Everyone wants more power for their engine, whether it's a gas or diesel engine. Most of the ways to meaningfully improve diesel power involve mechanical adjustments.
There are special fuel injectors made for diesel trucking enthusiasts that claim to be able to increase diesel horsepower by 50-100 hp. Now we don't know for sure how much of a gain one could get, though it is noted that you may be able to get closer to 100 hp gain if the right mechanical adjustments are made. These fuel injectors are made with proprietary processes to create the right hole pattern necessary to get the most precise and optimal fuel spray.
However, diesel engines today are all common-rail diesel engines. That means their fuel injectors are operating at pressures far exceeding anything we used to see. This also substantially changes the old tricks where tweaking the fuel injectors would yield substantial improvements in horsepower.
Adjusting diesel fuel injectors in a common rail diesel engine can indeed influence the engine's performance, including power output. However, it's important to understand what "adjusting" means in this context and the implications it has on the engine's operation.
In common rail diesel engines, fuel injection timing, pressure, and duration are precisely controlled by the engine's electronic control unit (ECU) for optimal performance, fuel efficiency, and emissions. Adjustments to improve power often involve modifying these parameters rather than making mechanical adjustments to the injectors themselves.
1. Increasing Injection Pressure: Higher fuel injection pressure can improve atomization of the fuel, leading to better combustion and potentially more power. However, there are limits to how much pressure the system can handle safely. So you don't want to do anything to potentially exceed these thresholds.
2. Altering Injection Timing: Advancing the timing of fuel injection can lead to an increase in power output. The timing needs to be carefully calibrated to avoid pre-ignition or knocking, which can damage the engine.
3. Adjusting Fuel Quantity: Increasing the amount of fuel injected into the combustion chamber can also increase power, but it must be balanced with the amount of air available for combustion to prevent producing excessive smoke and particulate emissions.
4. Remapping the ECU: This involves changing the software parameters that control the fuel injection system to increase performance. It's a common method used to adjust the behavior of fuel injectors in modern engines.
While adjustments can improve power, there are several risks involved:
1. Wear and Tear: Increasing power output can put additional stress on the engine and its components, leading to increased wear and potentially reducing the engine's lifespan.
2. Emissions: Altering fuel injection parameters can result in increased emissions, which might not comply with environmental regulations.
3. Fuel Consumption: Increased power often comes with increased fuel consumption.
4. Warranty and Legal Issues: Making unauthorized adjustments can void the vehicle's warranty and, in some cases, might not be legal.
It's crucial to consult with a professional or refer to the manufacturer's guidelines before attempting to adjust the fuel injectors or make any modifications to the engine's ECU. Proper diagnostics and adjustments should be made with a thorough understanding of the engine's operation and compliance with regulations.
Diesel enthusiasts love turbochargers, but not many know what they actually do. A turbocharger is an apparatus that forces more air into the combustion chamber than will normally be able to go into. Greater airflow means more oxygen available and also better temperature regulation. You don't have to be a street racer to appreciate what a turbocharger can do for a diesel engine. People who tow loads know they need more power, but that can also mean excessive engine temperatures. A turbocharger makes it possible to balance one with the other.
Other diesel enthusiasts will resort to tinkering with their post-combustion exhaust system. The theory is that having a larger exhaust capacity (meaning the engine can expel more exhaust gas volume at any given time), positively affects the temperature in the engine and allows the engine to be modified to take on more horsepower. It's hard to get really high horsepower if you don't have the ability to regulate the removal of the exhaust fumes that horsepower is going to help make.
Bell Performance isn't going to stretch the truth and try to convince you that a diesel fuel additive like Dee-Zol will give you 50 or 100 extra horsepower. That's simply not realistic. Many Dee-Zol users can get 20 extra horsepower, though (based on dyno tests). This extra benefit comes from the way the combustion improver in Dee-Zol evens out the rate of burn or combustion of the diesel fuel in the compression ignition chamber.
Cetane improver is another way you can add more diesel power and performance. Cetane (the diesel equivalent of octane) can be found in products like Super-Tane, and drivers notice an immediate improvement in the driveability and even the sound of their diesel engine when they add it. That's because a higher cetane rating in the fuel is one of those things that has an immediate and noticeable effect on how the fuel is burning in the combustion chamber. The diesel engine runs smoother, gets quieter, and runs with noticeably more power.
So if you don't want to bust out your wrench and slap on a turbocharger or new exhaust system, a diesel fuel additive like Dee-Zolor Super-Taneis a very cost effective alternative for getting more diesel power.