Engines on Wheels around Europe

John Deere Power Systems is taking its line of Stage 5 /Tier 4 Final diesel engines on tour around Europe to be presented directly to customers.

Power Progress International has been invited to the Italian stop, hosted by the official John Deere distributor Rama Motori in a very special location: the Ruote Da Sogno showroom in Reggio Emilia, a paradise for car and motorbike enthusiasts with over 400 classic bikes and 250 cars on display for sale.

The location in Reggio Emilia is significant also because the city is in the hearth of the Motor Valley – the Land of Motors - also known as the place where speed was born, which encompasses all of the Emilia Romagna region but is particularly concentrated in the area spread across the Reggio Emilia and Modena provinces.

It is the place where world-class car and bike manufacturers are headquartered, the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ducati, and where a few renowned car and bike racetracks are located.

It is also a region where a successful industry has flourished around the automotive market and is nowadays a cluster of Tier 1 and 2 suppliers offering all kind of quality components, systems and services.

The John Deere Roadshow aims primarily at introducing the latest additions to the internal combustion engine line, namely the larger unit in the series – the JD18 – and the most compact one, the JD4.

The new JD18 is an 18-L displacement unit and is the biggest six-cylinder inline in the JD lineup ever. It delivers up to 677 kW and up to 4250 Nm torque at 1400 r/min.

It mounts high-pressure common rail fuel injection, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and two turbochargers in series: one variable geometry (VGT), one wastegate (WGT). The JD18 needs no aftertreatment to meet current emissions regulation worldwide and as such can be sold and be operated anywhere in the world.

Thanks to the absence of aftertreatment, the JD18 allows to save on the use of urea. Enrico Menozzi, Rama Motori’s Product Manager John Deere, said that the company carried out some tests on the engine which showed how at the current price per liter of urea, the engine saves about €3000 for 1000 operating hours.

The JD18 features three power take-offs (PTOs): two in the rear and one in the front directly on the gear train, which ensures a high power-out capability.

The JD4 is a four-cylinder inline engine which delivers up to 120 kW at 2200 r/min; it will replace in part the current John Deere 4.5-L unit.

The JD4 has been designed for less complexity with an integrated cabling harness; less complexity had an influence also on the engine’s size: the JD4 engine weights 30% less than the 4.5-L unit (about 100 Kg less) and is 30% more compact in its envelope dimensions. At the same time, it delivers a better fuel economy between 3 and 5 % and achieves 25% better power density.

The four-cylinders mounts an aftertreatment system that can be directly positioned on the engine or remote-mounted. It also features three PTOs.

Despite the difference in size and delivered power between the JD4 and the JD18, both engines feature maintenance-free hydraulic lash adjustment (HLA) of the valve train and maintenance intervals increased to 750 hours.

Menozzi explained that Rama Motori has an extended network across the Italian territory, with 22 authorized service centers (half of whom also deal with marine applications) and a group of eight technicians in-house: four for pre-sales, led by Giorgio Benatti, and four for post-sales, led by the certified John Deere Master Technician, Davide Giuliani.

According to Menozzi, Rama Motori’s first application market in Italy is agriculture and today applications in industrial market are growing significantly.

He also explained how nowadays the function of the engine distributor involves also being a professional consultant for the customer: “John Deere expects its distributors to be reliable and capable of following the market even after the engine is chosen and installed. We also need to be able to recommend to our clients the best product for their application and needs.”

He added that the engine today is actually a system in itself, therefore the role of Rama Motori is also to be capable to integrate all the various peripherals in the best configuration for the client’s use; this includes not only the radiator, but also the controls, cables, and aftertreatment including urea tank and fluid management.

Rama Motori is among the top five John Deere engine distributors in the world and won the Diesel Progress Award 2023 for best Engine Distributor – International.