New water-cooled car engines to cut fuel usage

Water cooled car engines that could reduce fuel use by up to 13% have been developed. Modern fuel engines waste roughly a fifth of their fuel by using some for […]

Water cooled car engines that could reduce fuel use by up to 13% have been developed.

Modern fuel engines waste roughly a fifth of their fuel by using some for cooling instead of propulsion. Bosch claims its new ‘WaterBoost’ technology replaces this wasted fuel with water.

Most cars inject extra petrol or diesel into the engine where it evaporates and cools the inner workings. Using water instead means it is possible to save money and reduce damage to the environment.

Water has a high vaporisation temperature which means it’s a good coolant. Only a small amount is needed – so for every hundred kilometres driven, only a few hundred millilitres would be used.

As a result, the water tank only has to be refilled every few thousand kilometres. All water is expelled from the engine via the exhaust so there is no risk of rust, according to Bosch.

If the tank runs empty, the engine will still run smoothly, just without the lower consumption provided by the water injection.

The BMW M4 GTS is the first production vehicle to feature the innovative system, with more likely to follow in the near future.

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