How to Pick the Right Fuel Injectors for Your Truck’s Engine

If you have a truck for long enough, you’ll start to understand the mechanics under the hood at a certain point. It just comes with the territory. You talk to mechanics and other truck owners, and before you know it, you are a bonafide expert.

One area of knowledge that is helpful to learn early is how to pick the right fuel injectors for your truck’s engine. Fuel injectors are an incredibly critical component of your engine. By reading this article, you’ll learn about their purpose and history. Most importantly, though, you’ll learn how to go about choosing the right one for your vehicle. When you need to purchase fuel injectors, you can come back to this article as a resource. Of course, you will need to make all the final decisions. But here, you will find invaluable guidance that will help you gain confidence as you make your choices.

What Is a Fuel Injector?

Simply put, fuel injectors are cylindrical coils of wire that work as magnets carrying an electrical current. This current actuates pistons quickly as part of the fuel delivery system in the engine. Fuel injectors receive and spray high-pressure gasoline mist into the engine. The vehicle’s computer controls them.

Before we jump into the finer points of how to go about choosing your truck’s fuel injectors, it’s necessary to explore the history of the invention. A quick review of how they grew to prominence will help you understand their importance in the vehicle.

History of Fuel Injectors

Although the idea of fuel injectors in vehicles is relatively new, fuel injector technology goes back over a century. In 1902, French aviator Leon Levavasseur used a prototype version in his airplane called the Antoinette 8V. This was the first V8 engine system in history.

In 1925, Swedish inventor Jonas Hesselman used an early type of direct gasoline injection on the Hesselman engine. His design inserted the gasoline into the engine at the last second of the compression stroke, which started the spark plug.

People later used fuel injectors widely during World War II. Their popularity has remained consistent since.

Now that we have a good idea of a fuel injector’s purpose and history, we can delve into the finer points of how someone should purchase one.

Do Not Go Overboard

It’s easy to assume that the big option is automatically the correct one. After all, Americans like things to be big. However, it is a mistake to choose the largest possible fuel injectors because they have impressive sizes. Large fuel injectors will not necessarily give off the high-power results you desire.

In fact, injectors that are too large for your system can actually do some pretty drastic damage. When you have a too-large injector, your engine will completely flood. Ultimately, you will see a damaged spark plug or an engine that is entirely out of commission.

Consider Other Options

Maybe considering other options sounds a little unorthodox since this is an article on how to pick the right fuel injectors for your truck’s engine. But many drivers make the mistake of believing fuel injectors are the best way to increase their power.

In truth, other options like adjustable fuel pressure regulators, larger exhausts, computer system tweaks, or bigger fuel pumps can make a massive difference in your vehicle’s power. Before you spend money on new fuel injectors, consider the other ways you can increase power. Some of these alternative avenues are cheaper and can offer just as many benefits.

High Impedance or Low Impedance

When you’re looking for the perfect fuel injector, you must decide between two different types. The two fuel injector types are high impedance and low impedance units.

• High Impedance Units: The high impedance injector, also known as a saturated injector, has a high resistance value of approximately 12 ohms across the coil. However, it runs low current levels so that the circuitry remains cool.
• Low Impedance Units: A low impedance injector utilizes low resistance coils with around two to three ohms. But it also uses higher current levels to operate. These injectors do not constantly run at their required amp rate, or they would risk overheating and damaging the drivers if they did so. A switching device is in the circuit. This device opens the injector, and then when the injector sprays, it reduces the current.

Do Not Underwhelm Your System

Although you do not want to choose fuel injectors that are too big, you also do not want your engine to run on injectors that are not powerful enough. If your truck contains modifications that increase its horsepower, you must have enough fuel for the engine to keep up. Larger fuel injectors prevent you from having sluggish systems and burned-out pistons.

Review Key Factors

Before you can decide on a fuel injection system, you must have a handle on the amount of horsepower your vehicle produces. For one, you need to know if you have a supercharged or turbocharged vehicle.

The generic term “supercharger” describes an air compressor that increases the density or pressure of the air entering the engine. A “turbocharger” is simply a supercharger that a turbine powers in the exhaust system instead.

Speak With Experts

Working with an expert will give you the information you need to make an educated decision about your fuel injectors. Using an expert’s opinion, you will find fitting parts to optimize your truck’s performance, as well as protect it from damage.

Find a place where there are diesel fuel injectors for sale. If the professional you speak to is worth their salt, they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Summation

You should bring this article along as a guide while finding the ideal fuel injectors. Here, you have the historical context, useful suggestions, and bits of information to make a wise decision.

As a truck owner, you want to make sure your vehicle has the parts it needs to drive without a problem. All engines need three vital elements to keep their power: air, sparks, and fuel. Without any one of these elements, a truck will not work properly. Therefore, the fuel injection process is vital because it brings the fuel to the internal combustion engine.