Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Hello all,
I have spoken to Danny about the flood of calls he has been getting for the VA CP3 Level II duration box.
I asked him to put together a brief summary of the questions he has received most often. He put the following artical together.
Enjoy... .
VAN AAKEN DURATION SMART BOX LEVEL II
WHY IS IT BETTER?
We have received numerous calls asking why the Van Aaken duration Smart Box is better than other units on the market. I felt a small article would help to answer most questions and educate the buyer. We test all products prior to offering them for sale because we do not believe anyone just hands on test results!
Van Aaken’s Level II Duration Smart Box
To fully understand how Van Aaken’s unit works a small explanation of the common rail fuel injection system is in order. The common rail fuel injection system is simple to understand. There is a high pressure fuel rail attached to the six injectors so the injectors have continuous high pressure fuel available for injection into the cylinders. The injection cycle and injector opening duration is controlled by the computer. One injection cycle consists of two injection events; one being a pre injection event and one being a main injection event. When the pre injection fuel enters the cylinder it ignites and the main injection fuel is injected into the already burning fuel. This two step injection process helps with noise, emissions, smoke and fuel economy. The key to increasing engine power with this system is to get more fuel into the engine during the injection cycle. We learned early in 2001 on GM’S Duramax common rail system that raising rail pressures too high caused a number of serious problems. Most manufacturers claim their units, for the Cummins, do not raise rail pressures to undesirable levels but we found most units raise the rail pressure to levels we do like to see. High rail pressures can cause erosion or damage in injector body, tip and common rail system.
PRESSURE UNITS:
A pressure unit is basically what it states, it raises rail pressure so more fuel is forced through the injector in the same injection cycle. These units are harder to install having numerous engine connections which could lead to connector problems down the road and they can cause numerous problems due to the increase of rail pressures.
TIMING:
The challenge manufacturer’s face is that the Cummins engine takes its timing reading from both the camshaft and crankshaft position sensors. Most other engine manufacturers take the reading from one of the sensors, not both. Taking the readings from both sensors make changing timing very tricky, a simple explanation is picture being on a razor edge and going side to side trying to keep your balance. Most manufacturers who have tried timing units have had many problems including, undesirable high or low timing levels and service lamps coming on. Van Aaken is working on timing but do not have an estimated release date at this time. They do not want to release a box that sets engine codes. Van Aaken’s new duration unit is reprogrammable as long as no hardware changes are required: the new timing addition can be programmed into their unit.
DURATION UNITS:
A duration unit operates by keeping the injector open longer during the injection cycle. With electronics the best method of increasing power is to control the injector opening time without raising rail pressures. Van Aaken is one of the best in the world at controlling common rail injection systems because they have been doing so in Europe for many years and currently they are the only manufacturer offering a duration unit that operates at the ECM level. Controlling injector opening times may sound simple but it is not. Mapping the injection cycle and injector opening duration is very difficult and takes allot of knowledge and skill. Improper duration or cycling will cause the service engine lamp to come on and can place the engine in a “limp home Mode”. The Van Aaken unit is reprogrammable so as new programs come out, and as long as there are no hardware changes the unit can be reprogrammed with the latest. The Van Aaken Duration unit can increase HP up to 138 on a 305 HP engine and about 120 HP on a 600 engine. The reason for the lower HP gains on the 600 engine is there is a high fuel limit and the 600 engine is closer to this limit. The Van Aaken unit is very simple to install with a single connection to the engine mounted computer using a male/female connector. Also supplied is a three position in cabin power level switch.
FUEL ECONOMY:
I am always asked how fuel economy will be effected by a pressure or duration unit. This is very difficult to answer because there are many variables to the fuel economy formula and the driver being the largest. I will explain what I know from hands on experience. In most cases there will be a one to three mile per gallon increase in fuel economy. The increase is due to the additional power. I know this sounds strange but the answer is very simple, if you do not have to accelerate hard to move the truck then less fuel is used. A good example is two identical vehicles, one having a 4 cylinder engine and one having a V6 engine. In most cases the V6 powered vehicle will get better fuel economy and a longer engine life because it is not necessary to beat on the engine to move the vehicle. I find in most cases the increase in fuel economy with the Van Aaken unit is between one to three MPG.
Due to all the above, currently, we only offer the Van Aaken Duration unit for sale. We are also testing stacking the two Van Aaken units (the pressure box and the duration box) for a higher power output.
Dan Montegari
Precision Diesel Services Inc.
1-800-832-8844
-- email address removed --
If you have some questions please call rather than email because in most cases answers generate more questions and I already get over forty emails a day and I would rather be playing with an engine.
