Dyno-Proven, Real-World Horsepower at the Diesel Event of the Year
As if offering the finest sled pulling action and the fastest diesel drag race vehicles in the nation wasn’t enough, the Scheid Diesel Extravaganza also provides a way for the lay person to find out how much horsepower (and torque) their truck makes. With two mobile chassis dynamometers onsite each year, dozens of diesel heads try their luck on the rollers. Some are humbled by their numbers, while others are pleasantly surprised — and a few rigs don’t survive!
Dan's Diesel Performance Dyno:
Bragging rights, testing purposes or simply finding out how many ponies your truck packs are all good reasons to hop on the dyno. Over the years, dyno competitions have become huge attractions for spectators and truck owners alike. We spent the majority of a day watching trucks run on the load cell dyno owned by Dan’s Diesel Performance. The company’s dyno has earned a reputation for being one of the more accurate units in the diesel industry in recent years, and as a result, it’s extremely popular.
In just two days’ time, 114 trucks were pulled on and off these rollers. From a 2,000-plus horsepower circus on wheels to a multitude of hot-running street trucks to a 6.0L Power Stroke popping a head gasket, you can check out all the dyno-tested rigs that caught our eye below.
The Dan’s Diesel Performance crew uses a DC-1800X model load cell dyno from Dynocom. The term "load cell" is key here, because a considerable amount of load needs to be placed on a turbocharged diesel truck in order for it to achieve maximum boost. Since more boost almost always means more horsepower, loading the trucks is the best method for replicating the type of load they see out on the street or at the track. The folks at DDP built this particular dyno into their 39-foot, triple break, dove tail gooseneck trailer, which allows them to travel to events with it and haul the competition trucks that they own. The dyno is rated for a maximum of 2,200 horsepower.
Cranking out over 900 horsepower on fuel, followed by 1,242 hp on nitrous, Tyler Brancifort’s 1,900 lb-ft ’11 Ford F-350 definitely attracted some attention. A 6.7L Power Stroke that was built by Street Diesel Performance resides under the hood, along with 100-percent over injectors from River City Diesel, an H&S Motorsports dual high pressure fuel kit (CP3 over stock CP4) and a billet S475 from Barder Turbo Service. An avid drag racer, Brancifort has also guided the truck through the quarter-mile in as quickly as 10.9 seconds.
Shawn Baca brought his dyno-melting, Industrial Injection-sponsored, common-rail Cummins all the way from Utah. This is the truck that competed in this year’s Ultimate Callout Challenge, where it made north of 2,400 hp in the dyno portion of the event. His Dodge would lay down a whopping 2,180-rwhp and 2,589 lb-ft, which was easily the most on the weekend.
Once it was off the dyno, Baca’s 2,180 hp Ram was the center of attention as the crowd that had gathered to watch him dyno naturally wanted a closer look at the truck. While taking a peek under the hood, we couldn’t help but notice that the engine sports massive pulleys on the CP3 pumps. Our first thought was that since Baca spins the engine higher than 5,000 rpm, the larger pulleys might be used as a way to slow down the speed of the pumps.
When you’re making an excess of 2,000 hp at the rear wheels, a massive amount of oxygen needs to be on tap. How do three 106mm turbochargers sound for airflow? Aside from the performance they provide, their polished compressor housings further add to the truck’s "wow" factor.
A lot of truck owners can be found on the dyno trying to back up the passes they’ve made at the dragstrip (or vice versa). Such was the case for this LMM Duramax powered Chevy Silverado 2500 HD owned by Reid Thoma, which put down 493 hp (and 899 lb-ft of torque). With the truck running high 12’s in the quarter-mile, that horsepower number definitely jives with his time slips. The truck’s only modifications are a built Allison 1000 automatic transmission, lift pump system and ECM/TCM tuning via EFI Live software.
Kyle Klein’s 7.3L powered, old-body style Ford laid down some impressive numbers while on the rollers. With a set of 238cc, 100 percent nozzle hybrid injectors from Unlimited Diesel Performance, a BorgWarner S468 and an electric fuel supply system, the big F-350 made 623 hp and 1,152 lb-ft of torque. The truck is shifted manually via a ZF-5 hand-shaker.
If a 6.0L Power Stroke survives two dyno pulls without puking coolant, throw some nitrous at it! That’s the attitude the owner of this 6.0L-powered Econoline Ford van had anyway. After making a best of 309 hp on fuel, the engine was ghetto fogged (meaning nitrous oxide was sprayed directly from the bottle into the turbo), picked up 62 hp and promptly blew a head gasket.
It’s not uncommon to find 6.0L Power Strokes leaking coolant, but we have a feeling the owner knew this might happen. Nevertheless, a ghetto fog scenario leading to a blown head gasket definitely puts on a good show, as the crowd seemed to enjoy it.
Bringing a big single turbo and a little nitrous to the party was Matt Campbell’s 6.7L common-rail Cummins. Its parts list entailed dual CP3’s, 150-percent over injectors, a 188/220 Hamilton cam and a billet 75mm S400 from Fleece Performance, which was good enough for 885 hp and 1,793 lb-ft of torque at the tires.
Below you can get a look at the billet S475 that feeds Campbell’s 6.7L Cummins (via the passenger side fender well). Its measurements are a 75mm compressor wheel (inducer), 87mm turbine wheel (exducer), mounts via a T4 turbine inlet flange and sucks incoming air in through a 5-inch ManTake (also from Fleece). While compound turbo arrangements make awesome power and offer great all-around drivability, big single chargers still have their place in the industry, as far as all-out horsepower goes. Plus, there is nothing more exhilarating than the rush you feel when a hard-hitting single turbo lights.
Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be. For Texas native, Clayton Stewart, the rush to finish up his Ford project for the Scheid event might’ve finally caught up with him on the dyno. With a slight coolant leak, he didn’t want to take a chance and possibly hurt the built 6.4L Power Stroke under the hood. After spending countless hours transforming this ’08 F-250 from a beat up, white welding rig into a spotless, short bed work of art, we don’t blame him for calling it quits before any damage could be done.
