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8V-71's are still manufactured by Detroit Diesel today. They are probably one of the most widely used diesels in the world in their horsepower class. They are a design that was introduced in the 1940's, so are naturally not up to modern noise, emission, and fuel economy standards. The most common HP rating for the 8V-71 was 318 HP (at sea level. They suffer from altitude just like a naturally aspirated gasoline engine. They ARE considered naturally aspirated even though they have a gear driven rootes type positive displacement supercharger on them. The displacement of the 'blower' is exactly the same as the displacement of the engine, so consequently no boost pressure is developed. There is no provision for 'overdriving' the blower. There is a turbocharged version of the 8V-71 which is called the 8V-71T. These do not suffer deration due to altitude and are much quieter. 8V-71 means 8-cylinders with 71 cubic inches each, or a total of (8 X 71) 568 cubic inches. This is not realy very big when you consider that almost all big trucks are powered by 855 or 893 cubic inch engines. But an 8V-71T in a motor coach is a hot son of a gun! Greyhound busses routinely got 500,000 miles between overhauls on these engines pulling 35,000 lbs gross weight. Most truckers are dealing with 80,000 lbs weight so consequently get considerably less longevity and less performance from an 8V-71 than they do other larger engines. |
RV and bus conversion info since 1996.
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