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Mama's EGR Milk Money 2.0 … The “MM2 delete” (The 'Holy-Grail' of CM871 ECM Hacking) (by ZeroCrisis 05-30-2015) =============================================================== WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! THIS MUST NOT TO BE DONE ON ENGINES WITHIN THE USA!!! There are steep penalties for modifying the emissions components on any engine that falls Under EPA Regulations. Doing so will land you with SERIOUS FINES!! =============================================================== =============================================================== WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! DO NOT USE THE BACKUP/RESTORE PARAMATERS OPTION IN CALTERM!!! When Downloading your Cal file to your engine, MAKE SURE THE OPTION TO BACKUP/RESTORE PARAMETERS IS NOT CHECKED in Calterm. Some of the features and parameters HAVE TO BE EDITED, and are part of the delete. Restoring your features using Calterm will overwrite them back to their original values and could make your Calibration unstable. =============================================================== =============================================================== WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! DO NOT REMOVE HARDWARE FROM YOUR ENGINE UNTIL YOU KNOW YOUR DELETE IS WORKING!!! You should ABSOLUTELY verify your 'Milk Money' delete BRFORE REMOVING YOUR HARDWARE OR UNPLUGGING ANYTHING! After the Delete, start the truck and verify your VGT position!. Make sure it is at a low position during idle, unless you have specifically set it somewhere else. This is very important. If you have done everything right, and your VGT position is above 60% at idle, then something is very wrong. =============================================================== This document is an ongoing process, Check regularly for updates!

Mama's EGR Milk Money... What is Mama's EGR Milk Money?,... First of all, most people refer to this document as the 'MM doc.', the 'Milk Money Delete', or ''MM Delete' for short. This document is a guide on how to hack into, and edit a Cummins ISX CM871 Engine's ECM (Electronic Control Module), but it is much, much more than that. Most people use this document as a guide to perform an EGR Delete on their ISX, but this document is not intended for simply that, but to go far beyond that, exposing the bad butcher work that ECM Tuners frequently do, and to explore the deep recesses of this particular engine's ECM. Although I focus on only one brand and type of ECM, by learning and understanding this particular one, it will lead you to becoming a better ECM tuner for all other models and brands of diesel engines. It is a base and a basic How-To (and How Not-To, that is why I pick on other tuners in this document) that will carry you across the barriers that most people never overcome towards programming these complex devices. Why the strange name... The term 'Mama's Milk Money' came from when I used to visit some corrupt parts of Mexico. I used to rent cars there, and do work there for factories. I was informed that if I were ever pulled over by the police,... I should give the officer $20.00 cash, telling him/her that I found it in the street. I was supposed to tell them that I was worried it was someones 'Mama's Milk Money' for her baby, and that I would feel bad if it were not returned to her. You see, the term 'Milk Money' was used back then, as a popular catch phrase, to let the cop know you were giving him 20 bucks to leave you alone, without actually saying so. I never forgot that, and thought that perhaps it would make a good title. Also, many truck owners read this document so that they can get rid of the DPF so they can 'Milk' the engine/truck for all the 'Money' they can get form it, then take that money home to 'Mama' (slang reference to their wife). Hence, Mama's Milk Money. When it comes to this particular engine, and its computer(ECM),... most of the people who are professionally trained in the service (repair) industry, are absolutely clueless as to what actually goes on inside this thing. Sure they get training, and there are seminars on how this thing works, but at the end of it all, it seems like the manufacturer, nor the EPA for that matter, actually wants anyone to really know what is actually going on inside it in too much detail. Also, for some reason unknown to me, the software (Cummins Insite) that the manufacturer provides for these same so-called 'certified' repair shops, is a ridiculous joke!. This software, in all its glory, at its highest level of access, is only capable of editing less than 1.5% of the more than 7,000 parameters the engine has within it. As well, it is very limited to what you can actually monitor in real time. No wonder most certified repair shops cannot accurately troubleshoot or repair these engines. The manufacturer makes them run around with a blindfold on, keeping them in the dark. They are under-trained, and VERY under educated in how this ECM actually works. Combine that with crappy, limited software, not able to show more than about 2% of what is actually going on, and you get nothing but 'Guessing' when it comes to fixing these things. That is pretty sad if you ask me, especially knowing they get so much money for what they do, and Cummins gets tens of thousands of dollars for this very limited software that gives them very little in return. So What is a 'Milk Money' Delete exactly?,... A 'Milk Money' Delete, otherwise known as an 'MM Delete', is a set of parameter changes for the CM871 engine that allow the removal of the DOC/DPF combined with the 'switching off' of the EGR system for the engine in such a way, as to allow for absolute maximum engine efficiency by using its existing components and turbo. Like any other type of 'delete', as it is dubbed,... the resulting vehicle emissions are damaging to the environment according to the EPA, and therefore it is HIGHLY ILLEGAL to perform these modifications to engines from within the USA or other affiliated countries.

If its Illegal, Why the Document?,... Because it is NOT illegal in all countries,... just most of them,... AND,... it sometimes becomes absolutely necessary to resort to such measures in the few circumstances where the life and the safety of others is involved, or simply the fact that there is less damage to the environment by doing a 'delete', vs the alternative. Huuuh?,...Less Damaging?,... Life Threatening?,... C'mon!,... Many third world countries buy used trucks and engines from the USA and have a legitimate need to remove these things. Also,... How can having EGR and a DPF system on a CM871 engine cause someone to die, or it threaten their life you ask?,... When that used engine ends up in a firetruck, or emergency use type vehicle. Just think about what would happen if the engine were to derate or shut down during an emergency. This is not likely to happen in the USA, precautions are hopefully taken, but in other countries, where engines and trucks are purchased used, or are sent from the states, removing these systems, and making the engine run its most efficient, most fuel saving, and most reliable condition, could mean the difference in saving lives at the end of the day. Next, is the use of these engines in extreme environments. Northern Canada or Russia is one good example. Many of the roads to deliver things like fuel and other Hazardous Materials are in fact Ice Roads. Even with under-belly skirts, and exhaust jackets, very often, extreme cold and/or high altitudes prevents the aftertreatment systems from functioning properly. Harmful emissions aside, if the engine were to derate and/or shut down due to the common problems these systems create, a truck full of fuel or other Hazardous Substance could get stuck on that ice and fall through in short order, creating the potential for an environmental catastrophe. This can also threaten lives as well, as a secondary effect. Think about that driver sitting in the cab of that truck, it is derating or shutting down because the -40C temps are preventing proper regen cycles. Another reason to have this information available is for research purposes. It seems that the manufacturer(s) of this type of technology want to horde the secrets of how these things work. I understand their need to guard their secrets from their competitors, but this also hampers the efforts of those companies, universities, and/or individuals that are seeking to actually improve this technology in a very real way. For this industry to move forward in diesel technology, those entities that are able to study these engines in a laboratory environment, need a fresh starting point without all the existing EGR and DPF clutter. Finally, there is the Racing and/or Off-Road Industry. Deletes are also necessary if your going to use the engine for racing and/or off-road competition. Unfortunately, those companies that do this style of work for the off-road industry, do so for the unsuspecting truckers and their engines too. I call them the 'Big-Boy' companies... eh'emm butchers! 'Big-Boy' ECM Tunes are BAD,... VERY BAD,... Throughout this document I refer often to 'Big-Boy' Tunes. These are 'ECM Tunes', supposedly from 'ECM Tuner' companies that claim to specialize in ISX engines. Any time you see me refer to a 'Big-Boy' tune, I am actually referring to all the ECM Tuner companies you see advertise on the Internet. They are companies like PDI (Puke diesel Inc), J-Ball (Junk-Ball), Diesel-Spec (Diesel Spit), Bully-Dog (Bully-Dud), Pittsburgh Power (Pisspoor Power), Etc. etc. etc,... the list is actually long,... why?,... THEY COPY EACH OTHER'S BAD, BUTCHERED METHODS, AND THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW A DIESEL ENGINE ACTUALLY WORKS!!!!!. If they did, then there is NO way they would butcher the ECM inside these engines as badly As

they do!!! >. I have spoken to many of these 'Big-Boy' delete guys so-called Engineers,... argued with a few of them,... and tried to discuss things like Turbo mapping, combustion processes, and/or engine timing cycles,... Their EYES Glassed over!,... It was clear that I was talking way over their level of understanding,... and it is blatantly obvious that they had NO CLUE how the ISX, and many other brands engines actually operate. Their definition of 'Custom Tuning' is slapping in someone else's shotty work, or blindly copying some timing or fueling tables from other, usually higher power engines, not even knowing what the outcome will be. These ignorant practices are what makes their deletes so horrible and unstable. They are so stupid and blind, that they do not even consider, nor compensate for the fact that different size engines have different internal and external hardware, and that each brand and model of truck has VERY different components external to the engine. One good example of this is a Prostar vs a Kenworth T660. The Charge air cooler on a Prostar is 1/3rd the size of the cooler for a Kenworth, and the exhaust piping is MUCH DIFFERENT. Turbo mapping HAS to be modified to compensate for each brand of truck, each model, and each hardware style of engine individually to even come close to getting these engines dialed in correctly, especially if you want to increase the power or overall efficiency by very much. You cannot just simply throw boost, fuel, and timing at these engines blindly and expect them not to have problems that causes a LOT of damage in the long term. I cannot count the number of times I have heard these morons tell me, and others, that ISX engines cannot make power unless you slap on some 'old school' turbo's and components on them, etc. … I have a message for those same Idiots!!!!>.... WAKE THE F%$K UP, STOP BEING IGNORANT, AND STOP TRYING TO MAKE SHIT POWER!!!! … REAL POWER, EFFICIENCY, AND PERFORMANCE CAN BE ACHIEVED!!!! I have seen the Dyno results from these guys so called 'Tunes' and it is insane how bad they really are. I see them struggle to make 600 or 700 horsepower with very excess Exhaust temps ranging in the 1200, 1300, and even 1400+ degree F range,... The coolant system struggling to keep up with all the excess cylinder heat, and oil temps upwards of 240 F that will make you cry. This is what I call CHEAP POWER!,... because what is actually happening is that MOST of the energy being generated in the cylinders is being done so way too early on due to poor timing, excess air(boost) and terrible fuel maps. This sends cylinder pressures to extreme limits even before the piston rolls over top dead center, and the result is that the resulting crank angle (CA) is way too low, and the pistons are literally hammering down upon the camshaft!. It also results in excess vibration while it happening, so if your reading this, and you got one of these so called 'Big-Boy' 'Deletes', then I feel sorry for you. No wonder these morons think an ISX is a weak motor compared to a CAT. The internal friction when you make this kind of cheap power is terrible for the engine, sending oil and coolant temps way up, instead of putting that energy to the flywheel where it belongs. As a comparison to this, I have taken trucks with ALL STOCK COMPONENTS INCLUDING THE STOCK VG TURBO, and easily produced more than 950 Horsepower without even really trying very hard. Last time I did this, oil temps were down in the 180 degree range, EGT's were under 920 F, no struggling coolant temps, boost at only 40 lbs, no excess vibration, and a LOT of room to grow in power form there. This is BEFORE EVEN ALTERING ANY OF THE STOCK TIMING, CHARGE FLOW, AND INJECTION TABLES!!!. That motor was only a 525-HP CM871 that had a half million miles on it already. Like I stated,... nothing special was done whatsoever, so it becomes VERY clear how bad these guys tunes are when trying to load test them.

