2019 Published in the June issue of Diesel Progress magazine 404 TH ANNUALANNNNUUAAL ENGINEENE GGIINE YEARBOOKYEEAARBRBOOOOK 40 Years: The Engine Yearbook started small. By Mike Osenga hile electrification and all that Wsurrounds it are all the rage right now, it is readily apparent from the huge amount of information in the pages that follow, that the internal combustion engine, whether it be diesel, gasoline on the cusp of historic changes. Most of TRICKLE OF DIESELS or gaseous fueled, is a long way from that would come a little later in the 1990s Part of that transition to more global extinction. when the Clean Air Act was expanded markets was the trickle of diesel engines In fact, you could make the case to encompass diesel engines. That set off coming into North America from that some of the most impactful the huge, and hugely expensive emissions Asia and Europe. They were smaller environmental engineering over the last changes that totally revolutionized the output engines than typically built by 40 years has been done in the labs and way engines were designed, manufactured the Americans. These new (to North shop floors of engine manufacturers and installed in on-highway, off-highway, America) companies also made some around the world. Many/most of the stationary and marine equipment. big engines, but the interesting thing engines mentioned on the pages that The hot subject in the late 1970s, to Diesel Progress at the time was the follow, are 98+% cleaner than they were and what caused the creation of the emergence of the small diesel markets, when we first started doing what became Engine Yearbook, was a new generation which really hadn’t existed here before. the Engine Yearbook. Something that of smaller output diesels. To massively There still weren’t a lot of machines is 98+% cleaner is nothing to take for oversimplify it, America is a big country built here that were small enough to granted. with a lot of land and lot of distance from use those engines, but that would come, We are kind of proud that the Diesel point-to-point. That generally meant big and soon. Progress Engine Yearbook is 40 years old. engines. Asia and Europe have smaller I used to love listening to the older There are magazines in these markets that farms, shorter distances and older and engine sales people talk about going to are not 40 years old, much less a single more compact cities. That meant smaller truck stops or state fairs or trade shows continuous editorial section. (Diesel engines and smaller machines. with these small diesels. Lots of people Progress itself is 84 years old). But very slowly, driven by a host came to look at them and most asked At the risk of having to don my of complex technological and societal the same question; “what the heck am I Methuselah costume, I was there at factors, that historians will sort out for gonna do with those little things?” the beginning. In the late 1970s diesel decades, the world was slowly becoming But slowly they started finding engines, as well as gasoline and natural global. Today “global” is a given. Then it applications. I remember a Diesel gas, though few knew it at the time, were was an Emerging Trend. Progress editorial meeting about that 18 | DIESEL PROGRESS | JUNE 2019 DP 06-2019 Engine Yearbook JG_MO JG_MO JG_CE.indd 18 22/05/2019 14:02:17 4040TH AANNUALNNNNUUAAL ENEENGINENGIG NEN YYEARBOOKEAEARBRBOOOOK time (I mostly recall a lot of cigarette remember one of our senior editors at the a tractor and Chrysler in a car. It was smoke), when someone said, “I wonder time saying, “done right kid you should going to happen. Book it. Wave of the if these small diesels are ever going to be able to capture all the news of the future. amount to anything?” entire North America industrial engine Oops. I was the new kid and hence got the business. Good luck.” No pressure. Later, when emissions descended on nod (since it obviously wasn’t all that I knew we had it right when a the diesel industry, after the “we’re all important), “call all these small engine few years later, one of the U.S. going to go out of business,” crying people and let’s do a review of those manufacturers, I think it was stopped, the Engine Yearbook started things in the June issue.” Cummins, had one of their summer covering the technology that was going And we did. And it turned out pretty communications interns assigned to to make diesel engines cleaner than ever. well. They were very happy someone gather the information (and pictures) of During that time I often thought of Bob noticed they were here and in business. all that they had done over the previous Seger’s line of “working on mysteries year just for the Engine Yearbook. Cool. without any clues” as we reported all