According to Beazley, Ricardo’s testbed engines have produced more than 450 peak hp (336 kW) and 664 lb•ft (900 N•m) peak torque at 35-bar brake mean-effective pressure (BMEP), when running on E85. The testbed engine runs 140-bar (2030 psi) peak cylinder pressures.
Performance on straight gasoline is equally impressive, yielding more than 400 hp (298 hp) and 572 lb•ft (775 N•m) peak torque at 30-bar BMEP.
“We actually hit 825 N•m (1118 lb•ft) at 1600 rpm during testing of the gasoline version,” Beazley revealed. “We’re trading off boost and compression ratio, so we’re going to raise the comp ratio and reduce the boost in order to get more fuel economy on E85.”
The EBDI V6 in fully dressed form weighs 450-500 lb (204-227-kg) less than a fully dressed 6.6-L Duramax V8, without counting the diesel’s extensive SCR-based aftertreatment suite introduced for 2011 models. Ricardo engineers note the holistic benefits to vehicle curb weight and driving dynamics offered by the much lighter ethanol V6.
Ricardo engineers said the EBDI V6 would cost about $4500 more than a typical 6.0-L gasoline V8 as installed in a heavy-duty pickup (technically a medium-duty vehicle). But it would also undercut the approximately $8000 price of the current diesel option by an estimated $3500, based on current production volumes in the heavy-duty segment.
“Through the EBDI technology we’ve closed the gap in the energy content of a gallon of ethanol vs. gasoline, the 33% delta,” Beazley noted. “We recover the initial investment in the diesel engine and its aftertreatment. The thermal efficiency of ethanol is as high, or higher, than diesel. And the cost of ethanol at the pump is lower than gasoline.”
He said the EBDI vehicle test program will evaluate performance using various ethanol fuel blends. “We think there’s a blend compromise somewhere between E35 and E50 that gives good performance with good fuel economy, and will prove the cost-competitiveness of this technology.”
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