SDI (engine)

SDI (engine)

The SDI engine is a design of naturally aspirated (NA) direct injection diesel engine developed and produced by Volkswagen Group for use in cars and vans, along with marine engine (Volkswagen Marine) and Volkswagen Industrial Motor applications.

The SDI brand name (derived from "Suction Diesel Injection" or "Suction Diesel Direct Injection", the latter a translation of the German: Saugdiesel Direkt Einspritzung) was adopted in order to differentiate between earlier and less efficient indirect injection engines, called SD or "Suction Diesel", which were also produced by Volkswagen Group.

SDI engines are only produced in inline or straight engine configurations; and as they originate from a German manufacture, are designated as either R4 or R5, taken from the German: Reihenmotor. They are available in various displacements (from 1.7 to 2.5 litres), in inline-four (R4 or I4) and inline-five (R5 or I5), in various states of tune, depending on intended application.

The SDI engine is generally utilised in applications where reliability and fuel economy are of primary concern. These engines lack any type of forced induction, hence the use of 'suction' in the title, and as such, their power output is lower when compared with a similar displacement turbocharged engine. For example, the 2.0 SDI engine fitted to the Volkswagen Golf Mk5 has a peak power output of 55 kilowatts (75 PS; 74 bhp); whereas the same engine in Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) form is rated at 103 kilowatts (140 PS; 138 bhp) or 125 kilowatts (170 PS; 168 bhp), depending on specification. However, in the SDI engine, performance at very low engine speeds and when moving off from stationary is often preferable to forced induction engines due to the lack of turbo lag.