REACTIONS A few years ago I went through and that. What we didn’t expect was the reaction. skimmed a lot of the older Engine At the start of the Emissions Era, no The phone calls (land lines) and faxes, Yearbooks. What I was struck by mostly one truly had many clues how they were and even snail mail started coming with was that over that time, it really going to get where the regulations were in from the larger horsepower diesel represents the history of the engine forcing them to go. But through some manufacturers; “hey what about us? business from the 1970s through today. incredible engineering and organizational Don’t we count?” Plus being in the All via the words of the companies and corporate commitment, it began to Milwaukee area, the heart of the small making that history. happen. Tier 1, Tier 2 and on it went. gasoline engine world, we got the same Some day someone should write a questions, in person – “small diesels, THE FOIBLES book about what it took this industry, nice, but how about us?” Oh, there were foibles. Early on, there engine manufacturers and the thousands From that the Engine Yearbook (it had were breathlessly pompous pontifications of suppliers that serve it, to take a other names along the way) was born. about gas turbines obviously being the (frankly) very dirty 1970s era diesel The premise was simple: a review of what mobile power of the future. Parnelli engine and remake it into what they are happened over the last 12 months at Jones almost won the Indy 500 in a gas today. manufacturers of essentially all kinds of turbine car (and we were there covering Until that book gets written, 40 years industrial engines, big and small, outside it). And from there the hyperbole took of the Diesel Progress Engine Yearbook of those used in cars and airplanes. I off. Mack had one in a truck, Ford in will have to suffice. ■ JUNE 2019 | DIESEL PROGRESS | 19 DP 06-2019 Engine Yearbook JG_MO JG_MO JG_CE.indd 19 22/05/2019 14:02:51 40TH ANNUAL ENGINE YEARBOOK AMERICAN and head eliminate the need for a head ■ The iGX700/iGXV700 and iGX800/ HONDA MOTOR gasket, resulting in better cooling and iGXV800 V-Twin engines have easy HONDA ENGINES reliable performance. The integration of starting performance in both hot and electronic fuel injection (EFI), along with cold temperature conditions, Honda POWER RANGE the advanced combustion chamber design said, such as when the equipment is Gasoline: 1 to 24.8 hp and the integrated digital capacitive started cold or temporarily stopped ignition (CDI) with variable timing, mid-job. The EFI system and high- engines.honda.com results in excellent fuel efficiency and pressure fuel pump allow for an ideal air/ enhanced operation, Honda said. fuel mixture before it is emulsified and NEW ENGINES vaporized. In January 2019, Honda introduced new ENGINE TECHNOLOGY Central to the iGX concept on the additions to its GX Series of V-Twin The EFI configuration on the Honda new V-Twin models is an integrated general-purpose commercial engines. iGX700/iGXV700 and iGX800/ ECU with a self-tuning regulator (STR) Expanding the lineup are four new iGXV800 V-Twin engines and offers a governor system that allows the engine Honda V-Twin engines, the iGX700/ number of performance enhancements, to communicate with the machine it is iGXV700 and iGX800/iGXV800, including: powering to monitor key parameters, models for commercial construction and ■ Honda said the V-Twin engines with control engine speed and diagnostics. turf industry applications. EFI boast excellent fuel efficiency due, The ECU enables drive-by-wire The engines are equipped with fuel in part, to an electronic control system remote control operation of the injection technology and an integrated that continually monitors and adjusts engine, and speed of the models can electronic self-tuning regulator (STR) the engine’s air/fuel ratio according to be programmed and varied based on governor that delivers drive-by-wire variable operating conditions and engine the load and speed requirements of remote control capability to manage key load requirements, maintaining optimal equipment applications. aspects of engine operation. combustion conditions. Potential new commercial applications The new Honda V-Twin engines, ■ In addition to optimizing air/fuel and attributes of this technology include available in both horizontal and vertical ratios, the Honda V-Twin EFI-equipped pressure washers that idle, then stop, shaft configurations, share the same engines offer improved ignition timing when the user squeezes or releases footprint as existing models. The over the complete range of operating the trigger handle (requires OEM electronic governor allows the engine to speeds and compensate for other componentry).