This picture shows the typical results of a bad tune, where the pistons are hammering the crank.

When I browse the flash files that these guys slap into the typical truckers ECM, it is such kindergarten butchery, that I can only shake my head and wonder how tough these motors really are to take this kind of constant internal abuse. Most of the time, the typical truck owner has NO CLUE how bad it really is, because whenever you remove all the emissions components from a truck, it does make it slightly more efficient. Simply removing the exhaust restrictions and putting cleaner air into the intake IS after-all a lot more efficient, horrible programming aside. Looking at their work,... for me,... is like watching a 5th grader bash the engine with a sledge-hammer to try and beat it into submission. It certainly does not make them run much better. Once you open an ECM they have supposedly 'Tuned', or 'Deleted', It is just sickening to observe. You will see hundreds, if not thousands of parameters that have been blindly bashed, beating the engine into submission, it is now riding the edge of its tolerances, struggling to run without something burning up, or blowing out. It baffles me as to WHY such big-name multi million-dollar companies do such horrible work. C'mon,... these are the same guys you see on ESPN!,.. On TV!,.. at the Drag-Racing competitions and such!,...You would think they could afford to actually hire someone who knows how a diesel engine actually works!,...That is why I made this document,... To Open the people's eyes who legitimately need this info!!! OK Mr. Smart-ass,... What is so wrong with the 'Other Guy's Tunes?,... I really could care less who's 'Method' of Tune, or Delete is better or worse, as long as the goals are met in accomplishing what someone wants from their motor. That being said, when I ask most truck owners that are already shopping around for a 'Delete', they say that they are looking to pay someone to get rid of all the headaches, errors, problems, and tens of thousands in lost revenue their emissions systems has caused them by simply removing it. They also expect, as a result, the engine to be more fuel efficient and reliable. Well,... the 'Big-Boy' Delete companies are certainly able to remove those systems, they have their ways,...

But it is the second part of that goal that has always been the problem for the ISX. The argument comes in the form of what someone would consider 'Fuel efficient' or 'reliable'... What is your definition of it?,... When it comes to reliability and fuel efficiency, the act of removing a clogged up DOC/DPF, turning off that Doser injector, keeping it from spraying fuel into the exhaust pipe, and switching off the EGR, allowing the engine to operate on clean, oxygen-rich air, will definitely improve the engines fuel efficiency all on its own. It does not matter how good or bad of a job they did to achieve this, there is ALWAYS SOME SLIGHT GAIN!. So whats the problem?,.. it IS more efficient,..., but that in itself IS the problem. It masks the fact that those same 'Big-Boy' Tunes are now completely unstable AND that they are no where near as efficient as they should be. What you end up with is poor combustion, excess charge pressures (over-boosting), tons of excess heat loss, an engine that can eat VG turbo's like candy, and because of over-boosting, the risk of dropping a valve and cracking the head is highly increased. Their attempt of adjusting the timing is done so poorly, that the pistons are hammering down onto the crank, and there is now a constant risk of excess cylinder pressures, just waiting for that hot, dry, summer day to cause a head or engine block to crack and fail. At this point, this long rant probably sounds like a bunch of hollow words to some people, and since this document is all about the technical details of these same things,... lets take a look at the last 'Big-Boy' Tune I encountered, shall we?... I will call this guy Tom,... Tom's truck is a 2009 Pete 387 with the 475 CM871 ISX. In the summer of 2014, he went to a sponsored PDI shop. He told them he wanted a delete, but keep his existing turbo. They argued with him about not removing the turbo, and pushed very hard for him to put an old-style Borg-Werner turbo on it, but he wanted to keep the Original VGT. When they were done, it still had the VG turbo, along with all the hardware on the engine. They installed a couple of blocking-plates, and the DPF/DOC was hollowed out by the shop that did his delete. Tom knew his truck well, and after the delete, he knew it didn't sound quite right when idling, and it overheated easily when climbing mountains. At idle, he described it sounding almost like a 'Leaf Blower' at the exhaust compared to before,... He could tell that it definitely had much more air/exhaust running through it. They told him it was because the DPF was hollow and it had better exhaust flow. The reality of it was that the turbo was out of control, and providing boost at idle. Except in the extreme cold to pre-load the engine to create excess heat, DIESEL ENGINES DO NOT NEED BOOST WHEN NOT UNDER A TORQUE LOAD, ESPECIALLY NOT AT IDLE !!! . Soon after the delete, the turbo failed due to over-heating and overspin. Another poor sap, we shall call him Jack,... got his delete by a well known sponsored shop, and was very happy with it at first. He could certainly tell it felt like it had more power,... and it even had a bit better fuel mileage, but there were a few problems. First of all, his Exhaust temps were way too high. The engine was producing 1100+ degree Exhaust Gas Temps (EGT's), where they should have only been in the 900 degree range maximum. A properly tuned ISX CM871 can easily produce 800 horsepower without the EGT's ever exceeding about 900 degrees. The second problem was that it had lower than normal boost. After a while, he would notice that the engine sounded like it would strain when power was needed (the pistons hammering the crank), but he was not sure what that was, and assumed it was part of the extra horsepower they added. One very dry, hot summer day, moving across a desert highway, just at the crest of a long, hard pull, jacks truck loaded with freight, the engine suddenly gave out with no warning whatsoever. The engine block cracked and it blew a hole in its side. After much headache and downtime, Cummins Engineering got involved because Jack still had a warranty on the engine. It was determined that the pistons had been hammering the crank due to a poor timing map, and that there was no control of combustion pressures by the ECM anymore. Normally, I would have just passed this off as an excuse for them not to pay for the repair, but what they found was in fact true. It also could have totally been avoided if the ECM programming had been correct, even AFTER the delete was performed. I guess Jack got what he paid for,... No more EGR problems, but a busted block instead.

Looking back at Toms' truck, it was apparent that several serious mistakes were made. It was Supposedly (I was not there) a PDI-sponsored shop that butchered his ECM,...AND they charged him $8,000 dollars,... He actually thought that if he paid Big Bucks to a Big-Boy shop, they would absolutely do it right... Even I would have thought they were better than this... Here are some of the parameters they set, and their values... Name

From

To

Comment

---------------------------------------------------------------------C_VGT_Enable

1

0

Flag for enabling VGT commands.

C_Turbo_Speed_Sensor_Installed

1

0

When 0, disables the turbo speed (sensor) processing

C_TurbochargerSpdEnable

1

0

Indicates to the tool whether the Turbocharger Speed Sensor is enabled in the ECM.

C_VGA_DL_StatusLB_Fault_Enable

B9FF

0000

Bit mapped parameter used to enable faults from J39_VGT_Status.

C_VGA_DL_StatusUB_Fault_Enable

FFFF

0000

Bit mapped parameter used to enable faults from VGT_Actuator_Status.

C_AIP_CompInTmptrLLim

23

0

The lower limit of the raw value for the compressor inlet temperature sensor before a fault has occurred

C_AIP_CompInTmptrULim

1015

9000

The lower limit of the raw value for the compressor inlet temperature sensor before a fault has occurred

T_AIP_CompInTmptr_Ovrd_En

0

1

This enable allows the global value of Compressor_Inlet_Tmptr to be set to C_AIP_CompInTmptr_Ovrd_Val.

