Because the two-stroke diesels fire each time the piston reaches TDC, there are more power strokes per revolution. When you are folowing a sharply-changing load like a generator supplying a building where the elevators start abruptly for example, the Jimmy has it's cylinders firing at a much greater frequency, and therefore has a better chance to "pounce" on the load and maintain RPM since in a V8 Detroit for instance, you have a power stroke every 45 degrees of crankshaft rotation. Jimmys are QUICK on the trigger! I do a lot of generator testing and the big twelve and sixteen-cylinder Jimmys are superb generator engines. Messy, yes; noisy, yes; not really fuel efficient, yes; but if I am on the operating table of a big medical center, I would definitely want Detroit Diesels down in the standby generator room.
