MDI2500 Diesel Engine

The Gulf War of 1991 pushed up the fuel prices drastically leading to huge impact on the auto industry. Coupled with this was the proposal of India moving to a stricter mass emission standards by 1992. This led to Mahindra looking to revamp engine technology to meet both fuel consumption requirements as well as meeting emission norms.

Mahindra embarked on a project to convert the existing MD2450 IDI engine to a DI engine with the help of AVL, Austria. Thus was born the MDI2500 engine, an engine which exhibited astonishingly low fuel consumption.

• Plant – Kandivli
• Production – 1991 to 1996
• Engine Model – MDI2500 Engine

Engine specifications –

• Type – Direct Injection Diesel (DI)
• No of cylinders – 4
• Capacity – 2522 cc
• Fuel Delivery – In-line, Jerk pump with multi-hole injectors
• Governor – Mechanical , All speed Governor
• Power – 40 hp at 2300 rpm
• Torque – 14 kg-m at 1400 rpm

This engine was so well received in the market for its performance and low fuel consumption, the word “DI” became synonymous with Mahindra. Eventhough the noise level of a DI engine was higher, there were no competing engines which could beat MDI2500 on fuel consumption.

The engine had a peculiar design of engine oil lubricating the MICO-BOSCH inline fuel injection pump – the bundy tube running across the front of the engine fed engine oil to the fuel pump. This engine is still in production in a BS6 avator.

Author’s note – The author, as a trainee, was part of the project team which worked along with AVL in productionising it. The author vividly remembers joy and ecstacy of receiving the first fuel consumption test results from AVL, over fax. It was 165 gms/bhp-hr, a 60% improvement in fuel efficiency over its predecessor, and instantly everyone knew that we have a giant killer in hand.