GM might still have a fighting chance to stay competitive in the ever-changing automotive industry if it can keep putting innovation into products like this new Duramax engine. In the video, Charlie Freese, GM’s executive director of Diesel Engineering, gives an overview of how technologically advanced the 4.5L V-8 turbodiesel is compared with current diesel V-8s.
The diesel is 50-state emissions compliant, meets Tier 2, Bin 5 regulations (an ever-important regulation with which carmakers must comply and which seems to get tighter every year), and it gets great gas mileage. GM’s new technology is able to reduce CO2 emissions 13% and particulates and NOx emissions 90%, compared with today’s diesels. The engine will use a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) NOx after-treatment system with a diesel particulate filter, a first for GM. Another change includes bolting the turbo directly onto the cylinder head versus mounting it on the exhaust manifold. The new engine will be lighter, cleaner, and just as powerful as current diesels and will make its debut in the 2010 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra.
One notable change that catches the eye was reversing the airflow, allowing the exhaust manifold and turbo to go inside the V between the cylinder heads. This change saves space and makes the engine more compact, and also evokes the 1990’s Chevy LT-series engines when it had the reverse cooling system. Maybe that’s how GM will keep on trucking, by reversing everything.