10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

November 2006 - Performance Zone
KEEPING YOUR COOL
By Performance Specialist Bruce C. Mallinson

As a reader of 10-4 Magazine, you are obviously the type of owner-operator that likes to be kept informed about what is going on in the trucking industry, and you certainly have a lot of pride in your ride. However, to be “kool” you must be able to keep it cool! Let’s talk a little bit about radiators.
Why did we not have problems with high water temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s? Do you think it could be due to the fact that the OEM’s have installed smaller radiators in their trucks? A smaller radiator core, or one with less tubes and fins, would cost less – and they do purchase several thousand radiators per year – which could add up to a lot of money. Bean counters are the final consumer’s enemy. Their attitude seems to be: make it cheap, get it through the warranty and save the corporation a lot of money.

So along comes Mr. Owner-Operator, who purchases the top-of-the-line truck and thinks he is getting the best of vehicles. This new truck should service him well for the next 10 years. So why is it that he can’t get over the overpasses without seeing his water temperature gauge rise to 210 to 220 degrees? Forget the mountains – we are taking about slight grades for a quarter mile. So into the dealership he goes, and they change the water temperature gauge. Next trip, they change the thermostat, then the water pump, but the engine still runs hot. Then, the dealer tells him that his engine is supposed to run at 220 degrees.

But some of us are from the old school, and we remember when trucks ran between 180 and 190 degrees, which is the temperature that we still expect to see on the temperature gauge. Yes, sometimes it’s hard to teach us old dogs new tricks. I use the word “trick” because that is what this is – a new trick – which the manufacturers are trying to pull on us. And the reason I say its a trick is because when you install one of our high tech radiator cores on your truck, your water temperature problems go away. No more driving by the temperature gauge. Even in Death Valley, pulling an Army Tank on a lowboy trailer grossing 160,000 pounds with a W900-L Kenworth and an outside air temperature of 122 degrees, the water temperature stays low. This Kenworth, owned by Dave Tennessen of Arlington, Texas only reached 196 degrees.

Dave used to drive this truck by the water temperature gauge, but now he only glances at the gauge from time to time because he now has a cool running truck. Outside air temperature, altitude and the size of the load will NOT produce high water temperatures when one of our high tech radiator cores is installed on your truck. Some other owner-operators out there that are enjoying a cool running truck include Lloyd Wayland, Calvin Gactch, Carl Peck, Mike Perkins, Tom Baslik and Mike Pattison. What about you? Do you have a cool running truck?

What drove us to develop a radiator core of this magnitude? Many of you who know me have seen my 1989 T-600 Kenworth that pulls my RV. This rig is 83 feet long, weighs 49,480 pounds and rides on six axles with 18 tires. While leaving the Las Vegas Truck Show in 1999, the 500 horsepower mechanical Cummins engine that powers my KW just didn’t want to pull as hard as she usually does. At the time, the ambient temperature was 113 degrees and I was pulling a long grade on I-15 in southern Utah when I noticed that the water temperature was hovering at 210 degrees. As I was starring at the gauge wondering what was going on, it jumped to 220 degrees, then a buzzer went off and the engine shut down. I did not even know this ex-fleet truck of mine had a shut-down system. I had to restart the engine while coolant was gushing out of the radiator and pull the rig off the interstate. I opened the hood and got sick to my stomach, seeing my engine puking coolant and knowing that I did that to her.

The RV that I pull with my Kenworth carries 225 gallons of fresh water so, as soon as I could, I began adding cool water to the radiator. I knew then, upon my return to Pittsburgh, a better radiator core was needed for the industry. When you hurt the vehicle that makes your existence possible, it hurts your mental well-being. It’s the opposite of a natural high – it’s a severe low. I try to do what ever possible to avoid those lows. I much prefer the “high” obtained by driving a great running truck, pulling a load, up a hill.

Speaking of a natural high (an adrenaline high), which is what puts a smile on your face when you look at your truck and know that she will charge up a mountain ahead of all the other trucks that are crawling, is what the Pittsburgh Power Performance Computer is all about. You get to decide how much power you need to get the job done. Keep in mind, this performance computer has more power available than your engine can probably use. That is why most owner-operators only use power level 3 or 4.

I heard that there was an owner-operator in New England that was upset with the Pittsburgh Power Computer on his Detroit because he could not use all of the power levels. Apparently, he has a DD4 with a small waste-gated turbo. With the stock turbo it is impossible to get 725 horses from his 500 horsepower 12.7-liter engine. However, if he changes the turbo to a larger one, he can use more power levels. He also might need to change to straight through quiet mufflers to eliminate some of the back pressure.

I ask you, is it better that I give you more power than you can use? I love RESERVE power – that is what a trucker really needs! Don’t be afraid of power but remember, if you can’t keep it cool, you will have problems (especially out west). If you have any questions or concerns regarding diesel engine horsepower and/or efficiency, send me an e-mail at bruce@pittsburghpower.com or call me at Diesel Injection of Pittsburgh at (724) 274-4080.