10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

February 2005 - Performance Zone

TORQUE & POWER
And Other Performance Tid-Bits, By Bruce C. Mallinson

As a reader of 10-4 Magazine, you probably enjoy the feeling of torque from your engine. Most truckers do. But many worry that too much torque will damage their transmission. Truth is, it’s not the torque that’s the issue – it’s how you use it. When horsepower is increased in an engine, the torque also increases. However, it is very seldom necessary to use all of the power that is available to you.

Sharp owner-operators DO NOT have transmission problems related to torque, but many company drivers do because they floorboard the throttle and use all of the power the engine can muster when starting out and going up through the gears. Most owner-operators know better than to do that. Talented drivers, pulling sleds at truck pulls, using engines that are built to 900 horsepower and 3000 foot-pounds of torque, in front of 12-5-13-speed transmissions rated for only 1200 foot-pounds of torque, still do not have transmission problems.

My brother Brian Mallinson, at the age of 44, started driving an 18-wheeler. The first time I took him up the interstate I said to myself, “This poor transmission will never last with him.” He was a rookie, and never had the opportunity to drive a Class 8 truck. For the first year, his 1990 Marmon was powered by a stock 444 Cummins which produced 1400 foot-pounds of torque and had a 14-6-13-speed transmission. The second year, we increased the flow to the injectors, installed a dual fuel line kit and fuel preporator, and reworked the fuel pump. The 444 Cummins now produces 700 horsepower and 2200 foot-pounds of torque. By rights, the 1400 series Eaton transmission should never stand up to this engine, but it does. This truck runs so good, all the driver has to do is move the throttle half of an inch and the loaded semi moves along effortlessly. And, over the long haul, this transmission has only had a bearing kit installed in it at slightly over a million miles. When you have a great running truck, you will use less power to start out and to keep the load moving once you get going.

I’m sure that you have noticed how trucks are driven at truck stops, rest areas, or just pulling out from a traffic signal or stop sign. You sure can tell whether it’s a company driver or an owner-operator. If you are a company driver who is conscientious about how you drive, please don’t take offense. And I’m sure that as a reader of 10-4, you appreciate a great running truck and accelerate easily.

Remember when the K Series Cummins engines were released in 1974? Back then, the strongest tranny was a 12-5-13-speed, rated at 1200 foot-pounds of torque. The K Series’ 600 horsepower and 1150 cubic inches put out way more torque than 1200 foot-pounds, yet we did not have transmission issues back then. If you use the power to keep the load moving at highway speeds, the torque is not a factor in regards to the life of the transmission.

Now if you’re a heavy hauler, with excessive power, you must use the power wisely. Sunbelt CCH, Inc. recently moved the largest load I have ever seen. It was a missile launching pad and the gross weight of the pad and rig was 504,000 pounds, and was 304 feet long. Sound impossible? Well, there were 29 axles under this load with remote-controlled, steerable dollies. JR Nutting was the driver of the 379 Pete (powered by a 550 Cat with a Pittsburgh Power Performance Computer) used to pull this load. A second rig, a 359 Pete (powered by a 425-B mechanical Cat) pushed the load from behind. That’s right, it took two tractors to move this load, and it took two months to go from Cape Canaveral, Florida to San Diego, California. At times, this rig moved at 55 mph, and no transmission failures occurred during the trip.

Horsepower and torque, when properly used, will never hurt the driveline of today’s trucks. Anything can be beaten into the ground – it’s up to you, the driver, to keep it ALIVE! Start out easy, roll into and out of the throttle, and even when you’re accelerating at highway speeds, apply the throttle with ease. If you roll smoke from your stacks, you are pushing too hard on the throttle! So now that we’ve discussed torque, let’s move on to horsepower.

Let’s face it, you purchased your 12.7 liter Detroit for fuel mileage and not for power or fun. So then your good friend buys a Cat or an ISX Cummins and is now always out of sight and constantly waiting for you to catch up. Trying to play catch up all day long causes you to lose your precious fuel mileage because your foot is always in the throttle. You feel bad knowing that you have one of the smallest engines out on the highway, so you buy a big radio so everyone can hear you and think you have a large car. But the real large cars still go blowing past you on the mountain. It’s a terrible feeling to be at the back of the pack, never being the lead dog. And these feelings go way back to High School. After all, what was more important than your ride when you turned 16 and got your first car? Well, if you were a gear-head then, chances are you still are now. My Father was and still is at 90 years old – and so am I.

So when your truck doesn’t run up to your expectations, you take it into a normal dealership where they hook it up to their computer and then tell you that everything is within specifications and that the engine is producing all the power that it can. Don’t believe them! The Pittsburgh Power Computer just may be the answer to your power problems. There are 9 power settings on the Detroit Computer and 7 on the Cat and Cummins Computer. You select the amount of power required to satisfy your needs. Finally, you are in command of your engine. Now your Detroit Diesel will produce 632 horsepower on power level 4 – and you still have 5 power settings to go.

I know this sounds like a shameless plug (and it is) and that the Pittsburgh Power Computer is expensive, but they really do work. We are so confident in this product that we’ll give you this guarantee: if the computer doesn’t put a smile on your face and make the hair on your arms stand up when pulling a hill, just send it back within 30 days and you will get all of your money back. How can you lose?

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got, or less. Isn’t it time for you to start enjoying the art of driving. Without performance, truck driving is just work. With performance, you’re smiling! Which sounds better to you? For more details, call (724) 274-4080 or visit www.dieselinjection.net and see for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.