C_AIP_CompInTmptr_Count_Incrt

4

1

The increment step for compressor Inlet temperature oor error counter

The result of these parameter changes is that now, even though he still has his VG turbo, and told them he wanted to keep it, they switched it off completely along with any sensors that would give an alarm if it were to over-spin or over-boost. As well, the turbo is now unstable, creating boost improperly, and is moving to positions that it should not be. The engine also cannot determine if the Turbo is overheating,... bad enough,... But also, that the engine can no longer determine charge inlet temp into the engine. This not only effects combustion efficiency, but ALSO sets up dangerous conditions for the motor, as well as producing the excess heat Tom was seeing when climbing mountains. The ECM can no longer compensate for changes in cylinder pressure based on how hot/cold the air is, nor control the charge pressure. The 'BEFORE TOP DEAD CENTER' (BTDC) Cylinder pressures can vary by hundreds if not thousands of PSI based on these intake temps. It is a disaster waiting to happen on a very hot summer day, but even in cooler whether, the engine is internally fighting with itself to overcome this. The result is excess temps under high engine load, and 8 – 15 HorsePower of internal engine load at idle. OK, maybe they made a mistake,... Maybe they thought they could sell him their after-market turbo?,... They did tell Tom, that he would be back in short order when his turbo failed to get their so-called 'Superior' Big-Boss after-market fixed-vein turbo. They told Tom things like,... “Yup,.. they all do it”,... “they all fail”,... “Holsets are junk turbo's”... “We see it over and over”... as they tried to convince him that it is the only way to do a delete on an ISX, and it run right afterwards. They said also, that Holsets were poorly designed and that they couldn't handle a delete, nor make good

power. Of course IN REALITY, I have seen stock engines with stock Holset turbo's produce power in excess of 1000 HP on the CM871. They ALSO failed to tell him that they themselves were the ones that caused his turbo to explode! WHY DO THEY DO THIS TO THEIR CUSTOMERS!!!??? … THEY DO THIS VERY VERY OFTEN!!!!... I HAVE SEEN THE BIG-BOY TUNER SHOPS DO THIS OVER AND OVER!!!,... AND, THEY ARE COPYING EACH OTHERS BAD, BUTCHERED WORK!!!. THESE BAD TUNES AND DELETES SPREAD LIKE A VIRUS amongst the ECM Tuner crowd. Both Tom and Jacks trucks were also victims of heavily modified Injection tables. This would not be so bad if someone wanted the engine to exceed 900 horsepower, but it is clear when looking at these tables, that they simply do not know what they are doing. I helped get Tom get his truck corrected before too much damage had occurred, but jacks truck suffered the full brunt of this poor style of re-programming. I have seen cases just like Jacks over the past 3 years, and was asked recently by someone, why do ISX engine blocks fail after a Big-Boy Delete. This was roughly, my response... Most blocks that I have seen fail, do so in the area just below where the ECM is mounted. Almost every one I have personally seen do this though, had a bad delete in them. Any more than about 1 - 1.5 degrees overall shift in the factory timing tables can easily start to cause problems. The 'Big Boy' Delete companies, for some unknown reason, perhaps out of sheer ignorance always butcher the timing maps in the ECM. In the last several 'Big Boy' (think PDI), Tunes that I have had to correct, they blindly altered ALL the timing maps by either a full 5 or 7 degrees across the board, sending cylinder pressures to extremes even before TDC (Top Dead Center) is reached. They do so carelessly, and since it is a fixed amount across the board, it also dulls the engines performance curves. They do this in all engine modes including cold start, high altitude, warm-up, and even in the parked regen modes that are no longer used... It is VERY obvious they do not know what engine modes do what, nor what they are doing when it comes to basic Injection timing for a diesel engine. Even when I try to give them the benefit of the doubt,... I can only assume that they perhaps they used a Dyno to come up with some of this, but it still makes no sense, unless the dyno was located on the north pole on a VERY cold day. Maybe they must have been in Northern Canada, on a damned cold winter day, when they got these numbers,... who knows,... All the Dyno testing in the world will not compensate for sheer ignorance I guess. This is also a clear indication that absolutely NO consideration was made for the fact that the engine's optimum timing and fueling runs on a logarithmic curve,... AND,... there is NO compensation for excess charge pressure or intake temp variations. These guys seriously ARE clueless,... The pistons are now hammering the crank as it is, the excess boost they stuff in by an over-spinning, now unstable turbo causes extreme cylinder pressures, even before the TDC is reached, and the fuel starts to ignite too early on. This is bad enough in cold, or cool whether, operating limits are reached, but get the truck out in a hot desert on a 110 degree day,... add the fact that the turbo is starting to overheat from excess spin,.... or just simply a slightly dirty Charge Air Cooler (CAC),... that increase in intake air temp can easily add an additional 300, but more likely THOUSANDS more PSI in the cylinder(s) as they approach TDC,... engine already under high limit strain because of bad timing, and BOOM!!!!,... that nice window in the side of the block is the result. Altering the timing tables directly, also results in the ECM calculating these same cylinder pressures incorrectly. The ECM now has no clue the engine is about to be destroyed. Most of these same styles of deletes also disable the air Altitude, Ambient and Inlet temp sensor too. This results in the ECM not being able to compensate, nor calculate cylinder pressures very well at all. It has no clue any more if you are in hot or cold whether, so cylinder pressure can rise or fall by hundreds, or even thousands of PSI.... nothing controlling it any more. Some could argue that it is part of an attempt to increase HorsePower, and maybe that is what they did, but I can tell you first hand, that the same, and much more HP can be achieved with far less damaging results.

- So,... that is why I cringe so badly when I see or hear a Delete Shop bragging that they edit the timing tables on these motors to get petter performance. There are many other compensations that must be taken to maintain stability so that the engine operates safely, and to get the ECM to calculate cylinder pressures correctly again. They do get away with such kindergarten hack-job offsets sometimes, but I haven't met one yet that could even come close to doing it right. Here is An actual view of just one of the multiple stock timing maps from inside the CM871. This one is active when the EGR is switched off, such as during high altitude conditions...

The CM871 ECM,... One of the things that people hear a mechanic these days say way too often is that what goes on inside an ECM is a mostly mystery to them. To most engine mechanics, it is a glooming 'black box' (or red in the case of an ISX) mounted on the side of the motor that controls everything, and reveals very little about what it might be doing or thinking at any given moment. It can compensate for a lot of things, and this makes it difficult to determine what is wrong, especially when it comes to EGR or efficiency issues. After all, there are a lot of sensors and devices that it has control over and gets feedback from, but really,... how important is it to know what goes on inside these things?.. It can't be that difficult for it to make an engine run can it? I can tell you first hand that whenever someone asks me to give a measurement of what percentage of mechanical control vs electronic control, that makes the engine what it is, I will usually say,... “Yes, without the ECM the engine does nothing at all,... but diving the importance of what makes the engine actually run,... I would say, easily that 40% of the engine is the mechanics itself, and 60% is the computer. The computer has complete control of the amount of fuel, air, and timing. It can do this, and a whole lot more, per cylinder individually as the engine runs, compensating for everything from imbalance to a predicted mis-fire condition. Even at maximum engine rpm, it seemingly waits an eternity for the crankshaft to turn a few more degrees while it calculates and corrects for Altitude, air pressure and density, oxygen content, Engine temperature, and thousands upon thousands of other things. It is the very most intelligent, complex thing on the engine. For a mechanic not to know the inside of these mysterious computers very well, would be a mechanic that only knows 40% of this engine and how it operates at best. The other 60% of what it takes to make the engine run, and the biggest answer to why there might be something wrong, is in fact contained inside the ECM.

Some info on what happens inside this Mysterious ECM... Most people who know a decent amount about computers, but have no clue as to what goes on inside an ECM, actually think that these things run some sort of program, watching this or that sensor, and activating this or that solenoid, etc. making the engine go. Many mechanics think this same way too,... after-all, how complicated can be?,... It IS just a motor,... right?,.. I mean, how much does it really take to just simply control an engine?. Well actually, it does not take a whole lot to make the engine fire up and run, but it takes a WHOLE LOT to make it efficient, especially if the engine does not control things like fuel, timing, air, and exhaust gas mixture in a mechanical way. It is hard to believe things like the fact that it has complete control of things like the overall crank angle of the camshaft, or precise control of the cylinder pressures individually as the motor turns. All these things are indeed left solely to the ECM, and most individuals that work on these engines, even after a bunch of so called 'Professional' training from the manufacturer, have no clue that there is more than 11,400 parameters inside the CM871 ECM. Believe me when I first heard of that, I was thinking that it must be some outrageously exaggerated number of some sort, but I soon learned I was wrong. The more I studied this ECM, the more I started to realize that those tens of thousands of parameters, many of which are entire tables with lots of numbers inside them, are in fact just the settings, and not the program itself. I started wondering why there are so many,... how can there possibly be that many parameters for just a single engine?,... It is not that complex,... is it?,... The reality, is that the ECM actually runs several hundred programs at once. You have to think of it more along the lines of multiple applications running on a PC, all at the same time. These programs are not referred to as applications, but instead, they are called 'Managers'. Different managers do different things. For example, the Emissions manager (EMM) is responsible for all things related to the EGR. The Hydrocarbon Injection Manager (HIM) is responsible for the Doser injector. The Combustion Manager (CBM) is ultimately responsible for the Combustion processes, and controls the fueling and timing actuators. The After-Treatment Manager (ATM) keeps after the DPF. The list of managers, and what they keep after is very long. Because of this, and because they are all separate entities, they all have their own separate settings and groups of parameters that control them. The CM871 ECM also operates the engine in several overall 'Modes' and switches between them on the fly as needed. You can almost think of them as multiple 'Planes of Existence'. This further compounds the number of parameters and adjustments, because each of these operating modes has its own master, or main purpose. Tweaking the timing, for example, in the wrong engine mode, can create some serious problems, especially if it is effecting the engine at high altitude, or during cold start-up. This is yet another mistake the 'Big-Boy' companies do when performing deletes. There is in fact cold start mode, 2 different high altitude modes, nonEGR (also known as protection mode), axillary off-road emission mode, steady state mode with city and highway sub-modes, and the two 'Odd Couple' modes known as Oscar and Felix. The Oscar and Felix modes (code named after the 1970's Television series), are actually passive regen mode, and stationary parked regen mode.

