Fuel Injection

How Big Is the Advantage of Fuel Injection?

To burn the gasoline in an engine, it must first be mixed with air and then ignited with a spark. For many years, carburetors were the main device for this purpose, blending the air and fuel together to form a mist to be ignited. However, since they are mechanical in nature, carburetors are easily affected by the climate, so a more effective system was desired. With concern for the environment also growing, this presented a greater need for a system that would put out fewer emissions and deliver both better fuel efficiency and power.

These needs led to the development of fuel injection systems, which are used by the majority of cars and motorcycles today. The fuel is sent through the injector at high pressure to atomize it into droplets just a few microns in diameter to increase the fuel’s surface area, and it is then sprayed into the intake passage through the tiny holes—usually 4 to 12—at the tip. There, it mixes with the air and is directed into the cylinder’s combustion chamber, where it is ignited to combust.

Thanks to the cleaner, more complete burn it enables, the advantages fuel injection offers are numerous, from more horsepower, excellent response and higher fuel efficiency to better engine starts in cold temperatures, a smaller performance gap at high elevations and fewer emissions. The key to burning the fuel cleanly is the ratio of air in the mixture, and a fuel injection system uses electronics to automatically adjust the ratio to control and compensate for changes in air temperature and air pressure, thus yielding multiple benefits

The Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle (YCC-T) is an advanced fuel injection system and is commonly referred to as “ride-by-wire” or “electronic throttle.” For more on the YCC-T, see Electronically-Controlled Throttle on the Seeds of Creation website.