The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 429: The first electronic fuel injection engine, a brand new attempt
Jiang Hui spends most of his time at the BMW Group's R&D center.

However, the projects he is personally responsible for are all the development of key core systems. Once the big plans are done, the specific implementation will be handed over to the team below.

People in each branch gradually figured out Jiang Hui's working style.

Know what to ask Jiang Hui for help and what to do by yourself as much as possible.

"Mr. Jiang, currently all the models sold by international automobile giants are beginning to popularize full electronic injection systems."

"It controls the operation of the injector based on a microprocessor, accurately controls the amount and timing of fuel injection, and integrates the ignition system, emission control system, etc."

“Although all the engines we produce domestically are still carbureted engines.”

"But I think it will soon become an electronic fuel injection engine."

"We at Nanshan Engine are preparing to launch a new project to convert carbureted engines to electronic fuel injection engines."

"We will convert all the engines we currently produce into electronic fuel injection engines, and strive to complete this work in the next two years."

"After 1990, we gradually stopped producing carbureted engines."

As the general manager of Nanshan Engine, Hu Shuiwen is also very concerned about the technological changes in the international engine field.

Although the engine has not undergone any fundamental changes since its birth, there are often technological breakthroughs in the details.

From the very low thermal efficiency in the early days, it has gradually improved to the current level.

The output power and torque of engines with the same displacement are also increasing.

With the rise in international oil prices and the improvement of emission requirements, automobile manufacturers have become more enthusiastic about eliminating carburetor engines and producing electronic fuel injection engines.

Although electronic fuel injection engines were only introduced in the 1960s and 1970s, they developed rapidly after entering the 1980s.

This is also closely related to the great breakthroughs in computer technology in the 1980s.

"Electric fuel injection engine?"

"No problem. Now we have the conditions to develop electronic fuel injection engines."

"Whether it's software technology or the production of electronic components, we are already planning on it."

"At that time, we can also consider purchasing the PCB boards and related chips, memory and other semiconductor components used in the ECU directly from Lingnan Semiconductor."

Jiang Hui was well aware that carburetor engines would be completely eliminated in the future, so he would certainly not oppose Hu Shuiwen's proposal.

It just so happens that during this period, Lingnan Semiconductor is also working hard to introduce 4-inch wafer fab production lines and 3-micron process chip processing equipment.

By then, not only can our own semiconductor components be used on the 4AT automatic transmission, but they can also be used immediately on the engine ECU.

All key items are produced by the group itself, so it would be very difficult for other competitors to catch up.

By then, Nanshan Engine will definitely become the most technologically advanced engine company in China.

This is also very beneficial for expanding Nanshan Engine's business.

In the next ten years or so, there will still be many domestic companies interested in making automobiles.

However, there are still very few companies that truly have the ability to produce the three major items themselves.

There is no doubt that Nanshan Engine will become the leader in China's engine industry.

This is the situation that Jiang Hui very much hopes to see.

"I think so too. The development and production of EUC is very difficult, and China did not have the capabilities in this area before."

"But our group's accumulation in the computer field is increasing rapidly, and Nanshan Software has already developed a variety of industrial-aided design software."

"Under this situation, it is not very difficult to develop ECU software."

"Through the technical accumulation over the past years, we have gained a deeper understanding of the engine's operating principles and various data processing."

"In this case, if some of our engineers who are proficient in engines also learn the technology of software code creation, it will definitely make our ECU design faster."

"Once the ECU issue is fixed, there will be very limited parts changes required elsewhere."

"If the speed is fast enough, our first electronic fuel injection engine will be officially launched in the second half of next year."

Hu Shuiwen is still very confident about the development of electronic fuel injection engines.

On the one hand, there are already many mature cases internationally, which shows that there is no problem with Nanshan Engine's research and development direction.

For those who work in R&D, the biggest fear is that they are working in the wrong direction, as that means they will not be able to achieve any results no matter what.

If you know a direction and work towards it, it will be much easier to achieve results.

On the other hand, Nanshan Software's computer-related technical level is improving very quickly.

This also gave Hu Shuiwen confidence in this regard.

"Nowadays, mainstream ECU manufacturers in the world, whether Bosch or Denso, all use assembly language to program ECUs."

"As a low-level programming language, assembly language allows programmers to communicate directly with hardware."