Combine all these different overall operating modes with all the hundreds of managers and very quickly, this results in thousands upon thousands of parameters. Of the more than 11,400 parameters, roughly 3,600 (32%) of them are considered RAM parameters. RAM parameters are only accessible while connected to the ECM, and that is where things happen while the engine is running, like how much fuel to give the next cylinder, where the engine wants the turbo to be, or how much error there is between the actual air flow, and the desired air flow. It is inside this set of parameters that a person can actually monitor what is happening live, and just about every aspect of what the ECM is actually doing can be seen from there. RAM parameters are NOT part of the flash files, known as Calibrations. Calibration files (otherwise known as 'CAL' or 'flash' files) are typically referred to in the ECM tuning world as 'CAL' files. The word 'CAL', throughout this document is a slang word for Calibration, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the state of California. It simply means CAL-ibration, and nothing more.

Cal files themselves are actually flash files that contain the other 68% of the more than 11,400 parameters. This sea of 7,775 (give or take a few) parameters is where the magic happens if you want to change and store something into the ECM. These same parameters are also what is considered the ECM Image, and taking a snapshot of all of them is what makes a CAL file, or Backup Image. When you do a back up, or flash the entire ECM, it is these CAL parameters, and not the RAM parameters that you are actually backing up or restoring. Now that this information has been established,... still,... there are more than 7,700 parameters to edit and hack to your hearts desire, allowing you to make the ECM do just about whatever you want it to. You need to be careful though,... very careful. Just the data inside a CAL file is literally an ocean of parameters that are tightly inter-weaved, like a big tight ball of 7,700 fish hooks...

Just like in a tangled mess of fishing hooks, If you want to move one of them, or take a particular one away,... almost always, you need to move or adjust several others to get exactly what you want. It is rarely a matter of simply changing a single setting, and if you don't get it just right, then one of those hooks is likely to poke a hole in something and cause some damage, or create a problem that you didn't anticipate. Do not say you weren't warned. The total overall intelligence and mathematics that this ECM calculates and keeps track of is absolutely staggering to say the least. Everything from complex equations that calculate cylinder pressures, to complex math for determining what parameters should actually be affecting things. Hundreds of things are tracked at once like how much fuel to put into the next cylinder, predicting the flash point, pre-determining things like a mis-fire, and handling J1939 communications in and out of other devices at high speed, etc. etc... happens seemingly all at once. Also all this stuff happens so fast, that the ECM waits what seems like an eternity, even when the engine is running at maximum rpm, for the next piston to fire,... the next valve to open,... the camshaft to turn a few more degrees, and,... well,... you start to get the picture.

Butchery vs Proper Methods,...

As complex as these ECM's are,... still,... it does not take a whole lot to actually do a delete, but because there are so many thousands of parameters inside these things, there is also more than one way to achieve it. Unfortunately, I think that amongst most of the people that have claimed to have figured out these ECM's, they have developed this overall mentality of … 'The more you cut out, the better'. This is a terrible way to approach these things, and is also why this ECM gets butchered so badly. It leads to a Sledge-Hammer type of approach, where most of them start out by disconnecting a sensor, then try to simply bypass the alarm instead of actually taking the time to find out how deeply that same sensor is embedded into the logic. To them, unplugging it should be simple enough, but the reality is that many times, that now unplugged sensor has cascaded the ECM and its complex mathematics into some chaos, it not knowing what to do, and with the alarm suppressed, no one really knows why the engine now runs a bit more poorly, has higher EGT's, or possibly has more vibration than before. The result is that even though sometimes the engine may seem to have gained in some way by doing such a simple thing, there are typically consequences that are discovered down the road. Sometimes the gain may seem like a lot, but the engine is now running more poorly, or has lost some power compared to before. Instead of researching the problem, and correcting each of the engine managers to work properly with the now missing data, they disable all the protections and bash the timing and fueling tables into submission to overcome the performance problems they have just unknowingly created. This sledge hammer approach is what most of them use, and last I checked,... some of these same companies are getting upwards of thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting truckers and off road or racing enthusiasts for these blind, butchered attempts. There is NOTHING PROFESSIONAL IN THIS STYLE OF APPROACH, OR WHAT THEY ARE DOING!!!... I DON'T CARE IF THEY CLAIM TO HAVE TESTED THEIR BUTCHERY ON A DYNO OR A TEST TRACK,... BAD PRACTICE AND SHORTCUT METHODS LEAD TO LOTS OF PROBLEMS IN THE END!!!!. They are guessing and blindly poking around with no regard as to the damage they cause to the mathematics that the ECM must perform to get things right, resulting to the eventual damage it causes to the engine itself. To make things worse, smaller companies that try to get into the racket of doing Deletes, or that do them, and want to bypass having to pay these 'Big-Boy' clowns, know even LESS than these big name companies, so their take on it, is to simply copy their supposedly hard work and use it for themselves. Their mentality is that if the big-dollar delete companys do it this way, there must be something to it right?... they claim they used a dyno and tested it, so that must be the way it should be done,... so off they go,... spreading this same butchery like sour peanut butter into all of their customers engines, stuffing up the ECM, then believing the same poor excuses the Big Boy companies give when something does not go right, or the engine has a failure a few months later. Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I think you can see why there are so many bad deletes running around out there for these motors. It is simply too convenient to butcher these cals (calibrations), and too easy to blame the hardware when something like a turbo, head, or even an engine block fails afterwards. This, in my book, is NOT custom tuning, and it certainly is NOT worth 2 cents, nonetheless tens of thousands of dollars,... It is simply a hack-job, half-assed rip-off, where these days, they simply copy the same bad tune into everyones truck blindly with no regard to the individual unique components of a particular brand or model truck, the engine, or its internal components for that matter.

What Custom Tuning Actually Should Be,...

Before I ever owned a truck,... and before I ever knew anything much about the insides of an ECM,... If someone were to ask me what custom tuning an engine was, I would have told them that it was likely someone who knew so much about a particular motor, that they knew how to adjust just about all aspects of that particular engine and vehicle to get the best performance, or fuel mileage, or whatever they were trying to achieve. I had thoughts of someone testing the vehicle and recording or looking at the feedback data, using mathematics to adjust results, then testing it again. I used to imagine some engine/computer geek that would use some complicated 3D mapping software that finds the balance between the fuel, air, etc. and that they would actually test drive each individual vehicle they were getting paid the thousands of dollars to custom tune. I imagined they would take the time to adjusting things just right, so that it matched the exact length of exhaust and intake piping, gear ratios, drive-line, and all the other things to get that last ounce out of effort or efficiency from the motor for each individual vehicle being done. I had thoughts of someone spending several hours doing these things, perhaps on a test track or dyno, tweaking this or that a bit here and there after dialing it in close. To me,... this is what custom tuning really is, but it seems that my view on it must be skewed, because this is absolutely not what these multi-million dollar companies that perform deletes do,.. and if they are in fact doing this,.. they are wasting their time, and your money completely. Many of the people who claim to do custom tuning and deletes have never driven a truck, nonetheless have had a motor apart, or even know the theory of the combustion process in a diesel engine. Most of the people who claim to do custom tuning actually DO NOT EVEN TEST DRIVE THE VEHICLE, nor put the engine under full torque load to ensure it is running well,.. and almost NONE of them will replace worn out, misreading sensors on an older motor. This results in bad feedback to the ECM and skews all the tests and tuning, making it impossible for things to be dialed in correctly or accurately. That ECM is, and has the final say in how that engine operates, and if the feedback is even slightly incorrect, it can cause a LOT of performance problems. This creates a headache for anyone trying to squeeze the last few drops of fuel mileage, or the last few hundred foot lbs of torque out of one of these engines. Custom tuning should be replacing worn out sensors, adjusting the ECM to do your bidding in an intelligent manner, where science actually plays a role in understanding how these engines work both mechanically and electrically. It should also be about actually 'custom tuning' the ECM and engine to match the particular internal hardware of a given engine (not all CM871's have the same hardware), the particular vehicles Charge air system, exhaust, and everything else. The only people who are usually able to understand these things on this level, already know diesel engine theory well, and are mostly master mechanics with many years of experience actually tearing down and re-building motors. It is absolutely terrible, and is a rip-off to actually pay for 'custom tuning' to a company who's so-called 'Engineer' cannot even answer actual questions someone of that caliper should absolutely know. A mediumcomplex question like what effects air temperature or fuel temperature has on the final timing angle, or, in the case of the CM871 engine, how the hydraulics of the fuel is used to mechanically move the start of injection, should absolutely be known by someone monkeying around inside that Computer... Sadly, most of them draw a blank stare, or make up an excuse instead of being able to answer such important things because they themselves do not even know. If they did, they would not be so quick to hack something up inside your ECM in the manner that they do, or copy blindly, tables from another motor, trying to get more power or efficiency out of it.

