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A New Lease On Internal Combustion
Somnus suggests we check out the latest issue of MIT's Technology Review, where researchers describe how they can dramatically boost engine output and efficiency by preventing pre-ignition, or "knock." How they do it: "Both turbocharging and direct injection are preexisting technologies, and neither looks particularly impressive... by combining them, and augmenting them with a novel way to use a small amount of ethanol, Cohn and his colleagues have created a design that they believe could triple the power of a test engine."
Congratulations You've discovered the same thing as Rudolph Diesel except that you don't quite have it right. You don't need to use ethanol or port injection ditch both of those and use good ol fashioned vegetable oil. 0 preignition and you can turn the boost way up on a tiny engine.
Who gives two shits about making petrol engines 25% more efficient when Diesels are already 50% better in practical applications.
Once again, this just shows that what Americans don't know about car technology could just about be crammed into the Grand Canyon.
Volkswagen already have quite a few turbocharged FSI petrol and Diesel engines - take a look at how efficient they are before swallowing this MIT bullshit.