader to skim the report
for any individual technology.

This is the percentage of fuel economy that each

individulal technology increases. Notice that
they are all effective when used alone.

Results
In this section, I will review how
each main technology improved
fuel economy and state what the
general cost is to implement each
technology.

Turbochargers
(Turbo)
One of the most popular ways of
increasing fuel economy without
giving up horsepower is to use a
turbocharger to force more air and
fuel into the engine. This raises the
power output of the engine,
allowing us to use a smaller and
more fuel efficient engine.
Compared to a naturally aspirated
engine, we could be looking at
upwards of 15% less fuel
consumption if we reduce the
displacement of our performance
engine by 50% (Cost). The general
cost for a turbocharger system

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How to improve fuel economy in modern cars

would cost between $600 and $900 (Cost).

Variable Valve Lift and Timing (VVLT)

Variable Valve Lift and Timing changes the camshafts profile and rotation respectively. This effects the valve
lift (how far the valve opens) and the valve duration (how long the valve stays open) respectively (Tracy).
This varies the amount of fuel and air that enters the cylinder and when they enter. This allows the engine to
take in air and fuel better at different engine speeds and power outputs. In turn, this improves power, fuel
economy, and emissions. This technology reduces fuel consumption upwards of 11% (Energy). It costs around
$115 to install in the engine (Cost).

Cylinder Deactivation Systems (CD)

I also researched the effectiveness of a cylinder deactivation system. In this type of system, three of our six
cylinders will shut down when the car is cruising and there is no power demand from the engine. This system
works by forcing the valves in the cylinders that are to be shut down to stay closed. This causes no air and
fuel to enter the cylinder and no exhaust to exit. This effectively shuts down the cylinders, saving fuel. Using a
cylinder deactivation system for vehicle would reduce fuel consumption around 5.5%-7.5% (Cost). However,
when used with variable valve lift and timing, it only reduces fuel economy by 0.7% (Cost). The general cost
for this system is around $120 (Cost).

8 Speed Transmissions (Transmission)

The majority of transmissions available in vehicles are 5 and 6 speed manual transmissions and 4 speed
automatic transmissions. For our vehicle, I researched the benefits of an 8 speed automated manual
transmission. This transmission is manually shifted by the driver through paddle shifters while the shifting
function is performed automatically (IEA and EMCT). Because of this, there is no manual clutch for the driver to
operate. The extra amount of gears allows the engine to operate closer to the minimum fuel consumption
condition for the required power output (Cost). This allows the engine to reduce fuel consumption by up to
8% (Energy). It also is not much more expensive than a traditional automatic transmission.

Rank of the Effectiveness of the

Technologies:
1) Turbocharger
2) Variable Valve Lift and Timing
3) 8 Speed Transmission
4) Cylinder Deactivation System

Discussion
Based on my research, I have reached the
following conclusions. These conclusions will
discuss each result and what they mean for our
vehicle design.

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How to improve fuel economy in modern cars

Turbocharging is Very
Effective
In order to compete with our competitors
performance lines of vehicles, we need to
have engines that are powerful. The best
way to achieve good fuel efficiency and
peak power is to turbocharge our engine
and reduce its displacement. With proper
tuning, our engine, although half the size of
our performance engine, will produce just
as much power, if not more. We will even
get upwards of 15% better fuel economy
out of this new engine. Although this is the
most expensive solution, it is also the most
effective.

This is the percentage of fuel economy

that each individulal technology
increases when used in combination with
the others. Notice that all but Cylinder
Deactivation Systems increase economy
the same as when used alone.

Variable Valve Lift and

Timing Saves Fuel and
Boosts Power
Installing Variable Valve Lift and Timing in
our engine will lead to one of the biggest
increases in fuel economy. Because this
system varies the amount of fuel and air
that enter each cylinder, our engine will
only use the necessary amount of fuel.
When our engine is turning low RPMs and
not accelerating, Variable Valve Lift and
Timing will reduce the amount of fuel that
enters the engine since only a small amount
of fuel is needed. This will increase the fuel
economy by up to 11%. When our engine is turning high RPMs and accelerating, more fuel and air will enter
the engine, giving the engine more power.

Cylinder Deactivation Systems Work Only By Themselves

Although cylinder deactivation systems can reduce fuel consumption by up to 7.5%, they only reduce fuel
consumption by 0.7% when used with Variable Valve Lift and Timing. This is due to the fact that Variable
Valve Lift and Timing reduce the amount of fuel used when the engine is not under high power output.
Cylinder deactivation systems do the same thing under the same circumstances. The only difference is that
deactivation systems shut down cylinders and leaves the others at full power and fuel consumption while
Variable Valve Lift and Timing reduces fuel to them all. Also, Variable Valve Lift and Timing increases power
when needed while cylinder deactivation systems can only reduce power.

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How to improve fuel economy in modern cars

8 Speed Transmissions Reduce the Engine s Workload

An 8 speed transmission reduces the engines workload, increases fuel economy, and gives the car better
performance. The automated manual transmission allows the driver to shift gears manually, giving the driver
more control over the vehicle. Also, the reduced engine load increases fuel economy by up to 8%. The
combination of these two benefits show that an 8 speed automated manual transmission is a great
technological advancement to add to our vehicle.

Recommendation
To summarize, I believe that the best way to make a fuel efficient yet powerful engine for our companys new
vehicle is to use a turbocharger system, Variable Valve Lift and Timing, and an 8 speed transmission. I
recommend these actions for the following reasons:

Turbocharging, although expensive compared to other solutions, is the most effective technology. It
greatly reduces fuel consumption and increases power.
I also recommend we implement a twin turbocharger system. This will even further increase power
across all RPM ranges.
Variable Valve Lift and Timing is a must for our engine. It substantially increases fuel economy and
power.
Do not use a cylinder deactivation system. With Variable Valve Lift and Timing, the small amount of
fuel it saves does not outweigh the cost of the system.
An 8 speed automated manual transmission saves fuel and makes the car more driver friendly.
Drivers prefer performance vehicles they can manually shift.

If we implement these technologies in our new vehicle, not only can we have a fuel efficient vehicle, but we
will also have a vehicle that out-performs our competitors vehicles. In the past, we built performance vehicles
that used large engines to get more power. Now, we need to look to the future, a future that is all about fuel
economy. Because of this, we must implement these technologies I researched into our new performance
vehicle. If we do not, our competitors will leave us in the dust. Thank you for considering my research to use in
our new vehicle. If you have any questions after reading this report, contact me at 987-654-3210.

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How to improve fuel economy in modern cars

REFERENCES
Brain, Marshall. "How Car Engines Work" 5 April 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. 8 March 2016
Cost, Effectiveness And Deployment Of Fuel Economy Technologies For Light-Duty Vehicles.
Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2015. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost).
Web. 2 Mar. 2016.
"Energy Efficient Technologies." Energy Efficient Technologies. US Department of Energy, n.d.
Web. 02 Mar. 2016.
IEA and ECMT., Making Cars More Fuel Efficient: Technology for Real Improvements
on the Road, OECD Publishing, Paris. Print.
Tracy, David. "How Variable Valve Timing Works." Jalopnik. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

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