Turning up the fuel on a diesel turbo charged tractor New Holland TL-90

[breadtrk]

George, I really think the only thing our ECU controls is the afterburner duration and timing. The rest of the machine is pure mechanical. All of the Safety elements are simple no / nc switches no different from a riding lawnmower.

I have 40 tons of gravel just delivered to use as a seat of the pants dyno.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Of course if you turn up the power within the limits of the turbo in place all you have done is convert from one model number to another. And your not using that extra power except when your pulling a full load or climbing a steep grade so for much of the time engine wear, fuel use and exhaust output would be unchanged. I wouldn't be surprised to see gallons of fuel per acre go down as you might easily be able to shift up a gear or even two in some instances.

 

[George2615]

I think I'll wait till the warranty is over before touching mine.
I do wish the tractor aftermarket would catch up like the automotive aftermarket has and make programmers and diagnostic tools available at reasonable prices.

 

[Sysop]

Of course if you turn up the power within the limits of the turbo in place all you have done is convert from one model number to another. And your not using that extra power except when your pulling a full load or climbing a steep grade so for much of the time engine wear, fuel use and exhaust output would be unchanged. I wouldn't be surprised to see gallons of fuel per acre go down as you might easily be able to shift up a gear or even two in some instances.

That is why as power increases from the manufacturer there are typically increases built into the driveline also. Speaking of the model you were speaking of, larger bearings and whatever may be used in the next step up; and then as you noted, two steps up is an entirely different rearend. When you shift up into those higher gears you previously couldn't, you are using more of the power increase and putting more load on the driveline.

I personally wouldn't put the kind of increase to a working machine as Ted has done with that New Holland. I think Ted was showing "what is possible" more than "what you should do to your machine at home"...

I think these sorts of adjustments, if performed at all should take something like a 50HP unit to something like 53-55 tops. I think most units ship a little lower than advertised for longevities sake and "a quarter turn" will cause no harm (except to warranty)...

 

[Sysop]

I think I'll wait till the warranty is over before touching mine.
I do wish the tractor aftermarket would catch up like the automotive aftermarket has and make programmers and diagnostic tools available at reasonable prices.

The tractor "aftermarket" will never. It's not as large of an industry, with just as many varying models. That being said the complexity doesn't exist in the tractor market as there is in the autos. In the end I think "the tractor aftermarket", if anything will simply construct ways to remove and revert to a less complex system, rather than add the complexities required to make a need for the programmers and diagnostic tools that are so nice in the super-complex auto aftermarket.

Agreed on waiting. I'll probably even find other reasons to wait more after the warranty is up.

 

[farmer2009]

That is why as power increases from the manufacturer there are typically increases built into the driveline also. Speaking of the model you were speaking of, larger bearings and whatever may be used in the next step up; and then as you noted, two steps up is an entirely different rearend. When you shift up into those higher gears you previously couldn't, you are using more of the power increase and putting more load on the driveline. I personally wouldn't put the kind of increase to a working machine as Ted has done with that New Holland. I think Ted was showing "what is possible" more than "what you should do to your machine at home"... I think these sorts of adjustments, if performed at all should take something like a 50HP unit to something like 53-55 tops. I think most units ship a little lower than advertised for longevities sake and "a quarter turn" will cause no harm (except to warranty)...

I've always been told to limit increases to 20% or less. As that is all the drive train could handle. Anything over 20% and you need to change drivetrains. Now as in this one I wouldn't start the 20% till after I reached advertised hp. This tractor was light so turning it up to rated hp would have no effect on drive train.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

The tractor "aftermarket" will never. It's not as large of an industry, with just as many varying models. That being said the complexity doesn't exist in the tractor market as there is in the autos. In the end I think "the tractor aftermarket", if anything will simply construct ways to remove and revert to a less complex system, rather than add the complexities required to make a need for the programmers and diagnostic tools that are so nice in the super-complex auto aftermarket.

Agreed on waiting. I'll probably even find other reasons to wait more after the warranty is up.

On tier 4, in a tractor pulling, closed course environment ('cause nobody would bypass EPA laws except where legal like in RACING), the fuel pressure could be dialed up to over-come the factory-set, lean-burn strategy and get closer to stoichiometic burn ratio for outright power. However, a test tube would need to be installed in place of the exhaust filter as the filter would restrict power and the pressure differential sensor would need to send a fixed reference voltage back to the ECU using a zener diode. If the ECU is smart enough to trip a code on a fixed reference voltage as most cars and trucks are, then the reference voltage must be generated from the reference voltage also having an inline thermocouple. In this way as the sensor heats up, so too does the voltage change and the ECU sees a varying reference voltage.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I've always been told to limit increases to 20% or less. As that is all the drive train could handle. Anything over 20% and you need to change drivetrains. Now as in this one I wouldn't start the 20% till after I reached advertised hp. This tractor was light so turning it up to rated hp would have no effect on drive train.

I've broken so many transmissions. Even so, the first thing that gets hit though is the cooling system, which is why Ted (who I understand used to also race) is continually talking about the inability of the cooling system to dissipate the additional heat generated from the up tune if the tractor was left to lay down maximum power for any length of time doing ground engagement tasks.

 

[EverythingAttachments]

Ted said that if he were selling this tractor new and turning it up for a customer(which he wouldn't do), he would have stopped at 90-92 hp with no worries.
With that, it could be used in the field all day.
Our tractor will be used for fairly short periods of time, so he dialed it on up to unleash the beast for attachment testing!
Travis

 

[SPYDERLK]

Ted said that if he were selling this tractor new and turning it up for a customer(which he wouldn't do), he would have stopped at 90-92 hp with no worries.
With that, it could be used in the field all day.
Our tractor will be used for fairly short periods of time, so he dialed it on up to unleash the beast for attachment testing!
Travis

My question is why you worried about saving the anti tamper cover. Anybody paying critical attention could tell it had been off. Why not just be blatant?