I have spoken to Danny about the flood of calls he has been getting for the VA CP3 Level II duration box.
I asked him to put together a brief summary of the questions he has received most often. He put the following artical together.
Enjoy... .
VAN AAKEN DURATION SMART BOX LEVEL II
WHY IS IT BETTER?
We have received numerous calls asking why the Van Aaken duration Smart Box is better than other units on the market. I felt a small article would help to answer most questions and educate the buyer. We test all products prior to offering them for sale because we do not believe anyone just hands on test results!
Van Aaken’s Level II Duration Smart Box
To fully understand how Van Aaken’s unit works a small explanation of the common rail fuel injection system is in order. The common rail fuel injection system is simple to understand. There is a high pressure fuel rail attached to the six injectors so the injectors have continuous high pressure fuel available for injection into the cylinders. The injection cycle and injector opening duration is controlled by the computer. One injection cycle consists of two injection events; one being a pre injection event and one being a main injection event. When the pre injection fuel enters the cylinder it ignites and the main injection fuel is injected into the already burning fuel. This two step injection process helps with noise, emissions, smoke and fuel economy. The key to increasing engine power with this system is to get more fuel into the engine during the injection cycle. We learned early in 2001 on GM’S Duramax common rail system that raising rail pressures too high caused a number of serious problems. Most manufacturers claim their units, for the Cummins, do not raise rail pressures to undesirable levels but we found most units raise the rail pressure to levels we do like to see. High rail pressures can cause erosion or damage in injector body, tip and common rail system.
PRESSURE UNITS:
A pressure unit is basically what it states, it raises rail pressure so more fuel is forced through the injector in the same injection cycle. These units are harder to install having numerous engine connections which could lead to connector problems down the road and they can cause numerous problems due to the increase of rail pressures.
TIMING:
The challenge manufacturer’s face is that the Cummins engine takes its timing reading from both the camshaft and crankshaft position sensors. Most other engine manufacturers take the reading from one of the sensors, not both. Taking the readings from both sensors make changing timing very tricky, a simple explanation is picture being on a razor edge and going side to side trying to keep your balance. Most manufacturers who have tried timing units have had many problems including, undesirable high or low timing levels and service lamps coming on. Van Aaken is working on timing but do not have an estimated release date at this time. They do not want to release a box that sets engine codes. Van Aaken’s new duration unit is reprogrammable as long as no hardware changes are required: the new timing addition can be programmed into their unit.
DURATION UNITS:
A duration unit operates by keeping the injector open longer during the injection cycle. With electronics the best method of increasing power is to control the injector opening time without raising rail pressures. Van Aaken is one of the best in the world at controlling common rail injection systems because they have been doing so in Europe for many years and currently they are the only manufacturer offering a duration unit that operates at the ECM level. Controlling injector opening times may sound simple but it is not. Mapping the injection cycle and injector opening duration is very difficult and takes allot of knowledge and skill. Improper duration or cycling will cause the service engine lamp to come on and can place the engine in a “limp home Mode”. The Van Aaken unit is reprogrammable so as new programs come out, and as long as there are no hardware changes the unit can be reprogrammed with the latest. The Van Aaken Duration unit can increase HP up to 138 on a 305 HP engine and about 120 HP on a 600 engine. The reason for the lower HP gains on the 600 engine is there is a high fuel limit and the 600 engine is closer to this limit. The Van Aaken unit is very simple to install with a single connection to the engine mounted computer using a male/female connector. Also supplied is a three position in cabin power level switch.
FUEL ECONOMY:
I am always asked how fuel economy will be effected by a pressure or duration unit. This is very difficult to answer because there are many variables to the fuel economy formula and the driver being the largest. I will explain what I know from hands on experience. In most cases there will be a one to three mile per gallon increase in fuel economy. The increase is due to the additional power. I know this sounds strange but the answer is very simple, if you do not have to accelerate hard to move the truck then less fuel is used. A good example is two identical vehicles, one having a 4 cylinder engine and one having a V6 engine. In most cases the V6 powered vehicle will get better fuel economy and a longer engine life because it is not necessary to beat on the engine to move the vehicle. I find in most cases the increase in fuel economy with the Van Aaken unit is between one to three MPG.
Due to all the above, currently, we only offer the Van Aaken Duration unit for sale. We are also testing stacking the two Van Aaken units (the pressure box and the duration box) for a higher power output.
Dan Montegari
Precision Diesel Services Inc.
1-800-832-8844
-- email address removed --
If you have some questions please call rather than email because in most cases answers generate more questions and I already get over forty emails a day and I would rather be playing with an engine.
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