DE VELO PMENT G A S OLINE ENGINES

THE NEW BMW THREE- AND

FOUR-CYLINDER GASOLINE ENGINES
BMW has developed a new modular inline engine system that includes both gasoline and diesel units
and ensures a high level of commonality. The following report describes the development of the
three- and four-cylinder gasoline engines. The new power units will be used for the first time in the
Mini and the BMW i8. A report on the new diesel engines will follow in MTZ 7-8.

14

AUTHORS

ING. FRITZ STEINPARZER

is Head of the Diesel Engine
Development Program of the
BMW AG in Steyr (Austria).

DIPL.-ING. THOMAS BRNER

is Department Manager Development
Mechanics at the BMW AG in Munich
(Germany).

PROF. DR. CHRISTIAN SCHWARZ

is General Manager Process
Powertrain Product Line Small and
Midsize Series at the BMW AG
in Munich (Germany).

ONE BASIC CONCEPT FOR

ALL IN-LINE-ENGINES

With the market launch of the new Mini,

BMW has evoked a completely new engine family which eventually will comprise of three-, for-, and six-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines. The objective
isto build all in-line engines on the basis
of the same engine concept and uniform
engine peripherals.
On the gasoline engine side, the new
generation of engines will start with
three three-cylinder engines and a fourcylinder derivative. The three-cylinder
engines will be available with two engine capacities, 1.2 and 1.5l. The 1.2-l
version starts with a power of 75kW,
thus covering the Mini One positioning.
The 1.5-l engine is available with 100kW
for the Mini Cooper and in a specific
high-performance variant with 170kW
for the new electrified BMW i8 sports
car. The initial launch of the new fourcylinder engine is with a 140kW version
for the Mini Cooper S. Subsequently,
engines with significantly higher power
output will in future be used in other
BMW and Mini derivatives [1].
OBJECTIVE

DIPL.-ING. MARKUS RLICKE

is Department Manager of Gasoline
Engines Communality Projects
in Powertrain Development at the
BMW AG in Munich (Germany).

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Volume 75

More efficient, lightweight design, higher

performance and conceptionally aligned
with future more stringent legal requirements worldwide. This summarises the
major objectives for the new units in
simple terms. Accordingly, the following
functional objectives were laid down in
the requirements specification:
: high specific power output of up to
115kW/l for the top applications
: high low-end torque at speeds just
above idle speed
: response characteristics comparable
with naturally aspirated engines with
the same power output
: low fuel consumption during customer
operation and also in certification
drive cycles
: potential for compliance with the
stringent exhaust emission regulations
worldwide
: lightweight construction with aluminium crankcase
: minimum friction losses as a result of
optimised base engine configuration
: greatest possible refinement as a result
of mass balance systems on both the
three- and four-cylinder engine.

The common gasoline/diesel family

approach also resulted in the
specifications:
: production flexibility (gasoline and
diesel, three, four and six cylinders)
across a number of production
facilities
: simple and rapid implementation of
different technology variants on the
same base engine platform
: simple and rapid construction of
derivatives
: uniform vehicle interfaces for all
variants.
Despite the maximum degrees of commonality, another requirement and challenge was to design at the same time the
individual derivatives with optimised
functions to ensure in each case top
positioning among the competition.
CONCEPT

The basic engine dimensions of the new

three-/four-cylinder engines, , include
continued use of the cylinder spacing of
91mm for in-line engines that has been
standard at BMW for many years. The
individual cylinder displacement volume
is 0.5l, with the exception of an entrylevel version of the three-cylinder engine
for the Mini One which has 0.4l individual cylinder displacement volume to produce a total engine capacity of 1.2l. As a
general principle, the engines have been
conceived as turbocharged engines with
regard to configuration and peripherals.
In order to create the best possible conditions for optimised functionality and
vehicle integration, the gas exchange
takes place according to the crossflow
principle with the air supply on the left
and the exhaust manifold on the right
side of the engine. The arrangement of
the chain drive on the back of the engineenables concentration of all auxiliary components on the intake side,
which means that the right side of the
engine is completely available for turbocharging and close coupled exhaust
after-treatment. shows the longitudinal and cross-sectional views of the
engine.
DESIGN BASE ENGINE

The crankcase, , is made of solid aluminium on all derivatives. The camshaft

chain drive system is on the flywheel
end. The cylinder surface technology

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DE VELO PMENT G A S OLINE ENGINES

THREE-CYLINDER
KEY SPECIFICATION

FOUR-CYLINDER

UNIT

MIN

kW at rpm

100 at 4500

170 at 5800

141 at 4700

Maximum torque (corresponding rpm) Nm at rpm

220 at 1250

320 at 3500

280 at 1250

Maximum power (corresponding rpm)