First things First... Make sure the engine is in good shape... DO NOT GO ANY FURTHER TOWARDS DOING A DELETE, OR CUSTOM TUNING YOUR ECM WITHOUT FIRST ENSURING YOUR ENGINE IS IN GOOD SHAPE AND RUNNING WELL!!! You will be falling down a rabbit hole, where you will have nothing but problems. Trying to compensate for sensors that are reading incorrectly, or mechanical things that are worn out CAN LEAD TO ENGINE AND COMPONENT DESTRUCTION! Without you even knowing it is happening until it is too late. ANYBODY that is willing to start hacking into your ECM, editing this, and deleting that, without FIRST ensuring the engine, and its sensors, are in very good shape, IS A COMPLETE MORON!!!!!!... SOFTWARE CANNOT FIX HARDWARE PROBLEMS!!!, especially if there are sensors reading incorrectly, or if things are mechanically out of adjustment, or worn out. Well the first thing that should be done, is to ensure the engine is actually in good shape. Look it over well, making sure nothing is out of place, and that ALL IMPORTANT SENSORS AND COMPONENTS ARE STILL INTACT AND ACCURATE!. This is very important, as many of the 'Professional' million-dollar hackjob ECM Delete companies are hell bent on removing as many parts as possible, sending the engine into the Stone-Age. This is a very bad thing to have happen, when considering engine efficiency, because many of those components are in place not only to protect the engine, but can be used for, or their functions altered, to provide feedback to actually improve how the engine runs, well beyond the engines of yesteryear. I like to equate the difference between an engine with a well-mapped VG turbo and sensors vs. an older engine with no sensors and a fixed turbo, the same as a pen and paper vs chalk on a cave wall. Sure, they both can run well, but the VG turbo and extra sensors will drive the efficiency way beyond anything a fixed vein turbo engine can possibly provide. The gain can easily be 20 - 35% or more overall efficiency when done right. Because of this, it becomes very possible to take a truck that averaged 6 MPG, to 8 or 9+ MPG fairly easily, once the Emissions components have been disabled and re-mapped to work for you instead of against you. The only way for this to happen though, is to have an engine that runs very well to begin with. Unfortunately, most people looking to alter their EGR/DPF systems, do so because the engine is NOT running well, and are frustrated by repeated, expensive failures. If their truck ran good, most could care less about doing a delete. This is NOT a good situation to start from, because doing a Delete does NOT typically solve all of the trucks problems. Most problems that cause repeated EGR and DPF failures stem from sensors reading incorrectly, combined with soot-clogged tubes and pipes. Because of this, the first thing that must happen, is that the engine must be repaired enough to be able to achieve good efficiency and run well on its own stock. This means that if ANY of the sensors and/or components on the engine have deteriorated, or gotten clogged because of age, wear, or EGR/DPF problems, the gains will not be nearly as good, and ANY custom tuning will be done incorrectly. Given that, the next thing to do, if it has NOT been done, is to remove the intake manifold piping from the engine, and clean all the soot out of it.

The CM871 engine is notorious for accumulating soot in the intake manifold just before the engine block, choking off air flow to itself. If that manifold is even slightly dirty, then a good bit of efficiency will be lost due to the restrictions. It is also a good idea to replace, clean, and/or inspect ALL the sensors associated with good combustion, just to be sure the ECM is getting good feedback. Not doing so will cause unpredictable results and make it difficult to dial things in correctly.

It is recommended to simply replace the 'IMAP (Intake Manifold Air/Temperature) Sensor', and the 'Exhaust gas Pressure Sensor' with new ones. The IMAP starts reading incorrectly after only 150k miles use on an EGR engine due to soot contamination. The temperature sensor part of it can be seen easily if it is not buried in soot, but the pressure sensor part of it is actually up inside the head, where soot collects and you can't see, nor clean it. The Exhaust pressure sensor starts reading incorrectly after about 300 - 400k miles use, and causes a lot of efficiency problems. It also helps protect the motor during engine braking to help keep it from a condition commonly known as 'Dropping a Valve'.

Dropping a Valve...

When RPM's are in their higher rane, even though there is much spring tension on the valves to pull them upwards, when exhaust back-pressure is excessive due to an over-spooling or over-closed turbo, or perhaps an exhaust restriction, what happens is that the exhaust valves will start to have delay in closing due to the restrictions in the escaping gases. This delay, as they move upward, can get significant enough for the now, rising piston to catch up to the valve as it is closing. When this happens, the piston strikes the valve, driving it upwards hard, slamming in into its seat. This is a very common issue with the ISX, delete or not, if the exhaust back-pressure sensor is failing, or reading incorrectly, and is a big problem if someone disabled the disabled the sensor as part of a delete. The engine is is also at high risk if someone has not re-mapped the turbo or mass flow tables properly for its operating mode, and/or if they have edited the engine brake over-closing tables in an attempt to make the engine brake stronger. ANY of those programming mistakes, and/or a bit of over-boost (yet again,... most of the 'Big-Boy' Deletes are exactly this way), and you are looking at a cracked head after a while. Of course, if you were to confront them on this, they would tell you that it wasn't their fault.

That sensor NEEDS to work!,... and most of those 'Big-Boy' after-market exhaust manifolds used for a delete, do not even have the pipe connection for this sensor,... THEY ALL DISABLE THE DAMN THING! >> THATS WHAT THEY DO!!!. You see,... I am trying to make a clear point here,... You MUST know this engine well,... very well,... if you are going to screw with these things,... AND,... you cannot just start cutting out sensors and such, just because you don't FEEL they are no longer necessary, or because they are failing. The ENTIRE ENGINE has been designed around these sensors and systems. There are consequences to doing things blindly!

Make sure the turbo is calibrated correctly!,...

Test, and inspect thoroughly, the Turbocharger and make damn sure it is calibrated correctly. Most engine shops slap the Actuator on without even running the 'Off the Turbo' calibration program. They slap it on like it is, in whatever position it happens to be in,... then just run the 'On Turbo' calibration part only. THIS IS NOT CORRECT!!!!!,... And I have seen more than my share of turbos give actuator alarms after a delete because of 'Lazy Mechanics' ways. The turbo is going to run in a much wider band of operation than it did before. It needs to be accurately calibrated, and since I mentioned it, I might as well explain, since I DO ACTUALLY have a background in engineering and precision motion control,... This is WHY it is a bad practice!...

Servo/stepper motor systems have a position counter, a revolution counter, AND a master index, or reference position. Every time the power is applied to the motor and controller, it CANNOT know exactly where it is at, so the first thing it does is move so that it can find the index mark, or reference mark. This mark is in only one spot within its full travel range. Once it finds this spot,.... it then moves the other direction, until it falls off that mark, until it sees the next revolution counter signal. This is simple enough, but it creates a BIG PROBLEM if the revolution counter is sitting right at the edge of the index mark. It creates an unstable condition, and based on temperature, etc (metal expansion), it could sometimes pass up the revolution mark while leaving the edge of the index position. When this happens, it will roll an entire revolution to the next mark. It is often called “Jumping a Grid”, or a “Grid Jump”,... and it throws the whole mechanism off by one revolution of the motor randomly, depending on the temperature of the metal parts, etc. To prevent the possibility of a grid jump, such as with VG turbo,... the actuator can be put through it paces BEFORE it is mounted to the turbo housing, using the calibration program in cummins Insite (the first turbo calibration test), to move the motor exactly 180 degrees AWAY from any possibility of the revolution counter being close to the index mark (on the holset, this is the mechanical end stop when the actuator is installed). This prevents the motor from being able to jump a grid, and believe it or not,... It is much more common of a problem than most would likely think.,... so go ahead Mr. Dumb-ass mechanic,.... Use your lazy-mechanic ways,... just because you got away with not doing half the calibration the last time,... or the time before that,.... at some point,... it IS going to screw someone's turbo alignment up. I have seen at least 3 in the past 2 years, and sometimes you don't even get the alarm for it,.... so there is likely a LOT of turbo's out there with this error in them that have been put together by Lazy Mechanics. Also verify the 'Turbo Inlet Temperature Sensor' is reading correctly, the Ambient Air temp and/or pressure

sensors are reading correctly, and ensure the oil, water, crank, and cam position sensors are reading correctly. Next, ensure the engine overhead has been done within the last 200k miles or so, and that there are NO leaks in the charge air circuits, or any other circuits or systems that might effect fuel mileage. If the CAC 'Typically Orange or Red Boots' are old, then REPLACE THEM!,... That turbo, after a delete, will in fact produce more boost than these components are used to seeing. Especially if you increase the power for the engine. Performing ECM modifications to an engine that is not operating its best already, is a complete waste of time, where you will be chasing your tail, trying to get it right. If you are going to take the time to learn how to hack your ECM,... or have it done,... FIX THE DAMN MOTOR WHILE YOU ARE AT IT!!!. Pressure-test the coolant system for a couple of hours at maximum pressure (20 – 25 PSI) to ensure there are no coolant leaks of any kind, especially in the EGR cooler if it is to remain intact. The EGR cooler must remain in-tact for proper coolant flow to the engine, or a 3/4” coolant by-pass circuit be installed in its place. Simply blocking off the coolant passages and removing the EGR cooler is a VERY bad thing indeed. The engine does not get proper coolant flow through the rear oil cooler element, AND about 70-psi of head (water) pressure can and will build up in the short piece of pipe where it is blocked-off from. That water line is supplied by the pump directly, and is separate form the rest of the system, so you will never see the excess pressure unless you put an actual gauge in the now blocked off pipe. The excess pressure in the now dead circuit puts excess load on the water pump and its face bearings, shortening its life greatly. Coolant NEEDS to flow through that circuit. Either leave the EGR cooler intact, or put a bypass coolant hose across where it was removed. Yet ANOTHER BIG MISTAKE all the Big-Boy Delete companies do, while charging you thousands of dollars for un-necesasary work. The charge air piping and your charge air cooler (CAC) needs to be in good shape too. Those Orange (or blue) flex pipes can easily fail after making modifications if they are old. Doing a delete can easily produce more boost pressure than the engine is used to seeing, upwards of 40 lbs, so if the clamps and/or rubber boots are old and weak, they may give way under high engine load. After that, I usually run the engine and test as many things that I can to ensure it is running as efficiently as possible BEFORE any mods are done. Understanding the CM871 Engine Sensors and components... Which ones can be eliminated?... Here is a list of the sensors, and their role in the ECM. Many are needed to operate the engine at maximum efficiency, and/or at a good stable high power output without creating unpredictable conditions. Here is an explanation of what they are, or can be useful for. * Turbocharger speed sensor – Without this sensor, the ECM cannot know if your turbo is over-spooling, and about to destroy itself. I recommend leaving it in tact and operating correctly. * Engine Camshaft and Crankshaft speed/position sensors – The ECM requires them to properly run the engine, and set its proper timing, fueling, etc. * Exhaust gas pressure sensor – This sensor is very important. It protects the engine from excess exhaust gas pressure to prevent it from dropping a valve. The big-boy companies like to eliminate this sensor out of sheer ignorance after it complains and tries to protect the motor. With proper turbo and other mapping, a CM871 engine producing more than 900 horsepower at 1800 RPM's will not cause alarms with this sensor. It is a stupid thing to do to eliminate it. It is also used for proper mass charge flow calculations and will throw off the fuel to air ratio if it is disabled or not working properly.

