The deadline is almost upon us. From October this year, over-the-road heavy duty diesel engines will be meeting an accelerated EPA requirement for reductions in emissions.

Legal wranglings have compressed the time allowed to develop engines that meet lower NOx requirements. Consequently, manufacturers have been deflected from other development programs in a crash effort to meet the new deadline.
As Senior Editor Steve Sturgess reports in the January issue of Heavy Duty Trucking for the engine OEMs, it has meant furious co-engineering efforts with the truck OEMs to ensure the technologies will fit into their chassis, and everyone has had to scramble.
For end users, the acceleration of the deadline poses some difficult questions: how much will this cost at a time when the economic situation is the worst it's been for a decade? How reliable and durable will the new engines be? And what about maintenance costs of the more complex diesel engines?
Sturgess tries to answer some of these questions as he discusses the technology the various engine makers will use to meet the new emissions standards, including Caterpillar's controversial decision to not meet the deadline because its technology won't be ready for another year.
For the full story, including a look at the new CI-4 oils, see the January issue of Heavy Duty Trucking.Click here to see if you qualify for a free subscription.