MAX

Maximum engine speed

rpm

6500

6500

6500

Specific power

kW/I

66.7

113.3

70.5

Specific torque

Nm/I

146.6

213.3

140

Maximum specific work

kJ/I

1.82

2.35

1.7

KEY SPECIFICATION

UNIT

THREE-CYLINDER FOUR-CYLINDER

BASIC MEASUREMENTS

Piston displacement

cm 3

1498.8

Bore

mm

82

82

Stroke

mm

94.6

94.6

Stroke-bore-ratio

1998.3

1.15

1.15

Volume per cylinder

cm 3

499.6

499.6

Connecting rod length

mm

148.2

148.2

0.319

0.319

mm

91

91

Compression height

mm

33.2

33.2

Top ring land

mm

Diameter

mm

22

22

Length

mm

55

55

Diameter, inlet/exhaust

mm

30/28.5

30/28.5

Valve lift, inlet/exhaust

mm

9.9/9.7

9.9/9.7

Stem diameter, inlet/exhaust

mm

5.0/5.0

5.0/5.0

11.0

11.0

Connecting rod ratio

Cylinder distance
PISTON

PISTON PIN

VALVE

Compression ratio

uses an innovative coating system created

by wire arc spraying. Only 0.3mm thick,
this coating is extremely wear-resistant
and achieves much better heat transfer
from the cylinder to the coolant than
conventional cast iron liners. The steel
crankshafts are forged and induction

hardened on the bearing faces. The

counterbalance shafts integrated in the
crankcase are driven by the forward end
of the crankshaft on the three-cylinder
engines, whereas on the four-cylinder
versions the drive mechanism is integrated in the rear crankshaft arm. The

Longitudinal and cross-sectional views of the four-cylinder engine

16

Technical
data and
main dimensions of the
three- and
four-cylinder
engines

main bearings are an aluminium composite design using two materials. The
big-end bearings are triple-material composites with a polymer coating. The conrods are of forged construction and a
graduated design. The conrod small end
has an inserted solid bronze rolled bush.
To balance the engines first-order
inertial forces, a forged counterbalance
shaft mounted in the crankcase with two
diametrically opposite counterbalance
weights is used on all three-cylinder
engines. One of these counterbalance
weights is forged onto the shaft. The
counterbalance shaft is driven by a gear
integrated on the crankshaft to directly
drive the gear arranged on the front face
of the counterbalance shaft. The second
counterbalance weight, made using sintering technology and decoupled with an
elastomeric groove, is integrated in this
drive gear. To reduce the drive power,
the counterbalance shaft is mounted on
anti-friction bearings.
This arrangement, which is identical
on all gasoline/diesel three-cylinder
engines, enables a low-vibration crankshaft drive. The different combustion
processes and moving gasoline/diesel
drive unit masses are taken into account
by means of the specific adaptation of
the imbalances and of the drive.
On the four-cylinder engine, two forged
balancing shafts mounted on bearings in
the crankcase, which run in opposite directions at double crankshaft speed, are
used to eliminate the engines oscillating
inertial forces of the second order. To
reduce drive power, all counterbalance
shafts on four-cylinder engines are mounted on anti-friction bearings in the same
way as on the three-cylinder engines.
The height offset of the two identically
designed counterbalance shafts additionally balances out the moments of inertia
of the second order. The slightly smaller
height offset compared to the previous
four-cylinder engine shifts the generated
alternating torque towards low speed,
which particularly benefits comfort in
the range close to low-end torque.
The oil is supplied by means of a mapregulated pendulum-slider pump with
variable volumetric flow that is identical
for the three- and four-cylinder engines.
The oil pump is integrated in the same
housing of the vacuum pump, creating a
chain drive tandem pump which is positioned in the oil pan sump. The map
controlled continuously variable engine

 Crankcase

oil pressure is provided by means of a

proportional solenoid valve and in accordance with a characteristic map stored in
the ECU. A combined oil pressure and
temperature sensor is fitted in the main
oil gallery. Its signals are used for the
map controlled oil pump and engine heat
management. An oil level sensor in the
oil pan permanently monitors the oil
level. The oil filter module is made of
plastic and designed with an integrated
oil/water heat exchanger.
The valvetrain is the 4th generation of
Valvetronic familiar from the previous
engines. The actuator for adjusting the
eccentric shaft is positioned at the front
of the intake side of the cylinder head
and is integrated into the package of the
intake system. The further development
of the intake valvetrain above all enabled a significant reduction in the installation requirement. Exchanging the posi-

