Engine Braking?
In the jumping off the diesel bandwagon someone mentioned the lack of the ability to brake with the engine on diesels. 1. Is this true? 2. How do you control your speed on descents without the eng...
Forum Discussion
jspence1 wrote:
In the jumping off the diesel bandwagon someone mentioned the lack of the ability to brake with the engine on diesels.
1. Is this true?
2. How do you control your speed on descents without the engine slowing you?
1. Yes
2. Foot brake, or, on newer models (RAM/Cummins since 2007) have a built in exhaust brake. The competition followed suit a couple years later.
Towing with a diesel not equipped with an exhaust brake isn't that bad, but with a big load on a steep downhill, you have to be pretty hard on the brakes to keep speed in check. Ask me how I know :)
The reason for this is because diesels do not (well until recently) have a "throttle plate" that limits the amount of air that the engine is able to take in. They add or subtract power by adding or subtracting fuel, and don't have to run at 14.7:1 air:fuel like gasoline engines do. Some of the newest crop of diesels DO have athrottle plate,but to my understanding, it is to limit the incoming air when they are doing a regen on the DPF, not for regular engine power levels like a gas engine.
