Suzuki has always been a brand that looks to bring ground-breaking technology and world-first innovations to the masses. They do this by developing ‘value-packed products’ with a focus on the customer.

 

Back in 2008, the clever technicians in Suzuki Marine’s R&D Centre in Hamamatsu, came up with something called Lean Burn Fuel Control. This is a system within the ECU that enables the supply of the precise fuel and air mixture that the engine requires at any given moment, depending on the navigation conditions.

 

This project became the focus for Suzuki’s Marine Engineers and after months of development and hundreds of hours testing the new outboards on a variety of boats to achieve optimum results, the new Lean Burn Control System was ready to bring to market.

 

It was first introduced on Suzuki’s DF70A, DF80A and DF90A models and when in ‘Lean Burn mode’ allows the engine to run on a more efficient fuel mixture through the use of a lean air-fuel ratio. A normal petrol engine will run with an air fuel ratio of 14.7:1, whereas a Lean Burn system can increase this as high as 19:1, which is a significant increase in efficiency. The Lean Burn process requires fuel to be injected into the cylinder at a precisely controlled rate and volume with a richer air-fuel mixture at the start of the injection cycle, assisting ignition, to a weaker one at the end.

 

This creates a longer burn time and a more controlled explosion of the fuel over the full downward stroke of the piston. This in turn means that there is power over the whole combustion stroke and subsequently a more efficient and complete burning of all the fuel available, leading to more power for less fuel and less emissions.

 

Although it is most effective at cruising speeds, it consistently results in significant improvements in fuel economy right across the rev range and not just in one ‘sweet spot’. Suzuki therefore quickly rolled out this new technology to all of its electronic fuel injection models and Lean Burn is now a mainstay of its product range being included on all models from DF9.9B through to its flagship model the DF350A.

 

Now more than ever, Suzuki’s Lean Burn Fuel Control is proving to be a very useful product feature. With the rising cost of fuel becoming an increasingly important factor for customers deciding what outboard to buy, Suzuki’s Lean Burn Fuel Control is helping boaters around the world to get the most out of every single drop of fuel that they put into their boats.

 

When combined with other technologies that Suzuki employs, such as multi-point sequential electronic fuel injection and variable valve timing, long track intake manifold and multi-stage induction, its range of mid to large horsepower outboards become a very attractive power option for leisure and commercial users. After all, a more fuel-efficient outboard means reduced running costs!

 

Mark Beeley, Head of Marine & ATV for Suzuki GB said, “The development of the Lean Burn Control System demonstrates Suzuki’s commitment to constantly looking forward in order to introduce improvements and innovations in our product offering. The original brief was to create an intelligent fuel management system that made our outboard motors even more fuel efficient and allow the end users to spend more time out on the water and less time at the fuel dock, which I can safely say has been achieved.”