tion of the intake camshaft with the

eccentric shaft has enabled a significant
reduction in height, .
The new location of the intermediate
lever and guide block simplify the application forces into the cylinder head. The
guide block is mounted onto the bearing
block by only a single bolt and is positioned by two precise contact surfaces
inthe cylinder head. The return spring
for the intermediate lever is supported
between the cylinder head and bearing
bridge and therefore does not require a
separate additional fi xing. The eccentric
shaft and the camshafts are of assembled design. The exhaust camshaft simultaneously drives the high-pressure
pump of the injection system by means
of a triple cam.
The power transmission from the chain
drive takes place via two hydraulic Vanos
units. The three-vane actuators have an

adjustment range of 70CA on the intake

shaft and 60CA on the exhaust camshaft. A feature of the new BMW gasoline
engines is the positioning of the chain
drive on the power output side. From the
crankshaft downwards, a separate short
chain drives the tandem pump (combination of oil and vacuum pump). From
the crankshaft upwards, the intermediate chain drive runs to the idler gear.
The idler gear with the two chain planes
(number of teeth 24/32) ensures the final
drive ratio of the crankshaft (24teeth) to
the camshaft/Vanos units (36teeth) from
2 to 1. This enables a reduction in the diameter of the Vanos units and therefore
reduces the total height of the engine. The
timing chain assembly above the idler
gear drives the camshafts. A guide rail
attached to the cylinder head between
the Vanos units serves as a chain-skip
protection. Both the intermediate chain

Layout Valvetronic in comparison

to the previous engine

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17

DE VELO PMENT G A S OLINE ENGINES

Turbocharger unit of three- and four-cylinder engines

drive and the timing chain drive each

have a separate chain tensioner. The oil
pump drive is designed in such a way
that it works without a guide or tensioning system.
TURBOCHARGING

The new BMW engines incorporate new

and worldwide unique innovations in the
area of the turbocharging technology.
For example, the new four-cylinder engine
has a twin-scroll turbo module with an
integrated exhaust manifold. This design
ensures a reliable separation of the exhaust gas flow up to the turbine wheel,
which results in a higher low-end torque
and simultaneously develops further
potentials in response characteristics. In
order to enable adequate expansion of
the manifold and assembly in the very

tight package, the manifold is flanged

onto the cylinder head by means of a
clamping/sliding bar. With this concept
of the integral twin-scroll exhaust turbocharger, water cooling was not required.
The situation for the new three-cylinder modular kit engine is completely different. For the first time worldwide in
passenger vehicles, a water cooled fullaluminium exhaust turbocharger made
using lost foam technology is used. This
construction, which is also fastened to
the cylinder head by means of a clamping/sliding bar, creates extensive degrees
of freedom with regard to design. Complex CFD simulations were used to optimise both the exhaust side and the water
side in the interplay with the component
strength calculation in such a way that
the reduction in the flow of wall heat
creates a minimal additional cooling re-

quirement. Despite additional cooling

requirements, this design therefore combines significant weight savings with a
considerable CO2 reduction potential. Another benefit compared to the non-cooled
steel exhaust turbochargers is that the
exhaust-gas temperature, before the catalytic converter, is substantially below
850C. This ensures that catalytic converter aging can be more or less excluded.
The partition area between the turbo
module and cylinder head has been deliberately placed in the cylinder head
flange in order to be able to flange a conventional steel exhaust turbocharger
onto the identical cylinder head for the
top variant BMW i8. To standardise the
installation situation of the exhaust systems in all vehicles, the location for the
catalytic converter flange has been kept
identical for the three- and four-cylinder
engines, .
THERMODYNAMICS, COMBUSTION
AND FUEL INJECTION APPLICATIONS

Section view of the combustion chamber

18

A further development of the new modular-design gasoline engines is the TwinPower Turbo combustion process, familiar from the predecessor models, with
the objective to comply with additional
emission standards while simultaneously
achieving greater efficiency. In comparison to the previous gasoline engines, the
cylinder bore has been reduced by 2 to
82mm. The result is a considerably larger
stroke to bore ratio of 1.15 : 1, representing
an optimum in terms of thermodynamics
and friction.
shows a vertical cross-section through
the combustion chamber illustrating
increased piston-crown recess despite

 Air/fuel ratio
distribution at ignition
timing

16
14
12
Frequency [%]

