Cummins announces first certified '02 engine - Industry News - Brief Article

Diesel Progress North American Edition, May, 2002 by Mike Brezonick

And so it begins for real. While up to now, the battleground surrounding the October heavy-duty on-highway "pull-ahead" emissions standards has been mostly a war of words, it could be said that Cummins Inc. fired the first true broadside in early April. In events separated by days, the Columbus, Ind., engine manufacturer announced that its ISX engine had become the first to be certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the 2.5 g/hp-hr [NO.sub.x] NMHC standard.

That was followed shortly by the news that it shipped its first emissions-certified engines to International Truck & Engine Corp.

This was a significant landmark for Cummins in several ways. While the consent decrees between EPA, the U.S. Department of Justice and the heavy-duty engine builders affected all of the major truck engine players in North America, Cummins has been the most outwardly aggressive in its efforts to meet the standards and has taken no part in the attempts by some engine manufacturers to persuade regulators to relax the October deadline.

"The bottom line is that the people of the world are demanding cleaner air," said Joe Loughrey, Cummins' executive vice president and president, Engine Business. "The challenge to continually improve products and provide cleaner air won't go away in our lifetime and will become increasingly difficult as we chase emissions down to nearly immeasurable levels. Tough to do yes, but it's what Cummins is all about.

"We've chosen to certify our ISX engine earlier than usual to help assure our customers that we will be ready despite claims they may have heard to the contrary."

The certified ISX engine incorporates new air handling and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology (see August 2001, Diesel Progress). The key component additions include a Holset variable geometry turbocharger, Behr EGR cooler and Eaton EGR valve. "The ISX engine we're going to market with for '02 is the same base engine we've been producing," Loughrey noted. "It's been a terrific engine from a reliability standpoint and we're adding to this engine, a sub-system, some elements of which may not be familiar to customers. But we've been working with our OEM customers and will continue to work with them and the end users to convince them that they need not be as concerned about the products as some of the hype would lead them to believe."

According to John Wall, Cummins vice president and chief technical officer, engine performance and driveability will be improved "in terms of engine braking capability and overall engine responsiveness," although he conceded that there could be "a 3 to 4 percent hit" in fuel ecomony.

But Loughrey noted that any fuel economy penalty "depends on what you're using today. At the end of the day, if you compare it to your Series 60, C15 or N14, the fuel economy as experienced by our customers won't be very different. It will be worse than our current ISX engine running today."

In issuing the certification, the EPA also affirmed the use of the auxiliary emissions control devices (AECD) as submitted by Cummins. AECDs are permitted by law when limited engine protection is necessary under certain operating conditions. "Our AECDs are a non-issue from an environmental point of view, despite what you may have heard," noted Loughrey. "They have been approved by EPA and are not defeat devices as far as EPA is concerned."

Field testing of the EGR-equipped ISX engine began in December of 1999 and by October, Cummins expects to have approximately 115,000 lab test hours completed on the new engines, as well as approximately 6.4 million road miles in 30 test vehicles operating around the U.S. and Canada.

Full production ramp up for the emissions-certified ISX engines will begin in September. By October 2002, the company intends to achieve certification for its ISM and ISB engines, and Loughrey said Cummins plans to use emissions credits to certify its ISC and ISL engines through 2003, when next generation engines are planned.

"Cummins is not only committed to staying in the truck business," Loughrey said, "but let me assert now that we intend to be the undisputed leader in the industry and we intend to do so profitably And we have the products, we have the will and we have the technology to do just that."

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