Whose BBA 2.0T engine is the most powerful?

Looking at the current automobile market, we can see 2.0T engines from domestic SUVs in the early 100,000s to luxury cars in the millions. 2.0T has become the most mainstream engine choice. So, as the three major German luxury brands, BBA, what are the unique skills of their 2.0T engines? Who is better? Today we will analyze these three 2.0T engines!

BBA 2.0T engine time to market

Currently, the three latest BBA 2.0T engines are the BMW B48TU series, the Mercedes-Benz M254 series and the EA888 GEN3/3b series currently in use by Audi. Before and after the sequence, let's start with Audi.

In fact, it can be seen by naming that the 2.0T engine currently used by Audi is actually derived from Volkswagen’s EA888 series, but after more than ten years of development, it has now evolved to The 3rd generation product is therefore also called EA888 GEN3 (generation 3).

A6L uses EA888 engine

as the world’s most well-known 2.0T engine in the past ten years. The EA888 series bears the most important core power of the Volkswagen Group, especially for Audi. At present, the mainstream Audi models use Volkswagen's third-generation EA888 engine. The 2.0T displacement has a variety of power forms of 150-252 (not included in the engine of performance cars such as S3), and the torque covers the range of 270-370N·m. , Has two layouts, horizontal and vertical, and supports front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive systems.

At present, EA888 is mainly divided into two versions, namely EA888 Gen3b (born in 2015) and EA888 Gen3 (born in 2011), the two still have some differences in terms of technology.

Let’s take A4L as an example. The 40TFSI version uses the low-power EA888 Gen3b version (hereinafter referred to as 3b), and the 3b version focuses on high efficiency. The biggest technical highlight is the use of double loop technology, which is It takes into account the Otto cycle of the traditional internal combustion engine and the Miller cycle that is more popular in recent years.

adjusts the opening and closing time of the intake valve through the AVS valve lift and VVT variable valve timing system, and closes the intake valve in advance during the intake stroke of the engine to achieve internal engine The expansion ratio is greater than the actual compression ratio, thereby improving thermal efficiency and reducing fuel consumption. Therefore, the thermal efficiency of the EA888 3b engine has also reached 37%, which is significantly improved compared to the 35.4% of the high-power version.

From the point of view of the parameters, the low-power EA888 has 190 horsepower and 320N·m parameters. It can achieve 7.9 seconds of 0-100km/h acceleration performance on A4L, and it can also bring The superior fuel consumption performance of the same level can indeed be said to have both performance and economy.

In addition, the direct injection system of the 3b engine has a fuel injection pressure of 250bar. This data is actually not high in 2020, because many engines have already used 350bar high-pressure fuel injection systems. . But despite this, the fuel injection pressure is still higher than the 200bar used for high power, which can better mix air and fuel to improve combustion efficiency.

On the 45TFSI model of A4L, Audi equipped this car with a high-power EA888 Gen3 engine with a maximum horsepower of 252 horsepower and a maximum torque of 370N·m. This parameter is for non-performance cars The 2.0T is already excellent. In order to achieve a higher power output, the high-power version of the engine does not use dual-cycle technology, because in the high-power output state, the Miller cycle will be delayed, and the compression ratio is also reduced from 11.7 in the 3b version.To 9.6, it is to further improve the power performance of the engine.

In terms of basic technology, the biggest feature of the third-generation EA888 is the use of an intake manifold + dual in-cylinder injection system, which uses intake manifold injection to reduce carbon deposits and Noise, use in-cylinder direct injection to improve performance under high load. EA888 Gen3/3b is also the only engine that adopts dual injection technology among the three 2.0T engines of BBA.

In addition, although EA888 has evolved to the third generation, this engine still uses a cast iron cylinder block instead of the current more mainstream all-aluminum cylinder block, which is also A place criticized by many people. But at present, for the EA888 engine, the cast iron cylinder block has become the biggest feature.

As we all know, Volkswagen and Audi have many steel cannons equipped with EA888, and many car owners will choose to brush ECU to improve the power of the vehicle after buying a car. The reason why EA888 owners dare to brush the program with confidence is precisely because the cast iron cylinder block has a more durable physique than the all-aluminum cylinder block, and it is much harder than the "flammable and explosive" BMW B48.

As for the EA888 engine oil burning problem that everyone is worried about, in fact, the third-generation EA888 has been optimized by changing the shape of the piston ring to a wave structure. Thanks to this structure can have a better oil scraping effect, so there are basically no complaints on the market about the EA888 engine burning oil, which can be regarded as solving the knot of many Volkswagen and Audi fans.

