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Old 07-21-2003, 01:01 AM   #4
shirokuma
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 5489
Join Date: Apr 2001
Chapter/Region: NWIC
Location: The Empire of Seattle
Vehicle:
2013 FR-S
AVO Orange

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It's not likely at all. For one, Subaru doesn't have direct injection gas engines working in their current fleet at all. If they were planning to use it, they'd be testing it right now, they'd introduce it to some Subaru models in a year, and then 2-5 years later it may see the American market.

Mitsubishi Motors has had direct injection gas engines for a couple of years now, available in the Japanese market. The problem is that the technology sounds better than it worked. People that own the vehicles with the engines in question have noted that the mileage gains were only realized when you drove slower than your grandmother. Once you tried to drive the car normally using normal acceleration, it exhibited the same gas mileage as "conventional" engines.

The other problem they are facing is that they are not that clean. It took them a long time to get a clean direct injection gas engine, and an impressive sounding 180hp/180ft/lb's of torque from a DI na engine slowly but surely became a 150hp/150ft/lb's torque DI na engine. Not exactly impressive.

Not least of all is the fact that you need clean gas to run DI gas engines, and America doesn't provide that gas at the pumps.

DI will come, but not anytime soon. Nor will it necessarily become the performance option, it may be relegated to gas misers only.

Cheers,

Paul Hansen
www.apexjapan.com
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