Common rail vs mechanical injection

[Bentrim]

another aspect of direct injection (common rail) vs indirect injection injection (mechanical) is the location in the combustion chamber fuel is injected. Indirect injection is what the name implies, fuel is injected indirectly into the combustion chamber and is not as efficient as DI.
Also mechanical is what the name implies, a mechanical pump and an extra cam to operate the injectors. Both systems have pluses minuses and both can be costly to repair. You can put me in the column of turbo fan boy as well. Diesel engines do not like to breath on their own like a gasoline engine does.

Direct injection is not necessarily common rail. Direct injection injects the fuel into the top of the piston into a specially designed combustion chamber designed into the piston. They are usually easier to start and noisier than indirect injection as the fuel is burned "on top or in" the piston. Indirect injection uses a "pre combustion chamber" where some or all of the fuel is burned in this chamber and the gases exit the chamber and force the piston down. Some called the power cells, pre combustion chambers, Oliver used the Lanovan system Minneapolis Moline called them Dyna Cells. These systems were quieter and easier on parts and usually harder to start when cold. Some are accessible externally and some were built in the heads. An example of an IDI is the GM 6.2 and 6.5 Indirect and direct usually use an externally mounted injection pump.
Common rail has the fuel delivered at very high pressure to all injectors at the same time. It is fired when triggered by a computer. They cannot run without electronics.
The good points of Common rail is the computer control can cause multiple injections and amounts for one firing. This is why common rail has become popular. They use direct injection and with the computer controlling it they are quiet and can reduce emissions compared to the old mechanical pump systems. and due to the higher pressure they also are more efficient and start better when cold.
As for turbos I knew an old farmer who when he bought a new tractor put a turbo kit on it and turned back the fuel settings. He wanted the efficiency not the power.

 

[Boss 302]

I'm sure some do but that certainly isn't a place to try and save a few dollars. I added an additional separator on my powerstroke for an additional safeguard.

 

[kenmac]

common rail injection without all the other emission trash would be great !

 

[Hall00]

But how many owners of CR fuel systems base their fuel filter choices on price?

A bunch of them since they refuse to comprehend OEM filters are MUCH cheaper than the parts they are protecting. Or they don't know there is a difference.

I will say it doesn't help with a lot of the knock-offs and the way places like amz push the trash sets.

The person that doesn't know any better gets on amz for both fuel filters for a '13 2500 6.7 Dodge. He sees 1 or 2 sets for $115. Then the amz choice (garbage) JKL or some other no name brand for $39.

 

[RoostersGarage]

A bunch of them since they refuse to comprehend OEM filters are MUCH cheaper than the parts they are protecting. Or they don't know there is a difference.

I will say it doesn't help with a lot of the knock-offs and the way places like amz push the trash sets.

The person that doesn't know any better gets on amz for both fuel filters for a '13 2500 6.7 Dodge. He sees 1 or 2 sets for $115. Then the amz choice (garbage) JKL or some other no name brand for $39.

I was buying the Fuelly brand of Amazon for a bit until I went with a FASS and switched to the large Cat filters. With the stock fuel filter setup I was changing every 10,000 miles and with the FASS it says every 30,000 so after my first change at about 1000 to get rid of the junk left over from the sump install and the other tinkering that was necessary, I'm going to see if 30,000 is a good interval or if it needs to be less. The Fuelly had good reviews, looked exactly like the Cummins filter and came out just as nasty. The thing with the Chinese, a lot of times they will produce the exact same part for a fraction of the price under a different name because the name brand has all the engineering behind it, and the Chinese brand is run on the same line with the same parts, but only has manufacturing costs. I'm fully aware the cost of injectors and with 245k on what I'm assuming are the stock injectors, I want to make sure they are protected. I saw somewhere on Cummins literature the 6.7 Cummins is only rated to about 325k miles, but I'm assuming that's due to the EPA junk killing it off early.

 

[Egon]

Air charging information. Long read. Cannot verify accuracy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbocharger

 

[rScotty]

common rail injection without all the other emission trash would be great !

I've got to agree with that. OTOH, without the push to clean up the emissions I wonder if common rail would ever have been invented?

The is an amazing difference in the color of the air in big cities from what it was in the 60s through the 80s. Even the buildings are cleaner.
rScotty

 

[rScotty]

But how many owners of CR fuel systems base their fuel filter choices on price?

Before I joined TBN, I would have based my answer on my own experience with my customers when I had a mechanical shop, and said, "Very few; maybe none. The savings just isn't worth the gamble."

And I would have been way wrong. Apparently aftermarket filter use is common, in spite of there being no reasonable way to check their quality.
Over the past 15 years we get a couple of threads a year where someone has a problem caused by using after market filters to save money.

But I don't recall a single instance of problems caused by OEM filters. There probably have been some I missed, but not as many.
rScotty

 

[Hay Dude]

I was buying the Fuelly brand of Amazon for a bit until I went with a FASS and switched to the large Cat filters. With the stock fuel filter setup I was changing every 10,000 miles and with the FASS it says every 30,000 so after my first change at about 1000 to get rid of the junk left over from the sump install and the other tinkering that was necessary, I'm going to see if 30,000 is a good interval or if it needs to be less. The Fuelly had good reviews, looked exactly like the Cummins filter and came out just as nasty. The thing with the Chinese, a lot of times they will produce the exact same part for a fraction of the price under a different name because the name brand has all the engineering behind it, and the Chinese brand is run on the same line with the same parts, but only has manufacturing costs. I'm fully aware the cost of injectors and with 245k on what I'm assuming are the stock injectors, I want to make sure they are protected. I saw somewhere on Cummins literature the 6.7 Cummins is only rated to about 325k miles, but I'm assuming that's due to the EPA junk killing it off early.

Officially, Cummins gives the 6.7L a B10 rating at 250k and a B50 rating at 350k. A B10 rating means that 10% of all 6.7L engines in operation will require major repairs or an overhaul at that mileage and a B50 means that 50% of all 6.7L in operation. Keep in mind that these engines go in a lot more than just pick-up truck too. The 6.7 Cummins is being used in more demanding applications than it’s competitors.

 

[RoostersGarage]

Officially, Cummins gives the 6.7L a B10 rating at 250k and a B50 rating at 350k. A B10 rating means that 10% of all 6.7L engines in operation will require major repairs or an overhaul at that mileage and a B50 means that 50% of all 6.7L in operation. Keep in mind that these engines go in a lot more than just pick-up truck too. The 6.7 Cummins is being used in more demanding applications than it’s competitors.

Yeah, school busses, box trucks, etc. At 200k when I bought mine, it had a blown head gasket so I guess I'm following the ratings