Larger Fuel Injectors For Truck Performance

Larger Fuel Injectors For Diesel Truck Performance

When you’re driving a diesel truck, the right mix of fuel and air can make a big difference to your final performance – and that means getting it right is one of the most important things you can do to boost your engine’s performance. So today we’re going to talk about fuel injectors, increasing their ability, and how you can get more fuel into the engine itself.
 
The first thing most people change is the tuning of the engine computer, tweaking the fuel injector’s duration (how long the injector is open for) and timing (when the injector starts to open) so that more fuel is added with every injection pulse at exactly the right time. In a basic tune-up, we do this by increasing the amount of time the injector is open (the pulse width or duration). Extending the pulse width in a common rail engine can easily double your horsepower, by putting large quantities of fuel through the stock injector.

Is it safe to change your injectors duration to those levels?

But then the question has to be asked – is it safe to change your injector’s duration to those levels? Well, as the duration increases, we have to account for the exact moment the injector starts to open (the main injection timing) – meaning that we would have to adjust the timing to land at the right spot in the compression stroke of the engine. When those two things are not aligned, the mismatch can cause unnecessary wear and tear from extreme pressure spikes at the wrong time, excessive smoke, and reduce the longevity and total output of the engine.

So how can you get this larger fuel quantity into the engine safely?

So how can you get this larger fuel quantity into the engine safely? After all, if you really want to increase power, increasing the fuel amount is is a necessity – and that means larger fuel injectors. By putting larger injectors into the truck (usually referred to as “percentage over”), we are able to get that bigger quantity of fuel into the cylinder, keeping the pulse width in a safe zone, and requiring less total injection timing. This controls cylinder pressure spikes, makes power more efficiently and evenly, and is overall safer for the engine.

Are All Larger Fuel Injectors Equal?

You might be wondering now: are all injectors the same? Are all larger injectors equal? We can say with confidence – absolutely not! There are a lot of different injector manufacturers, each with their own style and “recipe” for making larger sizes. Some differences could include the angle of the nozzle, number and size of the holes, and nozzle design (SAC vs. VCO, for example). Each of these affects how the injector runs, how the engine tunes, how it drives, how much smoke it emits, etc.
 
Schultz Diesel Sports is here to help you make the right decision when it comes to achieving maximum power from your diesel truck. We stock Dynamite Diesel Products (DDP) fuel system parts, and we are dealers for S&S Diesel, Exergy Performance, and Industrial Injection fuel system parts as well – so whatever you need, we’ve either got it here, or we’ll get it for you.
 
Let us help you decide what size you need and what will work best for your application. We’ll get your truck running better than you ever thought it would!