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Emissions Certified High-Performance Gen. IV Marine Engines
Increased Performance and Cleaner Running Engines!
On January 2, 2009, California Environmental Protection Agency - Air Resources Board (ARB) rules came into effect that essentially changed the nature of high-performance boat engines. For the first time in the history of high horsepower powerboating, regulations were enacted that would severely restrict the amount of hydrocarbons (HC), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) exhausted from the engines. Effective, January 2, 2009, no high-performance boat could be registered in California without a marine engine that met the regulation and had passed the ARB qualification tests. For the purposes of government regulations high- performance marine engines were regarded as any engine that makes more than 500HP, a power output level that all Ilmor High-Performance Marine engines easily exceed.
The ARB rules for high-performance emissions were first placed into law in California in 2003 with the provision that they could be amended prior to the January 2, 2009 implementation date. Ilmor worked closely with other high- performance marine companies, NMMA and ARB to help create rules that were not only reasonable for the engine manufacturer but met all California ARB's expectations with regard to emissions output. The result of the changes would ensure high-performance engines are cleaner and more environmentally friendly than ever before.
The passage of the regulation meant Ilmor engineers had to begin work on a group of modifications to the MV-10 range of engines. Improvement to emissions output needed to be made at idle, at part throttle and at full throttle. No area of the engines operating range could be left unchanged. Modifications were made to the camshaft, cylinder heads, pistons, intake manifold, and ignition system and required the creation of a new engine electronic control unit. The Ilmor "ICE" system gave our emissions calibration engineers all the tools they needed to not only meet the new regulation but exceed it by a considerable margin.
The California regulation is not the first; the European Recreational Craft Directive (RCD) forced all high-performance marine engine manufacturers to be emissions compliant ahead of the new ARB requirements. Emissions certification is a requirement for engine manufacturers to obtain their European CE label. Additionally, the U.S. EPA is phasing in regulations starting in 2011. By then, all European countries governed under the EU, all 50 states in the U.S.A. and a host of other nations worldwide will require all marine engines, small and large, to be certified before they can be registered (race engines are exempt).
Ilmor High-Performance Marine is very proud of its new range of performance boat engines. We have passed all required certification tests for California, achieving a 3-Star, Ultra-Low certification level, and for all countries of the European Union. Our new for 2009 model year MV-10 engines are not only cleaner and more fuel efficient but more powerful too.
