INDUSTRY NEWS
PASSING THE FIRST TESTS Cummins Tier 4 interim field test program exceeds 20,000 hours; fuel economy increases up to 5% seen
BY MIKE BREZONICK W hile engine and equipment manufacturers have gotten very good at verifying the performance of new engines in the lab, there is still no substitute for getting them out into machines running in the dirt. It is, in the immortal words of one engineer, “still the only way you can find all the snakes hiding under the rocks.” Faced with what is generally consid- ered the most significant technical challenge in the history of the off-high- way engine industry — the coming implementation of the EPA Tier 4 inter- im and EU Stage 3b engine emissions standards — Cummins first responded by developing the most advanced nonroad engine systems in its history. But the second and perhaps equal- ly noteworthy step the Columbus, Ind., engine manufacturer took involved executing the most far-reaching field test program it has ever undertaken in the nonroad arena. And if the prelimi- nary results are any indication, there haven’t been too many snakes found. “This is the most extensive field test program we have ever undertaken with our off-highway engines, and the mes- sage from the operators is that Cummins’ Tier 4 solution is dependable, reduces their operating costs and im-
Cummins has undertaken one of the most far-reaching and extensive off-highway field test pro- grams to prepare for the implementation of the upcoming Tier 4 interim and Stage 3b exhaust emissions standards. The program has already recorded in excess of 20,000 hours in customer machines, and Cummins said the number of Tier 4 installations is closing in on 100 machines.
