Still Working on a "Smokeless" tune....

[Dmaxink]

It's like anything else, each truck is a different combination of parts.

This is one reason I don't do the mail order tunes or specific tuning advice.

When it comes to the smoke output and engine noise, the pilot is critical. It's a lot less so in the upper RPM ranges when all you're looking for is max power.

Over the last week, I've been doing nothing but testing different pilot combinations in different situations, specifically for smoke control, engine noise and throttle response.

If folks aren't tuning that pilot shot, you're missing out on a lot of untapped drivability.

Truth

[2007 5.9]

Agreed.

[DoghouseDiesel]

Just as an example of what I've been trying with the pilot event, today alone I flashed the truck about 15 times with nothing more than pilot changes in both qty and timing. Yesterday I swapped my 150 hp injectors out for a larger set of 200's, just to get it closer to another truck's setup. Going from my 150's to the larger 200's required a total revamp of the pilot.

Changes as little as 1* and qty's as little 40 uS have a SIGNIFICANT impact on smoke, engine noise, throttle response and spool up.

For folks that haven't messed with the pilot and all you've done is smooth out the OEM map, you're not even close to how quiet your truck can be with the pilot dialed in. One thing that has been pretty consistent is that timing values and qtys are too low in the daily driving ranges and with higher RPM's and timing values, the OEM values are too high.

There's a TON of fine tuning possible with that pilot alone.

[2007 5.9]

So youve increased pilot timing and mm3 in the lower left corners of the map and obviously decreased the values in the lower right corners??

Very interesting...might try that.

[2006Cummins]

Quite a bit of info at once. Gonna have to sleep on this and think about it again in the morning. I like to see all of the different ideas and experiences.

Mike

[GMPX]

What are these trucks like stock a far as noise goes?
I am picturing the spec at Cummins was:
1 - Meet Emissions
2 - Keep noise low
3 - Make them last the warranty period
4 - Make advertised power

[DoghouseDiesel]

So youve increased pilot timing and mm3 in the lower left corners of the map and obviously decreased the values in the lower right corners??

Very interesting...might try that.

Les,

On mine I have increased the pilot timing values and quantites, both in mm3's and duration, in the lower daily driving and mid ranges. On top, I've increase the quantity, but reduced the timing.

There's a VERY slim happy medium in most cases the provide good smoke control and reduced engine noise while still offering good throttle response and spool up.

When I run mine on settings that are close to OEM values, it makes NOTICABLY more engine noise (the rattle).

Mine is actually quieter than a stock truck by quite a bit, except for the exhaust tone. My real gauge for this is my wife...she doesn't notice much with the truck, but anything with noise she notices. When she asks, "what did you do to your truck; it sounds quieter?", that's when I know I've hit the sweet spot. She could care less about what I do, unless it's noise or smoke, so that's my real gauge fpr those things.

But, each setup varies SO much. Just swapping my 150's to the 200's resulted in having to go back and revamp the timing and quantity. Timing had to be increased to deal with the lag between injection and ignition and quantity had to also n the lower ranges, but up top it had to be pulled back more. Down low was totally opposite of what I thought it would need. Reducing the vaues increased the noise levels.

[DoghouseDiesel]

What are these trucks like stock a far as noise goes?
I am picturing the spec at Cummins was:
1 - Meet Emissions
2 - Keep noise low
3 - Make them last the warranty period
4 - Make advertised power

Ross,

In stock form they're pretty quiet, but you do still have the charactersitic diesl rattle. Not nearly what the per-common rails were, but there is still a noticeable rattle, expecially when you get into the throttle and put a higher load on the motor.

Mine is actually quieter than a stock motor, except for the exhaust tone itself. But, if you open the hood and stand in front of it or sit in the driver seat, it's much quieter.

[DoghouseDiesel]

Okay, we've all seen the OEM Pilot Timing and the Pilot Qty, that's no big secret. And most people just smooth it out until it looks pretty, so here's the OEM Timing and Commanded mm3's.....





Now, here is my working pilot setup. The mm3 values are not smoothed at all for a reason. I'm going point by point with those and not smoothing them over.

You can really see in the commanded mm3 values, that I'm using a LOT more than the OEM does.

Keep in mind, my actual values in the vertical column are not even remotely close to the OEM map and the the mm3 values are also completely rescaled.

[2007 5.9]

Great information Rich....this is why I love this forum over all others...people who KNOW arent afraid to share ideas without giving away propriatary information....

PERFECT!!!!