In addition, the EA888 engine also uses a single-scroll turbocharger. Compared with the more popular dual-scroll system, the exhaust of a single-scroll turbocharger is easy to produce Interference affects the response speed of the turbocharger. This technology is also relatively backward from the current point of view. Fortunately, EA888 uses the current mainstream electronically controlled turbine bypass valve, which can achieve faster turbine response speed and improve low-torque performance. And according to different loads, the computer can determine the opening and closing of the bypass valve, reducing the boost pressure and further reducing fuel consumption.

In summary, there are not many technical highlights of EA888. Dual-cycle, dual-injection and cast iron cylinder blocks are the representative technologies of the EA888 series, but in terms of turbine and injection pressure It is indeed slightly behind. But despite this, EA888 can still be said to be one of the best 2.0T engines at present, and according to the feedback from owners, the phenomenon of burning oil in the third-generation models has also been greatly reduced, coupled with good fuel economy and power performance, EA888 is actually much stronger than the inherent impression of many people.

After talking about Audi, let’s talk about BMW. At present, BMW’s most powerful engine is naturally the latest B48TU series. Compared with the previous B48 series, TU stands for "TechnologyUpdate", which is a technological upgrade. This engine has been applied for the first time on the new generation of 3 series and will gradually become BMW Group’s main 2.0T engine, including the 5 series, X3 and other models, will be replaced by the B48TU series.

Similarly, B48TU also has different power versions. Taking the 3 series as an example, 320 uses the ultra-low power version of 156 horsepower, and 325 is the low power version of 184 horsepower. 330 It is a high-power version with 258 horsepower. Among them, the high-power and low-power versions of the engine are significantly different in structure, which is not simply achieved by changing the boost value, fuel injection volume and other parameters.

First, let’s talk about the low-power B48TU engine. Compared with the high-power engine, the biggest difference of the low-power version is the use of an integrated cylinder head design, which can participate together by integrating a complex exhaust manifold inside the cylinder head and arranging a pipeline surrounded by coolant around it. Thermal management inside the engine. The advantage of this is that the exhaust gas temperature of the engine can be reducedIt can accelerate the rise of engine water temperature during cold start, reduce the friction resistance of cold start, and reduce fuel consumption.

The high-power version uses a traditional external exhaust manifold design. Because the exhaust gas temperature of high-power engines is higher, the exhaust heat dissipation requirements are also higher. If an integrated design is adopted, it will break the thermal cycle inside the engine. In fact, some high- and low-power engines from other manufacturers are structurally differentiated, with low-power focusing on efficiency and high-power focusing on performance, completely following two styles of technical routes.

After talking about B48TU The difference between high and low power engines, let’s take a look at some of the highlights of B48TU.

As the successor of the previous generation "Jihuang" N20, the biggest highlight of the BMW B48 engine lies in the improvement of the two aspects of modularity and efficiency. Based on the single-cylinder 500ml capacity of the B series modular engine, a total of three displacement versions, namely the inline three-cylinder B38, the inline four-cylinder B48 and the inline six-cylinder B58, have been introduced, and they have high and low power collocations.

Theoretically speaking, if two B48s are placed in parallel, a 4.0T V8 engine can also be born. Putting two B58s in parallel can become a 6.0T V12 engine. However, because BMW has strategically abandoned the V12 engine, we may not see the V12 engine of the modular B series.

Speaking of the B48 engine, the modular design allows it to have a smaller R&D cost, and at the same time, it is more adaptable to different models. This is why the B series engines are all over BMW and The reason for each model of MINI. Therefore, from the perspective of modularity, the BMW B series engine is the most modular among the three BBA brands.

And from the perspective of the cylinder structure, B48TU uses an integrated design, which combines the traditional middle cylinder and crankcase into one. At the same time, the all-aluminum cylinder also uses a Cylinder liner design.

BMW uses LDS coating on the cylinder wall of the B48TU engine. Its working principle is to heat the metal wire with good conductivity, and then spray the solution onto the cylinder wall through high pressure. Although only 0.3mm, the coating is very wear-resistant, and can transfer the heat of the combustion chamber to the crankcase, which can improve the heat dissipation performance of the vehicle to a certain extent and reduce the working temperature.

In order to reduce the weight of the engine, the B48TU engine crankshaft is also made of lightweight and high-strength materials, which is 1kg lighter than the old B48, but the strength has not decreased.

In addition, the belt structure of B48TU also has many adjustments. The belt tensioner is no longer independently designed, but integrated with the engine, which can further reduce the weight of the engine.

In addition to the cylinder block structure, the B48TU series also uses the current mainstream 350bar high-pressure fuel injection system, which can provide better fuel atomization effects. It is matched with a 42kV high-pressure ignition system for internal combustion in the engine. Higher efficiency is helpful for thermal efficiency and fuel economy. And the 350bar high pressure fuel injection system is also higher than the 200/250bar fuel injection system used by EA888.

In terms of turbochargers, B48TU also continues BMW’s years of use of twin-scroll turbochargers, with electronically controlled turbo bypass valves, which can bring the best power response and Fuel economy. So from the perspective of turbocharger, B48TU is indeed more advanced than EA888.

