General Motors’ venture capital division, GM Ventures, say their investment in Silicon Valley-based startup Tula Technology Inc. may result in a revolutionary fuel-saving technology that could be deployed in future gasoline-powered GM vehicles.
Tula has developed a new ‘Dynamic Skip Fire’ (DSF) system which is capable of improving fuel efficiency by as much as 15 percent in four, six and eight-cylinder gasoline engines. Rather relying on fixed cylinder deactivation, which powers down the same pre-set cylinder numbers when they are not needed, DSF technology uses digital signal processing to continuously make dynamic firing decisions on an individual cylinder basis. The system will attempt to make the most fuel efficient decisions at any given time based on a wide range of possible driving conditions and for all vehicle speeds and loads, GM says.
“This technology holds the potential to improve fuel economy on select GM vehicles without degrading power capability when it’s required,” Jon Lauckner, GM’s chief technology officer, vice president of Global R&D and president of GM Ventures, said in a prepared statement. “This joint effort combines software expertise from Silicon Valley with powertrain expertise from General Motors.”
GM has yet to give a timeline as to how soon the technology could reach production GM vehicles. According to The Detroit News, GM Ventures has also not disclosed the amount of its investment in Tula Technologies, which also has an office in Plymouth, Michigan.
“We’ve worked closely with GM during this exciting stage of DSF development, and they’ve provided essential financial support while allowing us to run our business with full autonomy,” said R. Scott Bailey, president and CEO of Tula. “Our goal is the same as GM; we both innovate to make the lives of people better.”
Comments
I remember reading about this in a motortrend article last year. Hopefully we’ll see this technology put into cars in the next couple years when all the vehicles switch to 8spds. It would make a huge difference.
How much sooner will your DI injected motor valves get caked with carbon and produce rough idle?
This technology is a great idea. I’d like to see it come out soon! Think of how great this would impact fuel economy along with the use of VVT, SIDI, IVVL, AFM, and Stop/Start. Perhaps DSF, once ready for use, should start out in Cadillac’s and work its way down. I also hope that the Updated 6-Speed Auto, 7-Speed DCT, 9-Speed Auto, and 10-Speed Auto Transmissions are going to show up soon to further boost fuel economy.
If you take a 2015 Malibu for example, the 2.5L I4 gets 25 City and 36 Highway with 196HP and 191LB-FT. Add in a 9-Speed Auto and this new DSF technology and you’re guaranteed at least 29+ City and 40+ Highway.
Why doesn’t GM spend more time getting the fundamental engine smaller and more efficient instead of complicating their engines with gimmicks that will only kill reliability? Cars need less electronics and better quality hardware. If you want to save fuel, REDUCE VEHICLE MASS.
15% fuel savings for how much more added costs? Kind of like paying a premium for a VOLT and never making the $ back in saved fuel savings.