Pollution Emission Norms (BS4 Vs. BS6):The Good The Bad And The Clean

The BSES(Bharat Stage Emissions Standard), which is the governing organization for emissions from all types of vehicles in the country, introduced the first emissions= norms with the name "India 2000" in the year 2000. BS4 norms came into effect in the year 2017 with stricter emission standards or norms. Among the regulations set by the governing body, emission-related changes include tailpipe emissions, Electronic Control Unit(ECU), Ignition control etc. The most Visible Changes of them All was the Automatic Headlamp on(AHO)

The reason behind the introduction of AHO was keeping both the rider’s and pedestrian’s safety. The light remains on during the day as well, which makes it visible to passersby. However, the pass and the low and high beam light switch were kept untouched.

How is BS4 different from BS6?

The BS6 emission standard is the sixth iteration of the emission norm and comparatively, it’s a substantial leap in terms of reducing pollution compared to the outgoing BS4. This is also because the BS5 (BSV) has been skipped in an effort to move to better emission norms.

According to the upcoming emission norms, BS6-compliant two-wheelers should be 25 per cent cleaner than their BS4 counterparts. While BS4 vehicles are currently allowed a NOx (Nitrous Oxide) pollutant level of 80mg/km, BS6-compliant vehicles will have NOx levels reduced to 60 mg/km.

The transition from BS4 to BS6 has in most cases resulted in a minor drop in power. For example, the BS6 Yamaha Yzf R15 V3 gets a drop in horsepower from 19.3HP to 18.6HP compared to the BS4 version along with a price hike of 5000 INR (Ex-Showroom India). The features stay all the same, the BS6 edition comes with a new paint scheme and some new visual parts.

Credits: Maxabout.com

but then it gets a new motor with certain new features like idling start-stop that helps improve fuel efficiency as well. The reason to go for a BS6 vehicle despite the increased costs would be the added features. Also, you would be polluting the environment less.

PRICE HIKE

The road transport ministry has directed all states and Union Territories (UT) in the country to stop selling BS IV vehicles in India from 1 April 2020. With the ongoing lockdown, there are several unsold BS4 vehicles; however, the center has directed all states and UT to comply with the directive of selling only BS6 vehicles from 1 April 2020. The Ministry in its directive has also attached the Supreme court order to sell 10% BS4 vehicles of the total unsold stock,

For most two-wheeler manufacturers, transitioning their BS4 vehicles to BS6 require the introduction of fuel injection. According to TVS, vehicles already equipped with FI might see a price hike of 10 percent while the ones that require FI could see a price hike of 15 percent.

Big bikes being affected by the new norms

Most big bike manufacturers have their production facility set up overseas and cater to European and US markets. So essentially, most big bikes we get via the CKD and CBU route comply with the current European emission norms. Now Euro 5 norms (which is similar to BS6 norms) do not come into effect until 2021. This means bike manufacturers are not in a tearing hurry to upgrade to Euro 5

The pollution emitted from vehicles in India is measured by government agencies. They use the Air Quality Index (AQI) to gauge the level of pollution in a city. The AQI uses the below criteria to measure emission:

· Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

· Nitrogen Oxide (NO2)

· Carbon Monoxide (CO)

· Particulate Matter (PM)

· Ozone (OZ)

When the pollution levels are higher, it affects the health and some of the effects are:

· Respiratory and heart ailments

· Cancer

· Throat and lung infections, asthma

· Lowered alertness

· Lethargy

· Itchy eyes

· Anaemia

· Kidney ailments

The effects of higher pollution levels on the environment are:

· Global warming

· Contamination of air, soil and water

· Acid rain and smog

· Exhaustion of fossil fuel, the source for petrol and diesel.

Exhaust catalytic converter.

The new addition of BS6 compliant motorcycles trying to smooth their engine’s power delivery and bring the torque curve lower down in the rev range to where the engines are operating more efficiently. Doing so results in more efficient combustion, which results in fewer emissions for the catalyst material to clean up – i.e. less catalyst material required!

Stronger performance at lower RPMs will keep the target customers happy as well.

exhaust back pressure from all that catalyst material, and even the additional electrical load from addition of an FI(Fuel Injection) system can have an effect, and this will be more noticeable particularly on smaller capacity engines.

Then there’s the fact that engines have traditionally been tuned to run very lean in India and this is one of the reasons why our fuel-efficiency numbers are so good. We could get away with this because India largely has the same topographic and weather conditions. However, lean burning causes more NOx emissions, so we now have to move closer to stoichiometric (or perfect) combustion where all the fuel is burnt. More fuel is burnt in this process, which will result in a small drop in fuel efficiency, but then again, that should be offset by the lowered torque curves.