C for CRDi

Hello motor folks. In this section of ‘Automobile Dictionary’ you will get to know what are

the technologies available in cars today and how does it benefit us! We have tried to put this in

common parlance so you know what you are actually buying? Let’s jointly explore this exciting

space.

DIESEL is the only word that car buyers know currently in this country. Owe to lower

maintenance, better fuel efficiency, performance and better driving etc. We would like to give

you an introduction to how diesel by itself works as a fuel type. Diesel engines do not use

spark plug to ignite the fuel inside the cylinders unlike petrol counterparts. The diesel is ignited

under pressure by the compression of pistons which is usually almost twice as much as the

compression obtained in a petrol engine. Since the diesel engines work on the principles of

compression, it makes it difficult to start on a cold day. Hence the diesel will need some more

pressure to ignite easily.

Within this fuel type companies differentiate themselves by adopting different names for a

common technology called “CRDi”.

CRDi stands for Common Rail Direct Injection. Now coming to how CRDi technology works,

here the fuel in the common tube or “rail” is under a set amount of pressure which causes the

fuel to be “atomized” or broken down to its smallest particles. This allows the fuel to combine

with the air much more efficiently; fuel use is highly optimized, with much less wastage of

unused fuel.

The newest electronic technology has also allowed CRDI engines to better control the amount

of fuel used, the pressure within the system and the timing of both the injection of fuel and the

electronic charge applied makes the fuel burn effectively. Injectors in the common rail direct

injection engine have controls on the injector heads that allow slight variances in the amount of

fuel put into the cylinders.

Advantages:

CRDI for diesel vehicles has improved performance by as much as 25 percent. This gives the

vehicle more power and makes the technology more attractive for passenger vehicles. These

engines run much more smoothly, with efficiency greatly enhanced by higher pressure possible

in the common-rail or tube design. While the CRDI engine is a little more expensive than

previous technologies, the savings in fuel cost can help recoup the initial expensive over time.

Companies with different terminologies for this technology:

• Hyundai – CRDI (Common Rail Direct Injection)

• Mahindra & Mahindra –CRDe (Common Rail Direct Injection)