Diesel engine Tune Up kit

[curiouskb]

I read from various sources about this plug in, box like "tune Up kit" or "tuning chip" for diesel engines that claims to be able to improve their output and efficiency. Is it as good as they claim and any potential damage to the engines? One example is for the Cummins, up from 425 to 480 hp and a VP D6 from 435 to 480 hp.. Would appreciate others opinion and users experience. Thanks.

 

[Norman_E]

I would be very wary of chipping a boat diesel. The reason is simple. All diesel engines can have their power output raised if you increase the fuelling, and turbocharged ones are particularly easy to tune for a big gain by remapping the injection. For a road car engine that is no problem because when you drive a car on the road you are rarely using full power, and much of the time are cruising and the engine is actually having a fairly easy time. Such tune ups, remaps etc can actually cut fuel consumption because you can use a higher gear in many circumstances. Boats are different, their engines spend considerable periods running at quite a high percentage of maximum output and the gearing is fixed. They are designed to run like that reliably for many thousands of hours. Installing and actually using a kit that gives a big increase in power (and there is no point if you don't use it) may well shorten bearing life and impair reliability. To make use of the extra power you would either have to rev it harder, or fit a bigger propeller, either way putting increased strain on it.

 

[ianj99]

Some engine manufacturers offer the same engine with different power outputs. Tuning a lower power one to the next in the range is probably okay since the manufacturers do it themselves by remapping the ecu - (so called chipping) and charging a fortune for the extra performance. There are probably no mechanical differences if the increase is only 10-15%.But when there is a bigger increase, they will usually resort to major mechanical changes such as stronger crank, bearing, pistons, rods to ensure reliability.

If you were to use the extra power simply to get on the plane faster and then throttle back, obviously the impact of the tuning would be reduced and often the box will improve the fuel consumption at cruising speed. So if you plan on using the extra power for long periods, its more of a risk than for short bursts.

 

[causeway]

My car is chipped and its great, it feels like a new car. Fuel consumption will be worse if you use the extra power though.

Would I do it in a boat? A pleasure boat, Probably. I'm not into power boats though.

It will cause strain due to the extra torque. You need to be 'progressive' when you do put your foot down.

 

[lynall]

I was reading the smaller 6 litre cummins duty cycle at the higher bhp limits and 480 bhp the duty cycle was something like 10 percent!

 

[ianj99]

My car is chipped and its great, it feels like a new car. Fuel consumption will be worse if you use the extra power though.

Would I do it in a boat? A pleasure boat, Probably. I'm not into power boats though.

It will cause strain due to the extra torque. You need to be 'progressive' when you do put your foot down.

I've had a plug in box from these people: http://energy-tuning.co.uk on all my diesels
It just makes them much smoother and effortless to drive with a lot less gear changing and improves the fuel consumption by about 10%
Yes it will use more fuel if you use the extra performance all the time, but it gets upto speed much more quickly, so overall I save fuel.
I would have one on my boat engine if it had electronic injection and a turbo to have more power in reserve. Pity the old Perkins 4108 pre dates the current technology by a good 25years.

 

[curiouskb]

I was reading the smaller 6 litre cummins duty cycle at the higher bhp limits and 480 bhp the duty cycle was something like 10 percent!

Thanks for the reply but can you explain on this "duty cycle" as my mechanical knowledge is rather limited.

 

[curiouskb]

I would be very wary of chipping a boat diesel. The reason is simple. All diesel engines can have their power output raised if you increase the fuelling, and turbocharged ones are particularly easy to tune for a big gain by remapping the injection. For a road car engine that is no problem because when you drive a car on the road you are rarely using full power, and much of the time are cruising and the engine is actually having a fairly easy time. Such tune ups, remaps etc can actually cut fuel consumption because you can use a higher gear in many circumstances. Boats are different, their engines spend considerable periods running at quite a high percentage of maximum output and the gearing is fixed. They are designed to run like that reliably for many thousands of hours. Installing and actually using a kit that gives a big increase in power (and there is no point if you don't use it) may well shorten bearing life and impair reliability. To make use of the extra power you would either have to rev it harder, or fit a bigger propeller, either way putting increased strain on it.

Obviously you raised a very interesting and valid point here about using it in cars vs boats. I need to consider it carefully before changing anything on my boat. Thanks.