“It provides fine-grained control over the hardware and executes extremely fast.”

"So at Bosch and Denso, assembly language is widely used to handle critical tasks such as startup code, because it can ensure that the delay from power failure to startup of the system is as short as possible while meeting real-time requirements."

Jiang Hui knew that Hu Shuiwen was unfamiliar with ECU, so he simply gave him a brief explanation.
Otherwise, if he, as the person in charge, is not clear about the situation of the ECU, it will be easy to encounter various problems when he is in charge of the development of the electronic fuel injection engine.

"But I am more optimistic about the application of C language in ECU programming."

"In 1978, Bell Labs officially released the C language."

"This version of the C language already has a relatively complete syntax and semantic system, and has begun to be widely used in the development of UNIX operating systems and other fields."

"In recent years, the United States has been developing a standard for the C language, and it will probably be officially released soon."

"The C language is known for its simplicity, compactness, and flexibility."

“It has a rich set of operators and data types, as well as a structured, modular approach to programming.”

"The target code generated by C language is of high quality and good portability, so it is widely used in system programming, embedded systems, game development, scientific computing and numerical analysis."

"In the future, all our software will be developed using C language. Except for a few simple machine tools, we will gradually abandon assembly language."

For ECU development, software development is the most difficult, especially application layer algorithms.

The application layer algorithm involves the precise calculation of parameters such as the amount of fuel injection and the amount of air intake under various engine operating conditions, which requires a solid foundation in professional theoretical knowledge such as automotive dynamics, combustion, and fluid mechanics.

Software development also needs to consider the stability and trouble-free operation of the software under various conditions, which requires developers to have a deep understanding and practice of software architecture, code quality, testing methods, etc.

A more user-friendly programming language can greatly simplify this process, allowing Nanshan Engine's electronic fuel injection engine level to be rapidly improved.

"Director, whenever I have time during this period, I will go to Nanshan Software to have a good exchange with the professional software development engineers there."

"When the time comes, our company's technicians will work together with their engineers to get the ECU fixed."

Hu Shuiwen suddenly realized the insufficiency of his knowledge reserves.

He actually couldn't understand a bit of what Jiang Hui said to him.

Fortunately, his memory was good enough, and even if it was not ideal, he remembered what Jiang Hui said.

Later, I can learn from people at Nanshan Software. It is very easy to improve.

Programming in this era is not that complicated and the requirements are relatively simple.

With Hu Shuiwen's IQ, it is not particularly difficult for him to learn C language.

"To upgrade an existing carburettor engine to an electronic fuel injection engine is not a simple modification, but a complete redesign."

“The oil supply system, control system and related sensor and actuator parts all need to be redeveloped.”

"For example, the fuel injector is one of the core components of the electronic fuel injection engine, responsible for supplying fuel to the engine in the form of high-pressure injection."

"In a carbureted engine, there is no such thing as a fuel injector."

“Therefore, during the modification process, it is necessary to install the injector on the intake manifold or cylinder head of the engine and ensure that it is connected to the fuel pump and ECU.”

Jiang Hui knew that Nanshan Engine needed to quickly complete the development of the electronic fuel injection engine, and would definitely need his guidance at that time.

Otherwise, if the engine performance does not meet the requirements, it will be a disgrace to the BMW Group and will affect car sales.

So he took this opportunity to communicate with Hu Shuiwen first.

"Then there is the throttle body, which is a key component that controls the amount of air intake into the engine."

"In a carbureted engine, the throttle valve is directly connected to the carburettor and mechanically controls the amount of air intake."

"In an EFI engine, the throttle body needs to be integrated with an electronic throttle control system to precisely control the intake volume through electronic signals."

“Therefore, it is necessary to replace the original carburetor throttle body with a throttle body dedicated to electronic injection.”

Nanshan Engine's existing carburetor engines were all developed by Jiang Hui and his technical team, and he is very familiar with the conditions of these engines.

Now, without any information, he can tell the difference between a carburetor engine and an electronic fuel injection engine.

"Then there are various sensors. Although these parts may seem insignificant, they are very critical."

In later generations, various sensors on car engines were basically monopolized by European and American auto parts giants.

These parts have very high requirements for precision and quality, but the value of a single part is not particularly high.

Therefore, even domestically produced engines generally use sensors produced by international auto parts giants.

I have to say, this is a very regrettable thing.

