mpg to Florida

[JohnEd]

Brian,

I agree with you but I also think DDEC predates EPA involvement with D engines.  No?  Today?  You must be right.  Then again, we seem to be able to get the Cummins EMS changed to our liking.  I don't know.  I only spot these questions and I hope a smart person will clue me in.

Thanks Brian,

John

[belfert]

I've read a lot of things on various places on the Internet about Detroit dealers often not wanting to mess around with increased power on DDEC engines due to the EPA.  I read a post over on a RTS forum about someone who wanted more power on a 6V92 DDEC and the Detroit dealer would have had to install a ton of EPA updates plus a new DDEC!  (I'm certain someone could dial up the power on a 6V92 without all that crap!)

Cummins will probably increase the HP level on an electronic engine, but probably not to a setting that wasn't EPA approved.  An authorized Cummins dealer is probably not going to install a marine or off road program in an on highway engine.

[loosenut]

Leaving Arcadia my little bus got 7.2 mpg.  That included towing a 3400 lb car, a lot of Webasto action supplemented by some high idling and driving as fast as I was comfortable.  I froze across the south.

Those numbers come to you curteousy of Sean.  I talked to him at Arcadia.  He was surprised, to say the least, when I told him I was unsure of my MPG.  I never filled as I didn't want to carry the extra weight. 

To make a short story even longer, you know those looks you get when somebody suspects you're the village idiot, well I got one of those.  So I filled the tank up to the top for the last 3.000 miles. 

Does carrying around an extra 75-100 gallons hurt mileage?  Anecdotally I felt I got better MPG when I kept the tank under a 1/2 when fueling.


Mike

[luvrbus]

Don't think for a minute your going to get what ever you want from Cummins either on their EPA engines they have a set range for the engines also


good luck

[JohnEd]

Clifford,

There is a place back in Pa. that makes EMS and reprograms those in use.  I feel certain you know the outfit.  I first heard about them cause they were involved with making Cummins that put out stagering power.  Reading about that I learned that Cummins would "update" software to get you the max that a particular engine could produce.  That was before the EPA started reging the D trucks.  There didn't seem to be any concern for anything back then for anything but the longevity of the engine.  Even today, I think those "non smog" engines could have their power upped and you would not run afoul of the Gummint.   DD, to the contrary, refused to change anything, power or not, and if you need a new EMS programmed for your engine it cost you  dearly....even though you were not deviating from the original purchase program and power settings.  I am not saying that they have no rhyme nor reason, only that I don't get it.  And I am curious.  Cummins, on the same generation engines, was more amicable, or so it seems to a green horn like me.

As I dug into that Cummins power upgrade stuff I got an awakening.  Those guys were saying up front that the max power that they got you was only good for short duration applications.  They stated that application of full throttle would end up melting your  pistons or worse.  Three cheers for truth in advertising and transparency.  Being able to lunch your engine with your right foot?  I would never make it......I have little self control.

John

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Mike, sure less weight will help fuel mileage. But not having a full tank when sitting for any length of time will lead to a condensation/algae problem sooner or later.

[luvrbus]

John, you can do the same with Cat or Detroit but you use a off road ECM,I have a friend running his C-15 at 750 hp using the marine ECM lots of ways to do it, but none of the guys are going outside the limits of EPA CAT, Cummins,Detrot, Volvo and M/B none will do it for highway use.
FWIW Davenport can change the HP on his 14L series 60 driving down the road he goes from 515 to 625 with the push of key on his laptop ways to do just have to be smart enough lol  





good luck

[belfert]

Even on a pickup truck with a power boost box you can fry a stock engine on the highest settings.  An EGT gauge is pretty much a requirement when adding power to a diesel engine.  In the pickup truck world guys will spend a lot of money on air intakes, turbos, exhausts, and the like to cool the engine.

[buswarrior]

There have been subtle EPA involvement in diesel exhaust for a longer time than the dramatic increases of 2003/2007/2010.

For instance, the 1998 engines had something slightly different than the 1997 engines.

Back sometime, most all of the engine manufacturers were accused and proven by the EPA of embedding monkey business in the computers so they ran clean under testing and then another, more polluting way, in real world conditions.

The punishment had something to do with accelerating the dates for when they had to comply with the next level?

Who remembers the details and the chronology of the limits better than I do?

happy coaching!
buswarrior