VW Races Jetta TDI Diesels To Prove Efficiency, Cleanliness

So bent on proving the efficiency and cleanliness of their new 2.0-liter TDI turbodiesel four-cylinder making its appearance in the 2009 Jetta TDI clean diesel, Volkswagen has employed them in race duty. In fact, they set up the Volkswagen Jetta Diesel TDI Cup, a multi-race series wherein basically stock Jetta TDIs race on circuits from Lime Rock, Connecticut to Road Atlanta.The engines are boosted to 170 hp and 258 lb-ft torque, up from the stock Jetta TDI diesel's 140 hp and 236 lb-ft. And despite these fuel-consuming upgrades, the cars still averaged 25 mpg during the summer and fall in all-out race duty. Beyond that, the race cars emitted extremely low levels of pollution, meeting California's stringent Tier II, Bin 5 regulations by employing ultra-clean piezo-electric injectors, exhaust-scrubbing catalysts, and exhaust particulate traps.Robert Bosch LLC, as we reported yesterday, brings much of the technology innovations that allow modern diesels like VW's 2.0-liter TDI to run cleaner and make more power and torque than ever before. Wolfgang Hustedt, Motorsports Manager for Bosch, explained that the latest common rail technology is responsible for the impressive performance and cleanliness, working in concert with "rapidly switching piezo injectors, which have 75 percent fewer moving components and mass, allowing them to switch at double the speed of previous solenoid-valve injectors. This allows the piezo injectors to significantly lower diesel emissions, increase the achievable engine power and noticeably lower engine noise."--Colin Mathews