Power Trips

Nearly five months into the year, you'd think there might be a zillion impressions already formed of 2007 engines in user hands. Trouble is, production of new trucks with '07s under the hood - they're all designated 2008 models - has really only just begun. Both Caterpillar and Cummins tell me they have several hundred heavy-duty engines in real-world Canadian use, with more on dealer lots, and at least one western fleet has put 50,000 km or so on a few Cummins motors. On the other hand some engine makers have very, very few production engines working in ordinary service so far.

We gather that all is well in terms of driveability and performance, though there's no proof of anything on the fuel economy or maintenance fronts.

In fact, highwaySTAR editor Mr. Park probably has as much experience as anyone at the wheel of '07-equipped trucks. He's driven nearly all of them in pre-production trim and reports no difference in terms of pulling power. If there's a difference, he says, it's likely going to be felt in faster throttle response - sometimes too fast, he says - because almost all of them now have variable-geometry turbochargers. He's been through a couple of diesel-particulate-filter (DPF) regeneration events and says he wouldn't have known they were happening without a dashboard message. I've been through one myself, a total non-event.

Fuel economy seems bound to suffer at least a little in '07 engines, like 1 or 2%, but that depends so much on spec'ing and driving issues that it's hard to generalize. That said, spec'ing any modern engine demands more care than before.

The new ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD) that all engines are now using is partly responsible for whatever fuel-economy losses do occur, because of its inherently lower energy content. But the main reason for those losses - aside from spec'ing issues - is the particulate filter that's now on all engines. A DPF captures particulates in the exhaust and burns them off by raising the exhaust temperature, in most cases by injecting a small amount of fuel into the hot exhaust stream.

Lubricant Issues
It's important to understand the new lubricant demanded by '07 engines. Called CJ-4, it replaces the CI-4 and CI-4 Plus engine oils that were developed for 2002/04 diesels. We needed it because the new engines operate at even higher temperatures than before and don't burn off soot and other particles as well. Engines using exhaust-gas recirculation or EGR technology, and that's now all heavy-duty diesels, have more soot to deal with. Most importantly, the new DPF devices are easily damaged by that crud, and the older oils just don't offer the necessary protection.

CJ-4 is significantly different from earlier oils, and unfortunately more expensive. Thankfully it's backward-compatible, meaning you can use it on any earlier engine, and it offers superior soot-handling and oxidation control for any diesel motor.

No older oil category from API CF-4 to CI-4 Plus is forward-compatible to API CJ-4, so you absolutely must follow the engine manufacturer's recommendations. Otherwise, warranties could be affected.

The main message here is this: do not use anything but CJ-4 lubricant in '07 engines.

New Diesels Coming
There's lots of action on the engine manufacturing front, with Paccar having just announced it will build a $400 million facility in Columbus, Miss., Freightliner set to launch an all new Detroit Diesel engine in the fall, and International bringing on its Maxxforce engines, early next year, created from a German MAN block with an International top end and fuel system.

The Paccar plant, to be ready in 2009, will be building a new-to-North-America 12.9-liter diesel based on one designed by its Dutch truck-making subsidiary, DAF, to be called the MX. The inline six is used in Europe now, equipped with a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) exhaust-gas aftertreatment system.

The new Detroit Diesel motor, code-named 'HDE' and set for introduction this year, will in fact be a world engine aimed at all DaimlerChrysler markets globally. Available first in North America, it's slated to be Freightliner's only heavy-duty offering in 2010. It means that only one aftertreatment system will have to be conceived, engineered, and manufactured, which represents a huge cost saving. The engine will be sold alongside the Series 60 and MB 4000 until 2010.

The latest iterations of the new International MaxxForce engine lineup are the MaxxForce 11 and MaxxForce 13, the new "big-bore" diesel engines for class 8 trucks. They sport technological advances such as a strong compacted-graphite-iron cylinder block. The MaxxForce 11 will be offered in TranStar, while the MaxxForce 13 will be available in the ProStar. Their production launch is set for late this year.

Clearly, these three new engine lines - alongside the existing Mack/Volvo in-house offerings - mean even greater vertical integration amongst truck makers. It does not, however, mean that you won't be able to get a Cat or a Cummins engine in the future. For one thing, they have the 15/16-liter market to themselves, aside from Volvo's D16.

Nonetheless, there remain many questions on the engine front, the biggest of them being, what emissions technology will we see in 2010? We'll explore that one soon.

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