"The sensor is an important component of the electronic fuel injection engine and is used to monitor the working status of the engine in real time."

"In the process of developing an electronic fuel injection engine based on an existing engine, we need to install a variety of sensors, including intake pressure sensor, oxygen sensor, crankshaft position sensor, camshaft position sensor, water temperature sensor, etc."

“These sensors need to be precisely installed at the corresponding positions of the engine and the vehicle body, and ensure stable signal transmission.”

Jiang Huixian and Hu Shuiwen spent more than half an hour explaining some changes to the engine. However, upgrading the engine to an electronic fuel injection engine does not necessarily require changes to the engine itself.

Accessories closely related to the engine also need to be adjusted.

"When you develop the electronic fuel injection engine, you must also work with Nanshan Technology to upgrade the engine's peripheral components."

“For example, the muffler is a component that reduces engine exhaust noise.”

"When upgrading to an electronic fuel injection engine, an oxygen sensor needs to be installed on the muffler to monitor the oxygen content in the exhaust in real time and transmit the signal to the ECU for precise control."

“In addition, the internal structure of the muffler and the exhaust port design also need to be adjusted accordingly to adapt to the exhaust characteristics of the electronic fuel injection engine.”

Hu Shuiwen only mentioned his own ideas, and Jiang Hui directly put forward various transformation plans.

This brought a huge shock to Hu Shuiwen.

In China, there is no engine company producing electronic fuel injection engines.

Even the engines produced by joint ventures such as Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW Toyota are still carbureted engines.

Historically, Shanghai Volkswagen did not abandon the carburetor engine and replace it with an electronic fuel injection engine until 1998 when it launched the Santana 2000.

Electronic fuel injection engines have many advantages, but the two most critical advantages are improved fuel economy and improved emission performance.

In the 1980s and 1990s in China, units or individuals who could afford cars had no concept of fuel economy.

Most cars are owned by the government, and even if they consume a lot of fuel, it is at the public expense.

In this way, when buying a car, fuel consumption will naturally not be so sensitive.

As for emission performance, who among ordinary people or organizations would care about how much pollutants are emitted?

Many cars that emit black smoke from the exhaust pipe when starting can still drive on the road normally.

It was not until later that China's relevant environmental protection laws and regulations gradually became stricter.

In addition, as the technology of electronic fuel injection engines becomes more and more mature, their advantages in power performance, diagnostic performance and handling stability become more and more obvious, and various car companies have started to produce electronic fuel injection engines in China.

It can be said that before the localization of electronic fuel injection engines, none of the automobile engines used by these joint ventures in China were products of world-class technology.

"Director, don't worry. Among the personnel we have recruited in recent years, some are foreign technicians who understand the working principles of electronic fuel injection engines."

"Except for the ECU, which I don't know much about, I also have a deep understanding of other parts."

"Our lab has dismantled the electronic fuel injection engines of several automakers, including Toyota, GM, Ford and Honda, and tried to find an upgrade route that best suits us."

When it comes to working on ECU, Hu Shuiwen feels a little nervous.

His knowledge of computers is still relatively superficial.

It was only after I came to Nanshan Engine that I really started to come into contact with this high-tech product. Now I can only use the computer to perform some simple operations.

And use NS 3D and NS CAD to draw drawings.

He had never considered learning other things like programming before.

However, he is very familiar with the various hardware structures of the engine.

"Okay, then you guys should finalize the initial design as soon as possible, and I'll come over to take a look at it when the time comes."

Compared to a complete vehicle, an engine does not have that many parts.

However, each part has its own unique processing difficulties.

Why did China's own brand automobile engines not achieve any significant breakthroughs until 2010?

The main thing is that the various engine parts pay too much attention to details.

For example, the piston ring is an inconspicuous iron ring-like thing.

Such a thing has a lot of requirements in terms of appearance and size.

The piston ring surface must not have any scratches, abrasions or peeling. At the same time, the surface roughness of the outer cylindrical surface and the warping of the piston ring need to be checked.

In addition, the side and opening clearances of the piston rings need to be accurately measured to ensure that they meet the drawing requirements.

Too large an edge gap may cause gas leakage, while too large or too small an opening gap may affect the elasticity and sealing performance of the piston ring.

In addition, the elasticity of the piston ring is also a key indicator of its sealing performance.