* Fuel pressure sensor – The actual fuel pressure on the CM871 is controlled mechanically via a spring valve type regulator, and the ECM has no control of it whatsoever. This sensor directly effects the amount of fuel put into each cylinder, but it also effects the amount of fuel used to control the injection cycle as well. An inaccurate reading will drop engine efficiency fast, and altering its reading (like some of those stupid Pisspoor Power Boxes do) makes the engine hold the actuators in longer to compensate for the pressure loss. More fuel gets dumped into the cylinders, but it also screws with the injection cycle in a negative way, softening its performance curve at the expense of some cheap, inefficient fuel-only gains. It also damages the ECM's ability to accurately calculate cylinder pressures, creating unstable conditions. Those dumb-asses at Pisspoor Power tell truckers that their box fools the sensor and tells the ECM to increase fuel rail pressure,... what a joke indeed. The fuel pressure itself is NOT controlled by the ECM in the CM871. * Intake Manifold Temperature/Pressure sensor, ambient air temp sensor, and Barometric Air Pressure sensors – These sensors are needed to control cylinder pressures, and are also used to control the injection cycle. Intake Air temperature and density itself effects the crank angle directly (CA) and plays a BIG part in when the cylinder ignites after the fuel is dumped in, and inaccurate, or missing readings can alter cylinder pressures by thousands of PSI even before the TDC is reached. Bad, or missing readings form these sensors can cause some serious efficiency issues, and eventual engine damage at higher torque. Eliminating any of them creates an unstable engine and a bad delete for sure (another typical big-boy mistake). * Crank Case Pressure Sensor – This sensor lets the ECM know if there is too much pressure in the oil pan. The Crank Case Filter itself, is nothing much more than an EPA regulation, and if the truck is to be used for competition/off-road,.. this sensor can be disabled, and the filter itself partially eliminated via a 3/8” (bigger if used for high horsepower) hole drilled through it.

* Turbocharger Compressor Inlet Air Temp sensor – This sensor plays a very important role in indicating how efficient the turbo is spinning, and how well the air is flowing through the charge circuit. It is not simply another air intake temp sensor, but an indicator on how much heat is being transferred through the turbo shaft and housing into the intake. A high intake temp reading is a direct indicator that the spindle is spinning too slow, or that the charge flow (flow through the charge air cooler) is too slow because of excess boost. Getting high temp errors on this sensor directly indicates that the turbo spindle is failing, or that boost and charge pressure is in extreme excess. The sensor can optionally be used for cylinder pressure compensation and to determine charge air efficiency. Removing it is another typical big-boy mistake. * EGR Temp sensor – This definitely can be eliminated, and unmapped if doing a Delete. It is only used as a

protection to the engine from excess exhaust gas temps to the intake when the EGR valve is open. * Engine fuel temp sensor – An important sensor that helps control exactly when a cylinder actually fires (crank angle or 'CA' as its known), and to determine its density (expansion) for correct control of the timing and metering actuators. Eliminating it will send the engine into an unstable state. * Engine Coolant temp sensor – Used for cylinder pressure compensation and several other things to help stabilize the injection cycle and cylinder pressures. * EGR Differential pressure sensor – This sensor is difficult to properly eliminate, and is not necessary after a Delete. The sensor is not designed to handle high boost pressure, so there are several derates in place in the engine to protect it, especially if the EGR logic is turned off. Removing all the egr logic, etc. will not shut down the engine derates that protect this sensor, and not even the Master engine derate overrides will stop them. I have not seen ANY of the Big-Boy delete companies address this issue properly, perhaps they don't even know these silent derates exist. It is No wonder they do not know how to properly re-map an engine after a delete. This sensor can be properly removed, and all derates eliminated, but it is indeed a stubborn one. * Aftertreatment fuel injector - Otherwise known as the Doser Injector. It is not used after a delete, and the entire Hydrocarbon Injection Manager (HIM) can be shut down along with it. * EGR Valve Motor – Not used after a delete. It is indeed difficult to eliminate this device form the ECM logic, even if the all EGR logic has been completely disabled. It communicates through the J1939, and will report its own errors, separately from the motor if not dealt with properly. Most delete companies just throw the codes it produces into the fault blocking tables so that it does not make an error in the dash of the truck. It can be dealt with properly and eliminated from the ECM logic without having to add several codes for it to the block tables. * DPF Regen switch – Not needed after a delete. It can be un-mapped and used for other purposes, like perhaps re-assigning it as an engine fan switch or something else. * DOC inlet temp sensor, DPF inlet temp sensor, DPF Outlet temp sensor, DPF Differential pressure sensors – These sensors are not needed after a delete. The engine does not have an actual EGT sensor, it is calculated (a 'Virtual' sensor). If these sensors are un-mapped, they can be re-assigned for other things, like an actual EGT sensor, or the wiring used for some other feedback perhaps. * VGT Actuator – Absolutely necessary to control the turbo, but many of its common, or less serious errors can be turned off, so that it only complains if it is failing.

The Consequences of removing hardware from the motor... If you want the truck to look as stock as possible, then there is no need unplug or remove anything outside of what I recommended in the How-To document. As stated clearly above, it is a bad thing to remove the EGR cooler unless you make some modifications to allow coolant flow. Removing it is also a dead giveaway and

very obvious if you want the truck to look stock,.. so what happens if it is bad and leaking?,... Can you justify the cost of another one?,.... Well there is a clever alternative if it is leaking and bad. It can be removed, and the Exhaust inlet and outlet welded shut with blocking plates just on the inside at each end of the exhaust portion of it only. This will allow it to be put back on, and the truck look stock again. The result will be that it simply fills the now sealed exhaust chamber with coolant. This allows for coolant flow, and because it does not need exhaust gas flow through it at all after a delete, it is a good alternative solution to replacing it without causing other problems. The DOC and DPF, when hollowed out will certainly eliminate a LOT of exhaust restriction, and lower EGT's of the engine across the board. With better exhaust flow, the turbocharger will spool up more freely and efficiently, further allowing for power and efficiency gains. Because of this, if it is not re-mapped for non-egr operation, it can over-spool with no back pressure anymore, but this is actually a very good problem, and have to fix. You see, if the turbo is now turning faster, it is making more boost with less effort. The extra boost needs to be corrected and lowered, so that it is brought back to an optimum for both power and efficiency, and when you do this, it will slow it back down to normal,... but you gain a lot!. With a much lower nozzle ring (VG) position, it further lowers exhaust restrictions at the manifold, lowering EGT's across the board, and it raises engine efficiency too. It starts to become very clear that there is now a potential for a LOT of power with very little effort on the behalf of the turbo, and the result is much, much lower EGT's, even when producing close to 1,000 horsepower. That stock Holset Turbo mounted on the side of the CM871's is VERY powerful and efficient indeed when programmed correctly. The VGT Turbo and how it works with the CM871... Aside from the ECM itself, the Turbocharger is the second most important thing on the engine. Without it, the engine cannot make any usable power. The engine does not need a turbo to idle and run, even if you rev it up to 2200 RPM, but to move any freight, or produce any decent amount of horsepower, there needs to be some kind of turbocharger to add whats known in the ECM world as 'Charge Pressure' (known as 'boost' for those who work on trucks). There are entire books on this subject, so if you are not familiar with the basics of how a diesel engine works, I suggest you stop reading and go study one or more of them instead,.... (not pointing any fingers, Mr. Big-Money ECM Tuner companies ehemm...),... The Holset VG Turbo actually plays 4 major roles in the CM871, and has 2 different operating modes. It does not seem that the 'Big-Boy' delete companies know squat about this turbo, or the fact that it has 2 modes, so I thought I would put a few words down to clear this up for anyone trying to hack their ECM, or do actual custom tuning. It isn't too difficult to figure out that the travel range for the VGT, as defined in the ECM, is form 0 to 100%. At 0%, the turbo is at its minimum, and very little charge pressure (boost) is produced, so one would assume that at 100%, it is providing its maximum boost right?,.... WRONG!!!!! At 0% the turbo produces almost no boost, and exhaust back-pressure is at its minimum as well. At 60 65% (depending on internal wear, and how well it is calibrated), it reaches the end of its useful boost providing range, and starts to change modes. Anything ABOVE this range is considered 'Over-Closing' mode. The OverClosing mode is used to restrict, and block off the exhaust of the engine at the manifold, choking it down. It is what makes the engine brake so strong when it is active, and it is also used to force exhaust gases into the EGR piping to overcome heavy charge pressure. This makes for 4 major roles in its interaction with the engine, and they are... 1) To provide boost in the range of 0 - 65% closing (realistically about 58%)...

