BMW M4 Coupe MotoGP safety car's new technology explained

It wasn't too long ago that BMW launched the M4 Coupe in the market, but it has been long enough that BMW's M cars have been serving as safety cars for Moto GP. This year while announcing the M4 Coupe as the safety car, the German carmaker has also revealed a new technology that will be used in it. This new technology will improve the performance and also make the car more efficient.

BMW's M division has found a simple yet effective method to achieve the aforementioned. The water injection system releases a fine spray of water into a collector which lowers the engine's tendency to knock. This enables that the ignition stays close to optimum value and at the same time it reduces the combustion temperature. In simple words, cold air is dense and thus has higher oxygen content which in turn improves performance too. It is also expected that the system will put less thermal strain on the components thus increasing their lifespan.

Well, so much for the advantages, but how does the water pump work? Adequate water is stored in a five-litre frost-proof reservoir located in the boot of the car which has the water pump, valves and sensors controlled by the car's ECM. This pump in turn supplies water into the injectors at a pressure of 10 bar, with the volume varying according to the factors like engine speed, temperature and the load on the engine. 

How frequently does it need to be refilled depends on the usage. According to BMW's M division - the water tank must be refilled before any "rigorous action out on the racetrack." However, for normal everyday driving on public roads it needs to be refilled once in every five stops for fuelling.

While this season of Moto GP would be the perfect testing ground for this technology, We believe it might make it to BMW cars too.