Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/103886
Feature the monthly savings could be huge [$0.08 x 600,000 = $48,000]. In the particular model tractor that we have, it would be worth the expense to mount these units in all the trucks with that engine." Shrinking profit margins require increasingly proactive solutions Spiraling diesel fuel costs have impacted the U.S. trucking industry in dramatic fashion. The rapid rise from $2.80 a gallon in 2008 to the current average of $4.50 per gallon has forced some firms into bankruptcy and many owner/operators to sell their rigs. With the cost of a fill-up for an 18-wheeler well over $1,000, fuel now surpasses labor as the biggest cost for some trucking firms. The key to maintaining competitiveness in this economy is to improve operating efficiency. Toward this end, original equipment manufacturers have designed new trucks with improved fuel economy in mind. However, the engineers who design these engines must hold back for two reasons. First of all, OEM manufacturers often produce only a few engine designs which are used in a wide range of models and platforms, allowing them to sell vehicles in a greater number of markets. This saves them money, but at the expense of creating an optimized engine management system for every application. Secondly, manufacturers are increasingly forced to "detune" their engines, which leaves extra horsepower "on the table," so efficiency suffers as well as mileage. Harnessing technology to the open road Previously used in automotive applications, engine performance tuners known more generally as programmers are now finding their way into the trucks and fleets of early-adopting owners and managers to improve performance in diesel applications. Consisting of a compact control panel, gauge tuners are easily connected to the engine's control module with wire leads. They operate by monitoring turbo boost pressure, engine RPMs, coolant temperature, air flow, fuel rail pressure and other operating considerations such as vehicle load, and then balancing these parameters by changing the electronic tuning characteristics of the engine management system to yield optimized performance. "These tuners boost power and torque, but improved fuel mileage is the main advantage; about 15% more miles per gallon," says Dave Brown of Piedmont Peterbuilt, LLC in Greensboro, North Carolina ─ a leading dealer of new Peterbilts, used trucks and aftermarket trucking products. "Our customers who have installed the tuners tell / Owner operator/ February 2013 / / 20 OO0213_text2.indd 20 1/4/13 11:31 AM