2014 Chevrolet Impala Taking Air Intake Seriously

Variable valve timing has been an integral part of making engines make more horsepower and consumer less fuel for awhile now. Now it seems that isnt good enough and manufacturers are looking for ways to gain even more control on how engines breath.

Chevrolet is taking some concepts from other manufacturers and tweaking them for an all new valve train system for their new 2.5L Ecotec engine. With any system like this there is always an acronym. This one happens to be IVLC, read Intake Valve Life Control. This system incorporates two outer high lift lobes and one inner low lift lobe per cylinder.

This systems has two settings, low lift and full lift. Low lift opens the intake valve a total of 4.0 millimeters. In this mode oil pressure is starved from the system and this unlatches the high lift roller from the low lift roller. This occurs under light throttle and cruising situations when just the right amount of air is needed.

When the driver needs more power the system actuates a pin via oil pressure to lock the high and low lift rollers together. Now the driver is getting 10.5 millimeters of valve lift for maximum power and torque. This mode comes into play during hard acceleration and passing situations.

IVLC has a lot in common with other valve train designs. Honda has their V-TEC and Fiat has their Multiair system. Other manufacturers use systems that have an actuator that can advance or retard the valve timing depending on engine needs.

Chevrolet says this system is good for "up to" one mile per gallon boost. Mike Anderson who is General Motors global chief engineer for Ecotec engines said, “Intake Valve Lift Control works so seamlessly drivers aren’t likely to notice it at all,”.  Chevrolet has stressed refinement and efficiency with the new 2.5 liter Ecotec engines. 

Customers wont have to wait for the Impala to sample this engine though. Another iteration of it will be found under the hood of the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. This version will not have IVLC. 

What do my gear heads think? Is this a good system? Will it increase fuel efficiency? Will this be enough motive force for the upcoming Impala? Let me know in the comments.