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What is fuel injection?
The process of combustion in an engine takes place by mixing air and fuel in the combustion chamber. The more efficiently the air and fuel are mixed and burned inside the combustion chamber, the more powerful, responsive, and less polluting your two-wheeler will be. Small capacity two-wheeler manufacturers have traditionally relied on carburettors for mixing fuel and air into the engine. However, with challenging emission norms, the need for more efficient engines and advanced technology has led to the adoption of fuel injection. Unlike a carburettor, which is entirely mechanical, a fuel injection system is significantly more complicated and uses advanced electronics. The first automobile to employ fuel injection was in the 1950s, though it wasn’t until the late 90s that fuel-injected automobiles started becoming more commonplace. For India, fuel injection started featuring prominently on mainstream motorcycles only in the last decade or so. With BS-VI norms coming into effect from April 1, 2020, every two-wheeler in India comes equipped with a fuel injection system.
How does fuel injection work?
A fuel injection system controls the flow of fuel into the combustion chamber. The system relies on the fuel pump, which would pump the fuel from the fuel tank into the combustion chamber. The amount of fuel to be pumped is decided by the ECU. The ECU monitors various parameters such as oil temperature, load on the engine, throttle position and engine speed. After calculating the amount of fuel required, the fuel injectors inject the fuel via their nozzles connected to the combustion chamber.
Advantages of fuel injection
A fuel injection system is superior to a carburettor system in many ways. Since fuel injection systems use complex sensors and computing power, they can precisely measure the amount of fuel needed to be injected into the combustion chamber. This eliminates burning unnecessary fuel, making the engine more fuel-efficient. Fuel injection systems are accurate at extracting the best performance as well. If the ECU senses a high throttle position, it will inject the required fuel immediately, thus delivering the higher power output that one needs. Fuel injection systems are much less polluting. Since the system is accurate in injecting the fuel, it would avoid wasting any fuel that often goes unburnt in carburetted systems. This ensures that the engine sips on fuel, making every drop count while complying with the prevalent emission standards.
Another advantage of a fuel injection system is its adaptability to various riding conditions. Advanced fuel injection systems constantly monitor the oxygen level in the air and add a suitable amount of air to the air-fuel mixture for best performance. This has a distinct advantage when travelling at higher altitudes, where the oxygen in the air reduces drastically. So while traditional carburetted motorcycles need manual tuning or bigger fuel jets to cope with the thinner air at higher altitudes, motorcycles with fuel injection adapt automatically to these adverse conditions and offer good performance even as you ride through varying altitudes. Fuel-injected systems also work better than carburetted systems when a motorcycle is subjected to a broad band of temperature or humidity.
Fuel injection systems also ensure a sharper and quicker throttle response as the electronic response to throttle position is quicker than a mechanical linkage. Fuel injection systems are also maintenance-free and less prone to damage. One can also tune the fuel injection systems for different maps. These maps can be customised according to one’s needs. For example, one can increase the amount of fuel injected into the system and get more power out of the engine or make it leaner to achieve better fuel efficiency. This is widespread among tuners who want more power out of the engine without making any mechanical changes. Some two-wheeler manufacturers also implement this via selectable modes like the one available on the TVS Apache RR 310. When a particular mode is selected, the ECU controls the fuel injection accordingly. This way, one can choose and use different drive modes for other riding conditions.
What are the disadvantages of fuel injection?
Though fuel injection systems are a clear step up from carburettor systems, they have some disadvantages too. Firstly, they are expensive compared to carburettor systems, and many BS-VI two-wheelers saw a price hike due to added fuel injection systems. Also, every fuel injection system is unique and tuning it requires extensive knowledge and tools. Getting the correct map for a specific application is often a very time consuming and complicated process. If the fuel injection system fails, it is pretty expensive to repair or replace it. Due to high dependency on technology, one minor part or component failure could lead to multiple problems.
Though fuel injection systems have some disadvantages, one cannot deny their advantages, which far outweigh their shortcomings. Carburettors are clearly old and outdated now, even though some old-school enthusiasts still swear by them due to their maintenance and tuning ease.
To conclude, fuel injection systems are crucial for today’s day and age, as they provide a great blend of performance, fuel efficiency, refinement, responsiveness and adaptability. This new tech may make the engine more complicated and expensive. However, the current and long term benefits of the switchover from carburettors are every bit worth the additional complexity and price.
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