3 Ways to Improve Truck Engine Efficiency

The biggest variable cost for an owner-operator is fuel. In a breakdown of where fuel energy is used on a truck, engines make up 58 percent, making them the largest contributors in total fuel consumption. When evaluating a truck engine’s efficiency, here are three things to consider:

Engine Components
Due to the amount of energy lost in the combustion process, a typical diesel engine is 40-50 percent efficient in converting diesel to propel a truck forward. Getting the most out of the engine’s efficiency requires running it at the right revolutions per minute (RPM). 

Many modern engines, including the PACCAR MX and Cummins ISX15, were designed with fuel economy in mind. Over the last few years, advancements in the below technologies have been designed and incorporated in engines to optimize fuel economy:

Downspeeding
One of the biggest opportunities for engine efficiency within the customer’s control is downspeeding. By lowering the number of engine revolutions at highway cruising speed, there are fewer individual combustion events per mile, and each one consumes less fuel. Current experience indicates that for every 100 RPM drop in engine speed, a 1 percent fuel savings can be seen at highway cruising speeds.