Before installation, it is necessary to use an elastic force tester or a simple method to check whether the elastic force of the piston ring meets the specified value.

Insufficient elastic force may cause the piston ring to fail to fit tightly against the cylinder wall, thus affecting the sealing effect.

These are just two simple requirements for piston rings. In fact, there are many special requirements in terms of piston ring materials, surface treatment, etc.

Many other parts are similar to piston rings and have various detailed requirements.

If you are not careful, when you imitate the real thing, the parts you produce may look similar, but they are completely different when used.

Maybe one or two parts not being right will not have a particularly big impact on performance, but if they are a little off here and a little off there, the final performance of the engine will be very different.

The key is that it may cause you some problems every now and then.

The situation of the gearbox is similar to that of the engine, and even more demanding.

Therefore, before 2010, the car engines and gearboxes of domestic brands were completely incomparable with those of international auto giants.

Later, with the improvement of China's entire industrial strength and years of research, we gradually caught up.

By 2020, the performance of engines from domestic brands such as Chery and Geely will be no worse than those from joint ventures.

The key is that quality stability has also improved.

But in 1987, the situation was not so ideal.

……

"Boss Jiang, should we prioritize developing the electronic fuel injection version of the 3.5L engine?"

"This engine is used in both the Land Rover G Series and the Land Rover X Series, and its sales are higher than the 2.5L engine."

After Chen Chenxing learned about Nanshan Engine's actions on the electronic fuel injection engine, he immediately came to give Jiang Hui suggestions.

Nanshan Engine has limited manpower, and it is impossible to develop a new V8 engine while upgrading the 1.5L, 2.5L and 3.5L engines at the same time.

From a carburetor engine to an electronic fuel injection engine, it is like developing a new engine from scratch.

Therefore, we will definitely give priority to one model, and then quickly expand to other models after accumulating experience.

"Hu Shuiwen had previously thought of developing the electronic fuel injection version of the 1.5L engine first, which would be relatively simpler."

"But what you said makes sense. Land Rover G series is now mainly competing with international auto giants overseas. If they all have electronic fuel injection engines, it will be very disadvantageous to us."

Jiang Hui was naturally very clear about Chen Chenxing's thoughts.

As the head of sales, Chen Chenxing is under a lot of pressure.

Although BMW Group's sales have grown rapidly in the past two years, the pressure is still not small.

After all, all international automobile giants have been promoting electronic fuel injection engines, especially in Europe, where environmental protection regulations are relatively strict.

"Yes, in response to the competition from our Land Rover G and X series, various car companies have also begun to implement action plans."

"Toyota will soon launch a facelifted Hilux."

"Ford's pickup truck is also going to be remodeled."

"Volkswagen is preparing to launch an off-road vehicle, breaking with its past practice."

Land Rover opened up the market with its stunning appearance and acceptable power performance.

This is somewhat similar to the path Kia Motors has taken since 2010.

Driven by the stunning appearance of models such as K5 and K3, Kia Motors' global sales are rising rapidly.

Modern cars are actually similar.

When the brand power and performance are not enough, the appearance can make up for it.

There are still a group of fans in this world who love beauty.

When other aspects are not too bad, the appearance alone can attract many consumers.

Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz cars, and even the future Chitu cars, will undoubtedly take a path somewhat similar to this.

This is also the best fit for them.

By the time the next generation of products comes out, the technical level in all aspects will have been improved, and the brand power will have also been enhanced. At that time, when appearance and performance coexist, it will be time for the BMW Group to achieve a new breakthrough.

At that time, the global sales of excellent pickup trucks such as the Land Rover X-Series could exceed 5 units per month.

BMW Group's annual sales target must have already exceeded 100 million vehicles and is heading towards 200 million or even 300 million vehicles.

Once a car company's sales reach this level, its influence will be completely different.

At that time, as long as the BMW Group does not commit suicide, it will not die.

"At the summary meeting next week, please share with everyone the situation of the overseas market."

"It will give everyone a full understanding of the overseas market so that they can avoid taking detours when developing new products."

Jiang Hui has great confidence in Chen Chenxing's abilities.

Chen Chenxing, who originally wanted to be a car mechanic, is now a qualified car sales manager.

The most important reason why BMW Group can achieve today's sales volume is definitely the stunning appearance of its models, but Chen Chenxing also made a contribution.

(End of this chapter)