10
8
6
4
2
0
0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

Air/fuel ratio [-]

central element of the new heat management concept is a water cooled hot end
with not only a cooled manifoldbut also
a cooled turbine. In combination with an
appropriately dimensioned oil/water heat
exchanger, the extra heat recovered is
used to heat the oil more quickly during
the warm-up phase. The resulting temperature increase amounts up to 19C in
NEFZ. The units cooling system is integrated inthe overall coolant circulation
system and receives its supply of coolant
from the cylinder head.
The coolant flows via a flange mounted
pump on the crankcase into the engines
coolant jacket. For reasons of commonality with the diesel engines and in order
to efficiently utilise the advantages of the
cooled hot end, the coolant pump is a

belt driven, mechanical, constant-delivery type. Inside the same housing there
is also an electrically heated map-controlled thermostat which regulates the
engine inlet temperature. The coolant
first flows lengthways through the
exhaust side of the crankcase and then
enters the cylinder head where it is selectively distributed to parts of the cylinder
head subject to high thermal stresses
and to the cooled hot end. Some of the
coolant entering the cylinder head is
diverted directly for cooling the exhaust
zone and the exhaust port bridge. The
main coolant stream passes via the cylinder head into the hot end where it
cools the manifold and the turbocharger
turbine before being fed back into the
cylinder head. The coolant passes through

Specific fuel
consumption at 2000 rpm

Prev. engine
New engine
n = 2000 rpm
rp

ISFC [g/kWh]

the narrower bore compared with the

previous design. Combined with a wider
spray pattern using multi-jet injectors
with reduced flow rates, substantially
improved mixture homogenisation has
been achieved in conjunction with
increased charge motion. The reduction
of the nominal flow rate of the multi-jet
injectors has also considerably reduced
the penetration depth of the spray.
By optimising the spray pattern using
individual nozzle jet injection volumes
and directions, it has also been possible
to achieve an excellent compromise
between the demands of catalytic converter heating (stratified injection) and
normal engine operating temperature.
Atthe same time it has been possible to
reduce wetting of the piston, cylinder
liner walls and the inlet valves to a minimum. The second generation so-called
CVO (Controlled Valve Operation) functionality provides even greater scope in
terms of fuel injection, enabling a wider
range of the injector regulation to be
used for micro-volume injection. Both
measures have an extremely positive
effect in terms of further substantial
reduction of the particulate count across
the entire engine map.
As seen in the fuel to air ratio distribution, at the firing top dead centre
point, has been substantially improved
in comparison with the predecessor
engine. It has also been possible to withdraw the position of the sparkplug approximately 2mm out of the combustion
chamber, thereby substantially reducing
the stress on the sparkplug.
shows the progression of the indicated specific fuel consumption plotted
against indicated load at a speed of
2000rpm. It can clearly be seen that, due
to the improvements in the combustion
process development, a reduction in fuel
consumption of as much as 5 % over an
extensive range has been achieved. In
the rated power range, the new modulardesign engine operates under normal
operating conditions at a stoichiometric
air to fuel ratio.
HEAT MANAGEMENT

Optimum heat management plays a vital

role for modern engines in achieving lowermost fuel consumption for customer
real-life driving cycles. In this respect,
BMW is treading new ground in particular with the three-cylinder engine. The
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Volume 75

= 20 g/kWh

0.0

0.4

0.8

1.2

1.6

2.0

2.4

2.8

IMEP [kJ/dm]

19

DE VELO PMENT G A S OLINE ENGINES

much as 28 % with an automatic transmission. At the same time, the top speed
has been increased by 7 and 13km/h,
respectively. The new three-cylinder
engine also shows significant improvements for the customer fuel consumption since it can be operated with a stoichiometric air to fuel ratio right across
the engine data map because of its water
cooled turbocharger. The CO2 emissions
of the new four-cylinder engine with a
manual gearbox have been maintained
at the same level as the previous model
while the engine response characteristics are substantially improved due to
the new engines greater induction
torque. With the new automatic transmission family the CO2 levels are as
much as 18 % lower.
Coolant flow in three-cylinder engine with water-cooled hot end

the cylinder head and the hot end in a

crossflow pattern and re-enters the crankcase on the inlet side, from where it returns to the radiator flow pipe. shows
the internal coolant circulation in the
engine as illustrated by the three-cylinder engine with water cooled hot end.

