I just bought your second issue of Diesel World, and I have to say, it's awesome. I will definitely be checking the newsstand until I can get a subscription. I have quite a few questions that I hope you can answer. I live in West Central Alberta, in an oilfield-based town. People spend a lot of money on their trucks, and there is no one within 200 miles that knows anything about diesel performance. I am looking at starting up a performance and off-road shop, but I need some help. The first and biggest problem that we have here is extremely dusty driving conditions. What I want to do is offer customers proven power enhancements that will work with our environment and driving conditions. I am looking for companies that offer different levels of performance upgrades that have been proven to work well together; for example, intake systems, power programmers, exhaust, turbos and injectors. Do you have any recommendations on who I could deal with?
Also, I was wondering who makes good lift kits, or if they are all pretty much the same? I have installed a couple of lift kits and I wasn't really impressed with all the modifications I had to make. Is that normal?
Another question I have is about injectors. I have seen on several occasions on '03-'04 5.9 Cummins where injectors are fried because of a power enhancing chip that was installed. Are there aftermarket injectors that should be installed to cure this problem?
I hope you can help me and I will be waiting for your response.
Rixon Keyes Alberta, Canada
Rixon, thanks for the compliments. Starting your own shop sounds like a challenge to us, but who's to say-could be easy for you. If it were us, we'd be working with the parts we knew. Some of the best shops have people inside who race, tow, and build diesels, so they get a sense of what works best pretty quickly. That's where we would bring our truck. Another thing we'd do is attend trade shows, such as the November Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, to get to know the industry and the manufacturers more closely.
Now on to lift kits; they do vary widely in terms of installation ease. We hear that generally speaking, the newer the design, the more precise the parts are likely to be. For older trucks, there are only older kits, and parts that might be generic...which could take more fitting. But we would say, if you aren't happy with the quality of one supplier, try someone else. There are at least 30 different suspension manufacturers out there.
And for the last question; we notice that lots of racers do have a hard time keeping the injection system cool in high-output situations. You might check in with a company like Dynomite Diesel Performance which specializes in injectors. They will probably be familiar with the parts and tactics that currently exist. We've dispatched a tech writer to investigate, but between now and then, you might check in with them at www.dynomitediesel.com.
Ford Power Stroke Incentives
You mentioned on page 16 of your Diesel World Magazine, Summer 2006 (Volume 1 Number 2) that Ford was offering $2,500 incentive to '03 and '04 Power Stroke owners. Is this offer only if you are trading/buying a new Ford? What to you mention or how do you get the incentive?
By the way - I love the issue of the mag. I am going to be purchasing a 2006 Dodge 2500 Mega in two days and will be installing the Banks Big Hoss system. It was perfect timing to have the article on installation of the Big Hoss.
Thanks, Dan
Dan, The owner loyalty bonus from Ford was available to about 250,000 owners of '03 and '04 6.0L Power Stroke Super Duty trucks. Unfortunately, it expired at the end of May. We placed a call to Ford to see if there were plans to extend the offer, but at the time of press we haven't heard back from them. If/when we get any new news, we'll pass it on to our readers. More Info On Veggie Fuel
I very much enjoyed your articles on the vegetable oil fuel systems in the Spring '06 issue of Diesel World.
While researching, I have come across only three manufacturers that seem professional and reputable (Frybrid, Golden Fuel Systems, and Greasecar). Do you know of any others or how I might find more info on the systems? I have a '99 F-350 that I'm interested in converting, not to mention a couple of tractors. Tom Miller Dry Creek, LA
Thanks for the question, Tom. Turns out we've had contact from one or two others with similar systems, so we know there are more out there. We're not sure we know how one is better than another, but we are getting some feedback. One reader, Neil Bishop from Washington State, has been using a system himself with good results. He figures his cost is about 70 cents a gallon, when all is said and done, and finds it very easy to get used cooking oil. He's been running 100 percent veggie fuel for about a year and a half. He likes the system he bought enough to become a dealer; you can check his site out at www.cascadebiodiesel.com. And then there have been others...such as the letter below.