The CM871 engine can easily produce upwards of 900 horsepower with 40 lbs of boost with the turbo only set at about 56 - 58%. This has been proven time and time again during dyno testing, and the higher you go above these limits, the turbo will over-spin and restrictions start to set in. For any type of practical application outside of competition itself, there is never a need to exceed this range for the turbo when trying to make power, unless you actually want the EGR to function. If you are in fact looking to exceed 900 horsepower with the engine for competition, a BIGGER HOLSET with better charge flow,... not more boost,... is still your best bet. Believe me,.. many different types of turbos have been tried including the crappy 'Big-Boss' turbos that PDI sells. 2) To provide back-pressure to the exhaust manifold to force EGR gases into the EGR circuits between 70% and 100% closing... I have seen no use for the turbo to operate in this range at all after a delete with the exception of Major Role numbers 3 and 4 listed below. I cannot count how many engines I have seen where the turbo operates in this range after a so-called delete, because no one re-programmed the ECM to remove this function. This is also WHY their deletes destroy turbos repeatedly, crack heads, and cause dropped valves. 3) To provide heavy exhaust restriction during engine braking when operated between 75% and 95%... Having a nice strong engine brake is what cummins engines are known for. The CM871 has one of the strongest in its class, and the turbo, and its ability to block off the exhaust heavily is one of the main reasons. There are several tables and settings that can adjust the engine brake strength, using the turbo while it is in overclosing, but the stronger you make the engine brake, the higher the chance of 'Dropping a Valve' and destroying the motor. Myself, I tend to leave those settings alone because of this, but there again,... ignorant 'ECM Tuners' tend to monkey with just that, tempting fate with their customers engines. 4) To create internal engine load (simulate a torque load on the fly-wheel), and absorb heat energy when operated above 70%. This is actually a good and bad thing at the same time. When the engine is cold,... and has sat overnight in cool weather, all the mechanical components shrink by quite a bit. A lot of mechanics call it 'engine slop'. This slop, as its known, will make the engine sound like everything is out of adjustment and about to rattle apart, especially in the upper cylinder head. Placing a load on the flywheel will reduce it significantly and also contribute towards warming the motor up, but it also consumes more fuel in doing so. The turbocharger, since it is connected to both the intake and exhaust, when it is in over-closing, blocks off the exhaust from the motor, putting it under a strain to push exhaust gases out. This creates engine load, and makes it more quiet, as well as making it warm up faster, but what about when it is not cold. When the engine is already warmed up, there is no need to place the engine under load at idle. It will only serve to create excess heat and consume fuel un-necessarily. It also takes away from power that can be used at the flywheel. Because of this, I always suggest to others, that if you want the most fuel efficiency out of the engine, the cold idle has to be removed, because it only gets in the way after the engine is warmed up... that is,.. unless you live in extreme cold cold climates where idling alone may not be enough to keep the engine warm. It becomes a trade-off, so it is a judgment call based on climate and use of the engine. Testing has shown that roughly about 2 - 3 horsepower of energy is consumed at 75% closing and that about 8 - 10 horsepower of energy is consumed by the engine when it is sitting at 90% closing. Above 90%, it starts to put the engine in an internal strain, and at 100%, the engine exhaust is literally choked off almost completely. 100% closing will cause the engine to strain so badly, that even at max throttle, it can barely turn 1,000 rpm or so, and it will produce a ton of excess heat and smoke.

Understanding the Holset VGT is very important. It is still the most efficient turbo I have seen for the CM871,... believe me when I say I have tried other types. I myself know well that they do not have a million mile lifespan. It is more like 400 - 600 thousand miles, more if you care for them and do not over heat them, but even so,... they are so much more efficient than other brands of turbos, that the advantages and fuel savings alone will justify replacing them when they do eventually go bad. A good delete with engine efficiency as a priority will keep this turbo at a very low position at idle, and only allow it to go to about 58% or so at maximum throttle. Competition deletes, where fuel consumption is not an issue,... should still only operate this turbo below 60%. This means that after you get a delete done by someone,... you can easily see its quality based on where the VG position is using cummins Insite both at idle, and at maximum torque.

The Downsides of doing an EGR Delete... Besides the legal issues, and the hazard to the environment, there are some downsides to performing an EGR Delete no matter what method you choose. The goal of EGR itself, is to REGULATE exhaust gas temperatures coming from the motor. Once you disable EGR, there is suddenly no more regulation of exhaust gas temps (EGT's). They can climb as high as they want to, and on the ISX, where they once were kept in check at about 580 degrees F, Now, they can go as high as they want to. It is NOT unusual for them to reach 900 Degrees F or more when the engine is at full power. Although Holset Turbo's are a great device to have for improved power efficiency, they have their long term limits. They can't take all the abuse and extra heat a NON-EGR engine can dish out. Precautions must be taken to ensure all this extra heat does not shorten the life of this turbo in the long term. As far as I know, the Holsets found on the CM871, can only handle 1350 Deg F for only 3 minutes at a time, which causes an outer casing temperature of about about 900 Deg F Heat Soak on its metal exhaust housing. How much power you adjust the engine to produce, its timing offset(s), Air Flow, Exhaust flow, and many other factors effect EGT's. The MM2 delete itself, and the 650 HP overlays are conservative, so you would be hard-pressed to get the outside of the turbo that hot, but it is still possible if you are pushing things really hard. I heavily recommend installing a Boost and Pyrometer gauge in the dash of any truck that is going to have a delete done to it to help protect it. This way, when your pushing that engine hard, climbing that big mountain with a heavy load, you can see when things may be getting too hot. I recommend that the Pyrometer be installed on the Outside of the exhaust manifold or turbo housing rather than inside the pipe. It is the actual 'Heat Soak' or exhaust 'Metal Temp' that is the threat, not the EGT itself.

In the picture above, you can see the temp sensor for the Pyro meter mounted with a hose-clamp onto the outside exhaust manifold. There are several advantages to having it here because you can see if the turbo is about to overheat, AND you can also see when it is safe to turn the engine off. There is a second problem that is created by the higher exhaust temps as well, and that is the accumulation of heat on the exhaust side of the engine overall. After high torque conditions, this extra heat MUST be bled off before the engine can be shut down, or exhaust components, including, yet again, the turbo, can be damaged over time. This problem is not specifically created by the delete, but is a problem for ALL turbocharged engines. What this second problem translates to, is that after a hard hill climb, or other heavy torque conditions, the engine must be idled for several minutes before shutting it off. Again, that Pyro gauge on the outside of the turbo housing can help you with this. When the Pyro gauge is less than 400 Degrees F., it is safe to turn off your engine without causing heat damage to the turbo. This is actually a problem that exists on most all bigger diesel engines, even with EGR still active because the exhaust gas is allowed to get 800+ degrees at times during Regen cycles, or at high altitude conditions. With this gauge, when climbing a Mountain under a heavy load, you will see your Pyro gauge go up in temperature. When it reaches about 800 Degrees F or so, the best thing you can do is back off the accelerator a bit, find a lower gear, and increase your RPM's. This will cool it down a bit because you will have less torque demand form the motor. Of course, this will also help you save fuel too. The LOWER you keep your Pyro and boost, the more fuel you save in any given situation. Doing this will also ensure your turbo will last just as long as it does on an engine with EGR. This Warning and Advice is from experience!,... And from researching and performing failure analysis on several failed turbos, so don't say I DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER when your looking at a popped turbo, a runaway engine, and $3,000 plus in repairs.

The Gains from doing a Delete, and what to expect... It is obvious that a well-mapped engine will have huge gains from doing a delete, and there are quite a few people that think that burning a lot less fuel compensates for the amount of harmful Nox gases, and I have heard of more than a few trucks pass emissions tests with a delete, but it is mostly speculation. Aside from that,... and the much better fuel mileage gains, there are some other benefits too. With the engine producing almost zero soot, after a few oil changes (after about 3 oil changes), the engine oil itself will start to stay the same general color it did when it came from the bottle (very light brown/amber) for about 6,000 miles or more. This is a clear indicator that the fuel is being burned extremely efficiently. Because of this, and the lack of soot in the oil, tear-downs of a few engines has revealed easily, that there is about 40% overall less wear in the motor after several hundred thousand miles running MM deletes. Engine life is definitely extended by a large margin. Also, these same tear-downs have revealed that the color of the cylinders, valves, and the bottom of the head are extremely clean on the inside, with the exception of Nox gas residue. Nox gas itself is a reddish-brown gas, and its residue will make metal appear to have been overheated, or rusted slightly. A few mechanics have been concerned by this discoloration when first removing an engine head with a clean burning delete, because it gives the appearance of something that got “hot”, but Simply wiping everything down reveals that the metal underneath is not in any way rusted or discolored from heat. It is simply cleaner compared to other soot-producing engines.

The MM Method... Unlike the sledgehammer approach that tries to knock the engine into the stone-age, The MM method of deleting the EGR/DPF system is just about the opposite. It is like a scalpel, cutting away at only those things necessary to achieve the goal, and re-adjusting the things necessary to ensure the ECM and its calculations remain stable. The end result, is that there is much better control towards getting the engine to do exactly what you want, using the sensors and settings to help efficiency, rather than ignoring them. With this type of fine control, it is now possible to fine-tune everything from the turbo, to the fueling, timing, and all the other things that can help achieve maximum engine efficiency. This method also opens the door towards achieving higher power output with much less risk of failure. Just to be clear though, the Overlay Files I have included with this document, on their own, allows the engine to reach reasonable power levels without exceeding its limits. It simply does the delete and sets the timing, fueling, and turbo in range to achieve close to maximum efficiency as seen by most engines. Every engine is slightly different in this regard, but this at least gets it in the ball-park, and is a good starting point, so to speak. Simply applying it on its own, without altering it at all, will work just fine for most people looking for a delete, resulting in cleaner oil, and good fuel economy, but there is always room for actual custom tuning of the engine to match the trucks exact specs and hardware. To Humble One's self... The MM Delete is NOT PERFECT!!!!,... Yup,... you heard me right,... It IS a work in progress,... These ECM's are seriously complex,.. and because there is no single magic bullet, or method, per say,... one hat does not fit all, nor will one hat fit every situation,.... Even so,... it is a much, much better, and a more stable solution to what anyone else seems to be doing, especially from the bulk of the so-called 'ECM Tuner' crowd. As I help others with their trucks, and as I get feedback on long term results, I not only update what I do, to continuously improve it, BUT I SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH OTHERS!!!, OPENLY AND FREELY!!!. I also would hope, that ANYONE doing deletes for others, and/or are 'Tuning' ECMs would at least offer UPDATES to their own work as improvement and new discoveries are made. If you are an ECM Tuner, and do 'Tuned/Deletes' for others, and something in this document is useful to you,... USE IT and UPDATE YOUR CUSTOMERS ECMs,.. All I ask for in return is that you do so without ripping them off!. Updates should be very cheap compared to the initial 'Tune',... Especially since this info is FREE!!!,... Just my opinion. All in all, personally, I have always considered the MM Delete a Starting Point,... NOT AN ENDING POINT! Towards achieving the goals at hand,... especially if you are going to use the engine for competition or research. If your goal is more power, or maximum power, this delete is a starting point towards achieving it. Think of it as a stepping stone that removes the bulk of those things that were holding it back, opening the way towards being able to custom edit, and therefore actually “Tune” the engine without too much getting in your way. For those just looking to do a delete, or wanting to do their own delete, the MM Overlay(s) I include with this document will do the job just nicely all on their own. No need to go editing and tweaking a bunch of stuff, and no need to study this ECM, or how it works. Just simply follow the instructions and enjoy your now deleted, fuel efficient engine. For those looking to learn more (hopefully you are), this document is a good starting point, but by no means is it the final say in anything. Take this info and grow with it,... Correct any mistakes if you find,... and share your findings with others. No one person can do it all,... Not Me,.. Not Anyone,... It MUST be a group effort towards growing and perfecting this information.

