Engine electronics come of age

Changes in global standards, combined with engineering know-how, have resulted in a new generation of clean, quiet, and efficient engines.

Engine electronics have been around for some time. So has the driving force behind their development, according to Ed Handley, Manager of Engine Electronics, International Truck and Engine. Handley and another coworker “actually started engine electronics here at International Engine back in the ‘80s,” he said. “We began by introducing electronics to a 6.9-L V8 engine for Ford. Emissions was a big driver, but we were also interested in features and performance.”

Emissions? The EPA didn't start regulating diesel emissions until it crafted Tier 1 requirements in 1994. The phase-in of those standards began in 1996. “Back in the ‘80s it wasn't so much NOx levels,” said Handley. “It was the smoke that comes out of the tailpipe. It just doesn't look good when you take off and there's a plume of smoke. So we were generally trying to resolve those kinds of issues.” It was, he said, as much a matter of PR as EPA.