Question:
Dear Motorhead,
I was at my dealer last week inspecting a new ’09 Ski-Doo TNT 600 E-TEC that was prepped for delivery the next day. As required, the EPA emissions hang tag was in-place.
Imagine my surprise when I saw that the NER rating number on the tag was 4.6 vs. the 2.6 rating that Ski-Doo published for the limited release models.
Seems like a fairly large order-of-magnitude change and really not that much better than the previous SDI or a Polaris 600 CFI.
Any guess about the increase in the NER emissions rating for the E-TEC engine?
Harrison
Response:
Thanks for your email!
You, sir, are a highly observant sno-mo-buyer. Yes, the E-Tec 600’s NER has gone up since the limited builds last year.
We are told a number of factors influenced a re-mapping of the system.
Here are some answers. First and foremost, according to SD insiders, fuel economy is not negatively impacted by this change.
It became apparent pretty early-on last winter after our E-Tec had reached it’s max break-in and the ECU went into full power mode that the E-Tec engine was somewhat softer – particularly in initial throttle response – than the SDI.
Truth is, the E-Tec engine at that point was down about 2 HP from the SDI.
The remapping for the full build MY 09 production motors has added peak HP making the E-Tec full measure against the SDI 600.
Oil consumption has not changed according to SD. In essence, more power requires more fuel at certain RPM and throttle openings which are part of the EPA certification cycle. This is why the NER has changed.
It would make sense to assume fuel economy might suffer however, you must understand the EPA duty cycle for certification is not what happens in the real world. Again, fuel economy is not expected to suffer.
Here’s what I’ll do for you. Outside the Supertrax offices right now is rideable snow. We have a couple of new E-Tec’s ready to rip and are working on getting them through the break-in cycle as fast as possible so we can independently verify what SD is saying.
Stay tuned and we’ll keep you informed.
Motorhead Mark