What Tools and Software does a Person Need?,... First and foremost, you need a Data-link Adapter, known as a 'DLA' in the ECM tuner world. Throughout this document I will refer to it as a DLA.... First choice for the CM871... A Cummins Inline - 5 (or 6)...

OR... A Nexiq Adapter...

The best DLA for the job is obviously a 'Cummins Inline-5' (or 6) adapter. Second to that is a 'Nexiq' adapter. Either will do the job, but I prefer the Inline-5 above all for the Cummins Engines. They seem to have less issues with communicating, and are more stable. It is easy enough to get an Inline-5 Adapter for a few hundred bucks off of e-bay from a Chinese seller, and they work very well without any problems. Cummins wants too much money for them, and they are insane to ask for thousands of dollars, and yearly subscriptions for their crappy Insite software. On the other hand,... Nexiq adapters from China really suck and are not worth 2 cents. If you go with a Nexiq adapter, you need to get one from a local distributor, like Fleet-Pride, and NOT from the Internet at all.

There are so many fake Chineese Nexiq adapters running around out there, sold by legitimate companies, that it is now unsafe to even try to get one this way. Chineese Nexiq Adapters fail very easily, and cannot be updated without causing them to become a dead, useless brick. The Official adapters work very well, but I do see more connection problems with them than Inline adapters in general, and if your going to flash an ECM,... connection problems are the LAST thing you need. You could be buying a new ECM in short order if you get a communications error during a download to the ECM. Both Inline-5/6 adapters and Nexiq adapters are RP2010a compatible, and will work with just about any engine, and just about any engine software for basic troubleshooting, but only the Nexiq is able to actually flash CAT, Detroit, and other engines, unlike the Inline. My recommendation overall, is that if you plan on doing more than just Cummins engines, you need BOTH!. The Inline for the Cummins engines, and the Nexiq for the rest. It is also nice to have the Nexiq as a backup to the Inline, as a 'Just In Case'. If your someone who is just looking to do a delete, and has only one truck,... and it is a CM871,... Don't waste your money on a Nexiq. The Inline will work great, and you can still use it to troubleshoot other brands of trucks when needed.

Cummins Insite and WHY it kinda SUCKS!!!,... It is a necessary piece of software if you own, or work on Cummins engines, and it will do the typical things like viewing and resetting codes, doing a forced regen, and changing settings (Features and Parameters), like the governed speed, gear ratio of the truck, etc. It will also do some tests, like cylinder cut-out, and is necessary to calibrate a new turbo, and that stuff is cool enough,... BUT,... it is VASTLY LIMITED, even when you license it to its highest level, compared to what the ECM is all about. First of all, although it has a 'Work Order' mode, and it claims to,... it will NOT make an actual ECM image. It only backs up the basic Features and parameters that are specific to the truck and nothing more. It is a collection of parameters that are LESS THAN 2% of the actual ECM image itself, and for custom tuning, this is completely useless. Although you can use it to send alternate factory CAL files, It also does NOT have any means to actually adjust those things that actually matter, like overall torque or horse-power. You certainly cannot adjust the turbo or fuel,... nothing. Chinese Nexiq adapters basically suck, so if you go that road, get an official one directly form Nexiq. Chinese Inline-5's work fine, and are also much cheaper, and easier to get. I have several Chinese Inline-5 adapters and they all work great. To access the ECM on a basic level, you also need the Cimmuins Insite software. Although Insite is a joke, it is decent for reading and resetting faults, performing after-treatment system functions like forced regens, setting governed speeds, and other useful testing, but very limited when it comes to parameters. It is also used to download, or update the ECM using Flash Files known as 'Incal Files' into the motor. Cummins Incal is not a software, but instead a collection of Flash (CAL) Files for various engines, that have the features and parameters missing from them. One of the big problems Insite has, is the fact that it cannot make a full ECM image or backup. It certainly says it does, but in reality it does not. It creates a pseudo-like ECM image, backing up features, some parameters, and some settings, but it is not capable of backing, restoring, or editing an entire ECM with all its 7,700+ parameter glory. It is fine, as long as you stick to the pre-made Incal Files, but it is useless when it comes to custom tuning. Because of this, other software is needed, especially if you want to backup or restore

the entire ECM in its exact state, just the way it is at any given point. The software capable of fully backing up, editing, and restoring the entire ECM is called Calterm. Without it, like I said,... you are limited to only about 1.5% of this ECM's settings. Calterm is an engineering level of software for cummins engines, and is not available to the bulk of repair shops and/or certified dealers, and is definitely not available for sale. There are places on the Internet that sell it, but they do so illegally. I am NOT going to go into detail on how to obtain ANY of these softwares or devices, but I do know I have seen them on many websites and dark corners of the Internet, just waiting to be downloaded and/or had for free. I just think it is a shame that engine/truck owners have to resort to Illegally obtained software to actually fix, tune, and keep running their own vehicles when it comes to computer related things. It is my opinion that Cummins has forced truck owners into this corner by NOT providing them with a reliable engine, under-training their own certified technicians, AND by trying to rip us off when we want to work on our own equipment by charging ridiculous prices for software that is way too limited. If these systems were not failing over and over, or if the typical 'certified' repair shop could reliably fix these issues, and/or if they provided the typical truck owner with reasonably priced tools and software so they could fix this stuff themselves, then the bulk of truck owners would not consider doing a delete to their motor. CUMMINS CREATED THIS PROBLEM!!!!!!,...I think,... ON PURPOSE!!!!!,.... so they can 'Milk Money' all of us to death, keeping our wallets drained of any profits we might have made,... AFTER the initial sale of the equipment. Learning Insite... There are plenty of websites and YouTube videos out there on using Insite for various things, so if you are not familiar with it, I would suggest starting by learning the basics of that software. This document is not going to be a long drawn-out how-to on the basics of the Insite software, so if you are NOT familiar with it, you should STOP READING!,... This document is for those individuals already familiar with the basics, that want to go beyond them. Calterm, on the other hand, since it is NOT available, and NOT very friendly, I will talk about. I am certainly NOT an expert on this Calterm Software, so the processes and information contained in this document are derived from testing, much research, and experimentation. That being said, I do NOT recommend using this information to modify a truck that is actually going to be used to haul freight, or has to pass EPA regulations!. I am not going to be responsible for someone using this information illegally, or for hacking up their engine and causing damage, so use this info and/or the Overlays with this document at your own risk, I take NO liability !... More about this document... I have spent many hundreds of hours, studying the different variations of the CM871 engine, its different calibrations, and its ECM. This document exists so that I can share a bit of the things I have discovered, along with what I have seen other so-called 'Super-Tuner' or 'ECM Delete' shops do. This document is not simply about how to do an EGR delete, but to also go beyond this, to maximize this engine's fuel efficiency to its extreme limits by use of the existing Variable Geometry Turbo (VGT). VG turbo's have the abilities to push the efficiency of a Diesel engine well beyond that of any Fixed Vein Turbo's of the past. Combine that with the ability to compensate for things like air quality and temperature, fuel quality and temperature, exhaust pressures, etc. and there becomes the potential to really push the limits towards efficiency. Engines of the past are in the Stone-Age compared to the levels that can be achieved with these extra sensors and devices. Because of this, it would be ridiculous to remove or bypass the turbo and/or these sensors, and it is my personal opinion that ANY of these so-called ECM Tuner shops that recommend the removal of, especially the VG turbo, ARE

COMPLETE AND UTTER FRIGGING' MORONS!!!!!!!!. They do these things because they do not understand them. If they did, they would use them to their advantage instead!.

I myself, and others, have tested these engines extensively, and have experimented with several different types of exhaust and intake manifolds, turbos, etc. including the BorgWarner that most of the delete shops push onto people. Even with high-flow intake and exhaust manifolds, and unlike the 'Big-Boy' shops, extensive testing has been done to go beyond what they do and actually re-mapping the entire engine to correctly match the charge flow curves of those turbos, they still are no match for the stock Holset VG turbos. Hands down, those Holset VGT's kicks the teeth out those big boss and other fixed type turbos in both power AND fuel efficiency on an ISX. Those Borg Warners provide too little charge pressure in the lower RPM ranges, and too much exhaust restriction in the higher rpm ranges, lowering the engines efficiency overall, compared to simply reprogramming the maps for the Holset. Another thing that has come of this information, as an almost unexpected result, is the fact that once the engine starts to achieve extreme high efficiency, the engine oil itself will start to stay clean (light brown) for several thousands of miles. How many of these newer big rig diesel engines have you seen that can do this