Continental sells over 200 million seventh-gen PFI injectors over a decade

On a global scale the petrol engine with port injection remains the dominant type of combustion engine in cars, even though direct injection is clearly on the upswing in many markets.

International automotive supplier Continental has been successfully driving the optimisation of PFI technology for decades. Well over 200 million units of the seventh generation of Continental PFI injectors have been sold between 2004 and 2014. Earlier PFI injector generations are also still being manufactured around the world. 

A subsequent ninth generation model has already been introduced to the market to address more recent requirements of turbocharged and downsized engines, with a 10^th generation currently under development for the Twin Port engines also for engines with a combination of direct injection and PFI.

“When we developed the seventh generation of our PFI injectors we anticipated a broad mix of application needs. This is why the seventh injector generation continues to be so successful,” said Gunnar Lowack, Head of Product Line Injector, Engine Systems Business Unit, Powertrain Division, on the occasion of the product anniversary. “For many applications this generation of our gasoline PFI injectors still offers an attractive combination of best price and clean technology, which can be very flexibly adapted to various engine designs.”

Continental’s PFI technology is part of a comprehensive gasoline injection technology portfolio which includes cutting edge direct injection solutions for highly efficient and high-performance engines.

Following the company’s strategy of ‘In the market – for the market’, the seventh generation PFI injector is manufactured in Newport News (USA), Pisa (Italy), and Changchun (China) to supply the respective world regions. Since the start of production in 2004, this robust, compact and lightweight injector type has found its way into many engines and engine families because it offers several design benefits.

As the seventh generation injector is a modular product, engine developers can freely combine three body and nozzle lengths options to match the injector dimensions to the geometry of the intake manifold. Whichever combination is chosen, the resulting unit will deliver a particularly fine fuel atomisation. Depending on the fuel pressure and nozzle plate, the fuel spray droplets have a mean diameter of only 60 μm. This supports a rapid and clean combustion process with a minimum of raw emissions.

Another key injector benefit is the wide choice of possible spray patterns which include a bent angle of the spray cone(s). By exploiting this design freedom, engine developers can optimally adapt the injector spray cone shape to the intake port geometry with the aim to avoid wall-wetting and thus control hydrocarbon emissions.

“By combining proven, standardised components with a continuous product development, the Continental PFI injector portfolio offers best-cost solutions for the extended lifetime of ever cleaner and more efficient PFI engines around the globe,” said Mike Dallmeyer, head of Research & Development Low Pressure Components, Engine Systems Business Unit, Powertrain Division.