POWER AND TORQUE

charging systems, improved warm-up

characteristics, the use of a water cooledmanifold, the reductions in friction,
optimisation of the air intake system,
charge air cooling and the exhaust system, the CO2 emissions of the new threecylinder engine have been lowered by
16 % with a manual gearbox and as

shows the full-power curves for the

new three- and four-cylinder gasoline
engines. The 1.5-l three-cylinder engine
offers an output range of up to 100kW
for the new Mini and up to 170kW when
used in the BMW i8 sports car, corresponding to a specific power output
range of 67 to 113kW/l. A similar spread
is evident in the torque figures for the
three-cylinder power unit. They range

VEHICLE INTEGRATION

FUEL CONSUMPTION

Consistent and rigorous refinement of

the combustion process and the turbo-

20

300
Torque [Nm]

180

Torque

150

er

w
Po

240

120

Torque

90

180

60

120
Power

60
0

Three-cyl. 170 kW
Three-cyl. 100 kW

Power [kW]

360

30

0
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
Engine speed [rpm]

420

210

360

180
150

300
Torque

240

120
90

180
120
60
0

60

Power

Four-cyl. 141 kW

30

0
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
Engine speed [rpm]

Power [kW]

Torque [Nm]

Another key point of focus in the design

of the new modular engine design was
the standardisation of the interfaces for
integration in the similarly new vehicle
platform design with front transverse
engines. The result is a modular concept
with the modular engine system as an
integral component. The engine design
has standardised interfaces with the
modular cooling system, the air intake
system and the exhaust system. As a
consequence, the complexity of the production systems is reduced, forming the
basis for exploiting the economies of
scale with the peripheral components.
Furthermore, the design concept for the
new engine family has also taken account of compliance with the new pedestrian impact regulation requirements
and optimisation of engine compartment
heat management.

Full-load curves for the

three- and four-cylinder engines

from 220Nm for the new Mini to 320Nm

for the BMW i8. The low-end torque
point is 1250rpm in the new Mini and,
in combination with the new gearbox
design, provides for a further reduction
of fuel consumption in the range relevant
to customer use together with a high
level of driveability.
The four-cylinder engine will ini
tiallybe rated at 141kW for transverse
installation in the new Mini. The torque
figure is 280Nm and, as with the threecylinder engine, is achieved from only
1250rpm upwards. A higher power and
higher torque version will follow at a
later date without significant hardware
modifications.
As a result of the higher torque and
power output compared with the previous
Mini engines and a new automatic trans
mission family, the CooperS will achieve
substantially better performance figures.
Thus the acceleration time from 0 to
100km/h is 0.2s faster with a manual
gearbox and 0.5s better with an auto
matic transmission, while the acceleration
from 80 to 120km/h is 0.6s faster with a
manual gearbox. The top speed has also
been increased by 8 and 10km/h respec
tively. Due to the combustion process
optimisation and charge cycle improve
ments in the air intake and exhaust sys
tem, charge air cooling, a minimum air to
fuel ratio of 0.94 can be achieved. In all
other operating conditions, the new fourcylinder engine operates almost entirely
at a stoichiometric air to fuel ratio.
Significant improvements in terms of
the new Mini Cooper position have also
been achieved in all disciplines. Thus, due
to the changeover to the new three-cylin
der engines, the acceleration figuresfrom
0 to 100km/h have been improved by
1.2s for the manual gearbox model and
2.6s for the automatic. Equally impressive
is the 2.8s reduction achieved in the
acceleration time from 80to 120km/h
for the manual gearbox version.

06I2014Volume 75

EMISSIONS

Further development of the combustion

process has achieved substantial improve
ments in the raw emissions compared
with the predecessor engines. In conjunc
tion with optimised air induction and
positioning of the close-coupled catalytic
converter, the introduction of an electric
wastegate actuator and the refinement of
the warm-up strategy, the stringent emis
sion regulations worldwide (Euro6,
ULEV, SULEV) are easily complied to
without engine hardware modifications.
The use of the water cooled manifold on
the new three-cylinder engine also pro
vides for substantial reduction of the ther
mal stresses on the close-coupled cata
lytic converter, resulting in significantly
reduced catalytic converter aging.
SUMMARY

With the market introduction of the new

three- and four-cylinder engines BMW
has started a completely new modular
engine family. As well as the established
BMW TwinPower Turbo technology, di
rect injection, fully variable valvetrain
and exhaust turbocharger, the introduc
tion of completely new technologies are
also being introduced, for example on
the three-cylinder engine the water cool
ed aluminium hot end. The first applica
tion of the new modular engine is with
the market introduction of the new Mini.
The top version of the three-cylinder
engine with 170kW is introduced in the
new BMW i8 sports car. In the near
future the modular engine family will
also incorporate a conceptually similar
six-cylinder engine and will find appli
cations within all of the BMW vehicles.
REFERENCE
[1] Steinparzer, F.; Schwarz, C.; Brner, T.; Mattes,
W.: The new BMW 3- and 4-cylinder Petrol Engines
with TwinPower Turbo Technology; 35. International
Vienna Motor Symposium, 2014

21