Australian 4WD Action – August 2019

INJECT

A BIT OF LIFE

STEP^6

Tickling your diesel for better power – and economy?

Wayne Baskerville from MTQ

Engine Systems has seen more

than his fair share of diesel

upgrades over the years. Here

we talk to him about upgrading

the injectors on your diesel –

old or new.

PUMP UPGRADES

FOR MORE GRUNT

“The mechanical Injection

Pump doesn’t actually flow the

fuel, more so fuel is injected by

pressurising the fuel quantity,”

says Wayne. “Depending on the

desired increase in fuel

quantity, most pumps are

capable of delivering

approximately 25% more than

the standard requirement.

Regardless, the main

controlling factor of fuel

delivery quantity is the size of

the pumping plunger.

Depending on the application,

modifications can be made, and

the plunger diameter increased.

As the fuel delivery is

increased, so does the

mechanical load placed on all

the internal components.

The size of the pumping

plunger may not allow enough

injected fuel quantity to match

additional air from the turbo,

in a modified situation.”

WHAT ABOUT

CHANGING

INJECTORS?

“The injector nozzle may be

changed with another nozzle

with different

characteristics,” says

Wayne. “Each nozzle design

has unique characteristics for

its particular engine

application. There will be

differences in the amount of

spray holes, spray hole size and

length, spray direction and

needle design and lift. Before

making any change, all these

characteristics would need to

be fully understood and

repercussions of doing so. In

essence, changing the nozzle

would vary the flow through the

nozzle. It is even more critical

on a Common Rail type engine.

The nozzle holes in a common

rail equipped engine are

only approximately

0.12mm to 0.25 mm in

diameter. This is to

ensure fine atomisation

of the diesel fuel, which

aids in the combustion

process. By increasing

the hole size, the flow

will increase, but the

atomisation will be

affected. Any alteration

without proper

understanding and

research could result

in engine damage in the

worst case scenario.

The ECU is monitoring

engine conditions via

many sensors. Inputs from

crankshaft, camshaft and

intake airflow sensors, as well

as exhaust emissions sensors,

like Oxygen or Air/Fuel all have

the ability to record any

alteration. If the variation is too

extreme, this could result in

engine faults being activated.”

WILL THESE MODS

AFFECT FUEL

USAGE?

“This varies greatly on how the

vehicle is operated and the

conditions in which it is being

operated,” Wanye says. “Fuel

usage can be greatly affected

by load (weight), weather

conditions and driving surface

to name a few. Generally, if the

desired effect is to increase

power output, the fuel usage

will increase accordingly.”

Injector (^) pumps do w
and can ear,^
cause (^) a lack (^) of
power. Thankfully, (^) the
can also b y^
e upgraded!
If^ your^ vehicle’s^ feeling^
down^ on^ power^ and^ using^
lots of^ fuel,^ injectors^ are^
often the^ cause
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