Bikes Engine Technology.

Engine Technologies 

1. APDV System:

The term APDV stands for "Advanced Pro Series Digital Variable Ignition System".

APDV means, the injection of the spark plugs is controlled digitally, which offers better and efficient combustion of fuel. 

Bikes which APDV engine are Splendor Pro, Passion Pro and the Splendor NXG.

2.ASFS System:

The term ASFS stands for "Advanced Swirl Flow Induction System". 

ASFC  means that the "air+fuel" mixture creates "Swirl" into the combustion chamber in the engine, which should aid better burning of fuel. It is kind of similar to Bajaj Auto’s DTS-Si (Digital Twin Spark – Swirl Induction) technology.

The 125 cc Glamour got the ASFS alphabets on its body panels in its late 2008 upgrade (along with the red colored chassis) and now so does the 2010 Super Splendor

3.ATFT System:

ATFT stands for "Advanced Tumble Flow Induction Technology”.

ATFT means that,"air+fuel" mixture creates "a tumbling motion" (like "Jill came tumbling down after" from the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme) which again should aid in better burning of fuel.

The CBZ Xtreme got the ATFT tag in its late 2008 upgrade and the Hunk in its 2009 "slight" upgrade. Now in 2010 Hero Honda has decided to put the ATFT tag on the Achiever as well.

4.DTS-i System:

DTSI stands for "Digital twin spark ignition."

a ‘Bajaj Patented Technology’. DIGITAL TWIN SPARK ignition engine has two Spark plugs located at opposite ends of the combustion chamber and hence fast and efficient combustion is obtained. The benefits of this efficient combustion process can be felt in terms of better fuel efficiency and lower emissions.The use of twin spark plugs has been around for decades mostly in the engine of Alfa Romeo, Honda and on large capacity Ducati engine etc. Bajaj however have patented the technology for small capacity engines.

5.DTS-Si System:

DTS-Si stands for “Digital Twin Spark Swirl Induction”

a ‘Bajaj Patented Technology’. Like DTS-i the engine has 2 spark plugs, but, instead of conventionally positioned straight ports, the offset positioning of the ports generate high swirl and turbulence of the air fuel mixture in the combustion chamber. This results in highly efficient combustion that further results in exceptional mileage. Like the mother DTS-i technology, the DTS-Si technology is a patented technology developed by Bajaj Auto R&D. This technology is used by Bajaj in its recently launched 125 cc Bajaj XCD. Recently, Bajaj Auto was in the news for accusing TVS Motors, long-standing rivals of patent infringement on the DTS-i technology. TVS countered by threatening to sue Bajaj Auto for libel.

6.DTS-Fi System:

DTS-Fi stands for “Digital Twin Spark Fuel Injection”, 

 ‘Bajaj Patented Technology’. In fuel injection the conventional carburettor has been replaced by injector which injects fuel in to the engine in a spray form based on the instructions of the Engine Control Unit (ECU) which is a part of the Engine Management System EMS. The Electronic Control Unit (ECU) is microprocessor based and is the brain of the fuel injection system. It processes information sent by various sensors and instantly determines optimum fuelling and spark timing for various engine operating conditions. The ECU contains detailed information of the engine’s characteristics from which it picks the necessary data for commanding both fuelling & spark timing.

This technology comes in Pulsar 220cc version.

The main advantages of Fuel Injection are:
a. Increased power output for same cc.
b. Better low end torque. c. Lower fuel delivery & optimisation of spark timing.
d. Improved cold start, quick warm-up and excellent response to sudden acceleration.
e. Lower emission levels.
f. Self-detection and communication of fuel system malfunctioning if any.

7.DTS-i Triple Spark  System:

DTS-i Stands for “Digital Triple Spark Ignition”

Three spark plugs provide unprecedented performance and efficiency – Fast and optimal combustion at part load conditions results in better fuel efficiency and ensures lower emissions.

The high performance triple spark engine controlled by an advanced Electronic Control Unit, is the technology of the future. Combustion in a triple spark engine is 27% faster than a twin spark and 50% faster than a single spark engine.

To make use of 3 spark plugs, the pulsar engine houses a pent roof combustion chamber which in turn allows to house 3 spark plugs in the engine chamber. Out of the three plugs, the primary plug is the center one and is mounted in an angle and enters the chamber at the top-center. The other two secondary plugs are mounted below, each opposite each other and one of them being vertically underneath the primary plug.

The secondary plugs fires a bit after the primary one has fired and the timings are controlled by the ECU depending on various parameters like throttle position, engine revs,load on engine and many other stuffs. According to Bajaj, these plugs gain a advantage in low-rev riding condition where it extracts the best economy.Compared to KTM Duke 200 in similar conditions it gives as much as 10-13kmpl more,however the difference vanishes at higher revs and high speed.

8.VTEC System:

VTEC stands for  “variable valve timing and lift electronics control system” 

is a system developed by Honda to improve the volumetric efficiency of a four-stroke internal combustion engine. The VTEC system uses two camshaft profiles and hydraulically selects between profiles. It was invented by Honda engineer Ikuo Kajitani, and was the first system of its kind. It is distinctly different from standard VVT (variable valve timing) which advances the valve timing only and does not change the camshaft profile or valve lift in any way. Different types of variable valve timing and lift control systems have also been produced by other manufacturers: VVTL-i from Toyota, VarioCam from Porsche, NeoVVL from Nissan, etc.

9.DCDI System:

DCDI Stand for  "Dual Curve Digital Ignition system".

It is a new Ignition system developed by Mahindra It enhances both power and fuel efficiency of the engine.

10.MCI-5 System:

MCI-5 Stand for "Micro-chip ignited -5 curve"

In order to increase the engine power, economy and improve the pollution emissions, a new smart ignition system is proposed. Through a programmable and controllable ignition angle technique to improve the ignition efficiency for the DC capacitive discharge ignition (CDI) system. The 8-bit single chip microcomputer is implemented to read the crankshaft speed signal and camshaft baseline signal. The ignition angle of the engine can be controlled by the preloaded engine power characteristic curve and the intelligent determination made by the microcomputer. From the full scale vehicle testing results of the prototype system, the proposed ignition system exhibits much better performance than present traditional ones in engine power curve, friendliness of human-machine interface and ease of use.

Why do manufacturer put such abbreviations on their products?

          Well, just the other day when I was making up my mind on which car to buy one of my friend told me that if I am looking at buying the Hyundai i10, then I should get the one with the "Kappa" engine and in case I want to got for a Maruti, then I should go for the ones with "K- Series" engines.

I ask my friend what does the Kappa / K-Series engines mean, he was blank but said that it meant something Hi-Fi / something good. I finally ended up buying the Chevrolet Spark and only later I realized that even Chevrolet were branding the engine on the Spark as "S-Tec".. and I didn't know that earlier.

So Moral of the story is that makers can label their bikes with any kind of letters, but its marketing guys should make sure that the common man should be able to relate these letters with its products.