Generally speaking, BMW’s B48TU engine is a master of traditional internal combustion engine technology, almost reaching the level of power, efficiency and integration.The highest level of 2.0T engine. However, it should be noted that the structure of the low-power B48TU and the high-power version are completely different. Therefore, low-power 325 owners must not blindly brush the ECU, which can easily cause serious damage to the engine.

Compared with the efficient and balanced B48 and the EA888 with excellent modification potential, Mercedes-Benz's new M254 engine integrates the three words "Electrification" into the bones. The first use of this engine was in the mid-stage remodeled Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and will gradually replace the current M264 as the main powertrain of the Mercedes-Benz family.

Same as B48, Mercedes-Benz M254 also uses a linerless design and uses Nanoslide cylinder wall coating technology inside the cylinder wall. This technology sprays a layer of plasma coating inside the cylinder wall to form a protective layer for the cylinder wall, which is not only wear-resistant, but also reduces frictional resistance and improves the working efficiency of the engine.

In addition, after removing the traditional cylinder liner structure, the weight of the engine is also reduced. However, there is a common problem in the design without liner, that is, poor durability. If the engine has undergone modification or poor maintenance, once the piston is eccentrically worn, it is almost impossible to repair the wear of the middle cylinder. In this regard, EA888, which uses traditional liners and cast iron cylinder blocks, is indeed more robust.

In the core "electrification" technology of M254, Mercedes-Benz continues to use a 48V light hybrid system for it, and compared to the previous BSG belt-driven Starter Generator (Belt-driven Starter Generator) used in M264, The brand new M254 uses more advanced ISG (Integrated Starter Generator) motor technology. As the name implies, the BSG motor is also the starter/generator at one end of the engine belt, which achieves faster start-up speed and higher power generation through greater power.

The core of the ISG motor is to cancel the traditional belt structure. The air conditioner compressor originally driven by the engine belt becomes an independent pure electric drive, and the ISG motor is located at the flywheel end of the engine (engine End), sandwiched between the engine and the gearbox, responsible for starting, generating electricity and assisting vehicle acceleration.

This means that the motor no longer needs to be forced to pass through the engine crankshaft when working, but can directly match the gearbox. Therefore, the engine can be completely stopped when driving at low speeds or coasting at a slower speed. The ISG motor is responsible for the power transmission of the vehicle and the operation of the electrified system, which can maximize the fuel economy and power response of the vehicle.

In addition to 48V mild hybrid and ISG motors, Mercedes-Benz’s signature variable valve lift system, multiple fuel injection piezoelectric injectors, multiple spark plug ignition systems, 350bar high pressure direct injection and other technologies The coefficients also appear on the M254. It can be said that this is the most advanced household 2.0T engine of Mercedes-Benz technology.

As for the M139 engine of the new AMG A45 S, it is a fetish from the hands of AMG engineers. It is not at the same level as the family car, so there is no meaningless comparison here.

Generally speaking, the three BBA companies have distinct technical differences in their respective 2.0T engine fields. Audi (Volkswagen) EA888 adheres to the traditional route, with cast iron cylinder blocks and cast iron cylinder liners. It has unparalleled endurance and modification potential. At the same time, the dual-cycle and dual-injection technology used by Gen3b brings it excellent thermal efficiency and fuel economy. The disadvantage of EA888 is the heavy weight of the cast iron cylinder block, which is not friendly enough for the front and rear balance and handling of the vehicle. And the relatively low injection pressure also has room for improvement in terms of performance and fuel economy.

and BMW’sThe B48TU series is the master of the 2.0T engine. Although there is no fancy 48V light-hybrid blessing, the advantage is that the parts are extremely integrated, the operation efficiency is high, the degree of modularity and lightweight is also very good, in addition to the 8 series and X7, We can see the B48 series engines on all BMW models. However, the B48 series engine is not suitable for car users. The inherently unique system is destined to be difficult to brush ECU to improve power like EA888, which is slightly delicate.

Mercedes-Benz’s M254 is more like a product of the future market. The leading ISG motor brings it a better start-stop response speed, smoother acceleration experience and better fuel. Economy. Although at present, the motor's assistance to engine performance is still very limited, but the natural beltless design means that it can be matched with light hybrid or PHEV plug-in hybrid systems at any time, which is very friendly to the new energy market. Unfortunately, we still have no chance to experience a car equipped with an M254 engine at this stage. Fortunately, Beijing Benz has made a domestically produced M254 engine. A new generation of Mercedes-Benz C-class (long axis code V206) equipped with this engine will also be launched this year. .

Generally speaking, none of the three BBA companies can achieve a crushing victory technically. It can only be said that different ideas lead to different results.

Which of the three BBA engines do you like best?