How does it work?
A seven-litre water reservoir is mounted in the engine bay, with levels fed by condensation from the air conditioning unit which would otherwise have been wasted. Once the engine is up to temperature and a certain point in the rev range is exceeded, the water is used either as a fine spray into the inlet manifold, or into a high-pressure pump which mixes with fuel to form emulsion.
From that, the emulsion is then directly injected into the cylinder during compression. The spray is so fine, it evaporates before the crucial combustion phase. This means that it works as a secondary cooler as it takes in the air before combustion. BMW claims that at least 70oC is reduced; it’s like driving on a cold winter’s day all-year-round.
Future plans
Verdict
The Direct Water Injection technology in BMW’s 1 Series DWI prototype appears to have real potential for boosting the efficiency and performance of the engines; another forward-thinking move from BMW.
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