Pilot Injection
For those of you who wonder why we are going to have pilot injection, here is my explanation.
Pilot injection is a very small early charge of fuel to begin the combustion process. It is very early in timing and not appropriate for the full charge. The main charge can then be injected later because the "fire is already lit" by the pilot charge.
We are getting pilot injection for two main reasons: 1) It reduces NOX emissions by LOWERING combustion temperatures because of the later, non optimum injection timing, and 2) It reduces noise for the combustion event, making the noise pollution people happy.
Since pilot injection does not provide the engine with optimum timing, the power output suffers and so does the overall efficiency of the engine. The power can be recovered by more fuel injected later, but the mileage takes a hit.
This is why the earlier powerstokes get much better mileage than the current ones and likely why the Duramaxes do not equal the mileage of the Cummins.
For my uses, pilot injection does nothing beneficial, but we are going to get it whether we want it or not.
As far as durability, real diesels are built to take optimum timing. Those of you that think the loud noise is a more stressful event are correct, but manufacturers like Cummins and Cat know how to cope with the problem.
I still hope this can be dealt with in the software. Keep your fingers crossed.
Harry