Kioti
When tough new emission standards were announced for diesel engines, tractor manufacturer Kioti saw the challenge as an opportunity.
“Kioti has one of the largest R&D facilities of any tractor manufacturer in the world,” says Jake Wiebe, president of Kioti dealership Timberstar. “When these Tier 4 standards were announced, they said to themselves “This is the perfect opportunity to define our niche.
“They started right from scratch; they said we will go back to the drawing board and build a completely new engine that is more efficient to start with.”
Kioti’s Common Rail Direct Injection Engine was launched with its own marketing campaign and website, at www.kiotitier4.com.
To comply with the Tier 4 emissions standards, KIOTI tractors use Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) developed by parent company Daedong of Korea, which re-circulates the exhaust gasses to burn again. Exhaust gasses are cooled before being re-circulated. That keeps the combustion temperature lower, reducing emission levels. Then the Diesel Oxidation Catalyst and Diesel Particulate Filter take care of the particulate matter.
Wiebe says designing an engine from the ground up created several advantages, as compared to retrofitting existing engines.
“The goal was to not just meet the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) standard,” Wiebe says. “The goal was to create an engine that lasts longer, is more powerful, more fuel efficient, and produces less emissions right from the get-go. As a bonus, it’s also incredibly quiet.”
Allowing for slight variations by engine size, the engines using Daedong Eco Technology provide roughly 20 per cent more horsepower, while using 20 per cent less fuel, and they exceed the Tier 4 emission levels by 20 per cent.
As well, Wiebe says engine life has more than doubled.
“Diesel engines are usually designed to test out at about 8,000 hours engine life,” he says.
“These new Daedong engines are testing out at 20,000 hours, so that is significant.”