Dear Editor,
I've just read your article in your first edition about converting diesels to another alternative fuel. The system that you mentioned was Frybrid. I've just installed the Plant Drive System which you might be interested in because it's one that readers with a little bit of do-it-yourself knowledge can install. I installed mine by myself in a weekend and am now running waste vegetable oil without a problem. This system is very simple and takes no rocket scientist to figure out. I own a marine repair shop and am now considering installing these systems in boats. I have developed a pump which makes it easy to filter out any impurities of the waste oil, thus making filters last longer and injectors clean. The Plant Drive System allows you to switch to vegetable oil a lot faster than other systems on the market and doesn't require you to heat the fuel tank in our mild Southern California temperatures. Your magazine is great and I look forward to future issues.
Miguel Zamora Hawthorne, California
Military Diesel Hybrid?
Hello,
Got to thinking the other day-just a part-time activity for me lately-about a truck kinda promised to us several years ago. There was an article in the Transportation section of the Sunday Chicago Tribune saying something about the Army being very interested in a new Dodge truck because it could not only provide transportation, but could furnish enough electricity to power a lot of communication gear. Seems this was to be a Diesel-Electric, what we now know as hybrids. With your contacts in Detroit, did you ever hear of this? When will it be on the market? Will it be a good choice to pull my 35-foot fifth wheel? Could you hop it up for drag racing by putting more batteries in the bed?
Bud Budzien Via The Internet
We also heard that the military was keenly interested in hybrids, and that since they ran pretty much everything off one fuel-diesel-these would be diesel-powered. However, what we heard described was something more like the GM hybrid pickup truck, a mild hybrid that could provide auxiliary power for computers, tools and appliances when stationary. The vehicle gets about eight percent better mileage by means of an engine start/stop system, but does not actually ever run on battery power alone.
Closer to what you have in mind might be the two-speed hybrid system being engineered by a consortium of GM/Daimler-Chrysler and other companies. This system will be made for trucks, could easily be adapted to diesel power, and is targeted for sale around 2008.
So far as we know, there is still no practical way to "hop up" a hybrid. This would be partly because of the proprietary software that controls hybrid systems, which is hard to improve on, and partly because battery pack size is generally matched to the output of the motor/generator unit(s). Now, with battery research progressing toward Lithium Ion battery packs, it is possible that different types of short-term improvements could be engineered. But for steady-state uses, such as towing, we suspect it would be hard to beat the OE software algorithms.
Likes Jeep CRD Sirs,
Good day, just finishing reading the first issue of Diesel World, and I just want to say thank you. It's about bloody time someone put to the test the new Jeep Liberty CRD. I really enjoyed the BD X Power Tech article. Now if you can, try to have a CRD as a project. If you do, it would be nice if you do a performance modules shootout between:
While you're there, might as well do a exhaust shootout between DynoMax, Borla and MagnaFlow. And what about air filters?
Anyway, with that article, you just have a new reader for life
Thank You, Roberto Medeiros Canadian Military
You probably saw, then, our comparison of two new controllers with exhaust on a Liberty CRD in the last issue? Thanks for reading, and do take care of yourself out there.
Subscribe?
I need some information on how to obtain a subscription to your magazine Diesel World and information on the cost.
Thanks. Shirley Laney Via E-mail
Shirley, the best way to subscribe would be to send in one of the blow-in cards in this issue. If that doesn't suit you, you can always call 866-368-5651 or 818-487-2077 to order by credit card. Also, you can subscribe online. Either way, you save a bunch compared to newsstand prices, plus you can be sure of getting every issue.
Diesel World Magazine Wants You...to ask us questions!
Got a question or a comment about something you've seen in this magazine? Maybe a project you're working on, or some news you'd like to share with an all-diesel audience? Letters, photos and e-mail are welcome. We can't always answer every one, but we'll read 'em all and select the most interesting to appear in this column in future issues.
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