TDI Explained

Author: Marvin Droege | Date: 05/17/2013

Audi TDI® stands for Turbocharged Direct Injection. TDI's are known for a huge amount of torque with an amazing fuel economy. More and more Audi models come as a TDI, by the time this article was written only the Audi A8L TDI and the Q7 TDI were available. 

The first Audi TDI engine was the 2.5 litre R5 TDI in 1989. From the 2009 model year onwards, TDI engines using the common rail (CR) technique, again with piezoelectric injectors, are now used in various Audi models. The CR engines are available in many sizes, including 1.2, 1.6, 2.0, 2.7, 3.0, 4.2 and 6.0 litres, with outputs from 75 to 500 HP from these engines.

A video about the TDI engine and how it's made

A video about the TDI 

When Audi decided to put a TDI motorized car in the Le Mans race, a lot of people were confused and would simply not believe that Audi is going anywhere with that. To their surprise, Audi won 5 years in a row and had their cars also in 2nd and 3rd place. Audi used the Audi R10, R15 and R18 in their races and repeatedly used diesel engines - with success. 

Now we have those engines, used in race-cars in the every-day cars. From the A8 to the Q7 and - joining the TDI family the 2014 Q5 TDI. The Q7 came with the same engine used in the R10 which was a V-12 TDI with 500 horses and 740 ft-lbs of torque! Audi however removed the Q7 V12 from the market and decided to focus more on the smaller diesel engines.

When you compare the 2014 Audi A8L TDI torque-wise to the R8 V10, which delivers 389 ft-lbs at 6500 RPM, the A8 can impress with 406 lb-ft of torque at only 1750 RPM.

The way a Diesel engine works has dramatically changed. A lot of people still think of a lot of smoke, no power and lots of vibrations in the car when they hear the word Diesel. But the technology and so the engines have changed. Now days, a diesel engine is super efficient, has a lot of torque, amazing fuel economy and an outstanding range. 

Let's face it, the gas prices are going crazy, that means you have to change your driving style, think twice before you go anywhere, get off the throttle - the fun is gone. Now imagine you drive a Audi TDI, you can still have fun and go anywhere you want, drive by the gas stations with a huge smile in your face, because diesel fuel is getting cheaper and it is cheaper than regular gas. With a mileage over 35 mpg and a range of approximately 650 miles per fill-up, you'll be happy to drive as much as you can. 

Scott Keogh, President of Audi America speaks to the public and announces what Diesel engines can and will do.

He also announces the TDI models available in the US.

For the technology geeks of us, watch this video to understand, how the TDI works.