The 2017 Volkswagen Golf All Track: A Closer Look at its Engine

As I drove the 2017 Volkswagen Golf All Track, I had the opportunity to take a closer look at one of its most interesting features: the engine. Specifically, the turbocharged 1.8L EA888 engine caught my attention when I popped the hood and examined it in detail.

One notable aspect of this engine is the location of the turbocharger. To my surprise, the turbocharger was situated right next to the engine itself, with very little distance between the two. This led me to wonder why Volkswagen would design their engine in such a way. The answer lies in the internal exhaust manifold, which is located entirely within the cylinder head.

The water-cooled exhaust manifold is a clever setup that allows for efficient heat transfer and management. Inside the engine, one can see the two exhaust valves dumping the exhaust gases into the exhaust manifold, which is then cooled by coolant jackets surrounding it. This system not only helps to cool the exhaust manifold but also directs the exhaust gases towards the turbocharger.

As I delved deeper into the engine's design, I realized that this internal exhaust manifold setup had several benefits. For instance, one of the most significant advantages was its ability to warm up the cabin quickly during cold starts. By utilizing the energy from the exhaust gases, the engine can heat up the cabin faster and more efficiently. This not only improves the overall driving experience but also reduces engine wear by minimizing the time spent in cold start mode.

Another benefit of this design is its ability to cool the catalytic converter. Volkswagen was able to measure a significant temperature difference between the exhaust gas when it exited the engine and the turbocharger, which cooled it down by 160°F. This is particularly important because excessive heat can damage the catalytic converter, leading to costly repairs.

The reduced need for a rich air-fuel mixture at high loads is another fascinating aspect of this design. By cooling the exhaust gases before they reach the turbocharger, Volkswagen was able to achieve better engine performance and reduce the risk of damaging the catalytic converter. This clever engineering allows the driver to enjoy improved fuel efficiency while minimizing the risk of costly repairs.

In conclusion, the 2017 Volkswagen Golf All Track's engine is a remarkable example of innovative design and engineering. The internal exhaust manifold setup, combined with advanced cooling systems, makes for a more efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly driving experience. Whether you're cruising down the highway or navigating challenging terrain, this engine has proven itself to be a capable and trusty companion on the road.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHello everyone and welcomeI have been driving the 2017 Volkswagen Golf All Trackand I've been quite enjoying itbut one of the things that pretty interesting about this carif you pop the hood and check out the enginethis is the 1.8L EA888 from Volkswagenit's a turbocharged engine andone of the really interesting thingsis that if you look at the turbocharger you'll noticeit's right next to the engine itself.So a very short distance in between the engine and the engine blockSo what does this mean?Well what this means is the exhaust manifold islocated entirely within that cylinder headNow why would Volkswagen do this?Well basically what they've got going on is a water cooled exhaust manifoldand it's a very cool setup; how it works is very simpleyou're just looking inside the engine at the cylinders themselvesyou've got the two exhaust valvesdumping that exhaust out into the exhaust manifoldwhich is all located internally within the cylinder headyou've got coolant jackets going around that exhaust manifoldhelping to cool that exhaust manifoldand then it's dumping that air into the exhaust portion of the turbochargerspinning up the turbo, creating boost, etc.So why would you do this?Why would you put the exhaust internally in the cylinder head?Well one of the huge benefits comes down to cold startsSo what this allows you to do is get the engine up to operating temperature very quicklyThat's not only efficient...but if you need to heat the cabinyou're going to be able to do it soonerbecause you're using energy from the exhaust to help warm it upYou're also going to have less engine wear becauseif your engine is cold for less durationyou're not going to have that cold start up where you don't quite have the protection you have at operating temperatureso you can help with engine reliabilityby getting it up to operating temperature very quicklyNow one of the cooler benefits of this isactually the fact that you can cool the catalytic converterSo they were able to measure the temperature differencebetween the exhaust gas when it was coming out andreaching that turbocharger andand they are able to cool it by 160° Fonce it reaches the turbochargerAnd what's neat about that is that when you're at high loadyou don't have to have as rich of an air / fuel mixtureTypically you're going to have an air / fuel mixture that's pretty richto reduce gas temperatures in the exhaustand the reason you're doing that is so you don't burn up your catalytic converterYou don't want to get too hotYou do want to get it \"hot enough\" for it to be able to do its processand get rid of the harmful emissionsbut you don't want it to get too hotand so typically with turbocharged enginesor just engines in generalyou can run a rich air / fuel mixturethat will cool the exhaust gasesand it won't harm your catalytic converter as muchWhereas this engine is actually going to be cooling it with the coolant jackets themselveswrapped around the exhaust manifoldAs a result Volkswagen says they are able to achieve 20% better highway fuel economyby cooling these exhaust gases and then running a leaner air / fuel mixtureat these higher engine loadswhich is pretty neat to seethat they're able to achieve 20% is a *HUGE* numberNow are there any disadvantages to doing this?Well the obvious thing is that you're going to have a higher cooling loadplaced on the engine itselfSo you're dumping a ton of heat into that engine blockand you're going to have to cool thatWith an engine that's only producing 170 HPyou know, this is a fairly low power engineyou know, \"relatively speaking,\"so the cooling load isn't that big of a problemcertainly not something you're going to have a challenge dealing withyou put a nice size radiator up front and this will be no issueThe other thing that came to mind is tunabilityyou can't swap out the header, so to speakand -- you know -- go get crazy with thisI don't think that that's that big of an issueI think that companies should design the best product that they canand let the aftermarket worry about the aftermarketbut that's just something to kind of think aboutif it's all internal you're not going to be able to change that outyou're going to deal with the exhaust after that portionbut I think it's a pretty cool setup what Volkswagen has doneand let's just check out some images of what this actually looks likeSo here we can see the engineand you can see the turbochargerput right up against the engine block thereso this is the cylinder headand as you can see the exhaust manifoldcompletely internalspits right out into the turbochargerspools that upand you're good to goand you're creating boostso pretty cool to seeHere's a more detailed look at the cylinder headsso you can seeyou've got your exhaust manifold in herethat's coming out into these two portsYou know it looks like it could be set upto support a twin scroll turbocharger(this is a single vane turbo)but you could theoretically, if you wanted to, do thatsince you've got these two separate exhaust ports right hereand then basically behind these you've got coolantso you're going to have coolant flowing in hereand helping to cool that exhaust manifoldAnd here we have an exploded viewof this 1.8L engineYou can see the exhaust valve right hereso your piston comes uppresses out that exhaust gasesthey travel through there and directly into the turbochargerand then you can see in *blue*and blue is the cooling jacketsthat are going to be cooling this exhaustso everything is red is the exhaust manifoldwhere that exhaust air is coming outand then here in blueyou can see that there is coolant jacketswrapping around that to help keep it coolAnd finally this is a low quality imagebut great for seeing what this looks like, internallyso you can see in redthe entire exhaust manifoldwrapping around for each of the two valvesat each cylinderAnd then you can see the coolant water jacketfor the cylinder headcoming in here and wrapping aroundand then you can see the exhaust manifold water jacketin the darker blue here wrapping aroundkind of, you know, curving around with the exhaust manifold itselfmaking sure to supply coolant to that areaand cool down that exhaust manifoldSo neat how they're exchanging heat here between these twoand a pretty interesting designwhich allows for the benefits mentioned earlierSo pretty cool what they've done with thisand pretty neat to see such a compact exhaust manifoldSo, thank you guys for watching,and if you have any questions or commentsfeel free to leave those below\n"