10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

January 2007 - Performance Zone
KEEP IT IN THE GRASS
By Performance Specialist Bruce C. Mallinson

When in the grass, keep it in the grass! This might not pertain to diesel engines but it does pertain to driving. When I got involved in road racing at Nelson Ledges Road Course in Warren, Ohio, one of the first things we were taught was when you get the race car in the grass, keep it in the grass until you’re in 2nd gear. Now keep in mind, our cars only had four gears, so if you could get it down into second gear you were only doing about 20 to 30 mph.

The reason for “keeping it in the grass” when you lose control, at speeds well above 100 miles per hour, is because the grass is a very slippery place to be. When you turn the steering wheel to come back onto the asphalt, even though you have slowed down to about 70 or 80 mph, you feel as though you’re going slow. However, the grass is like ice at that speed. When you turn the wheel, the car will go into a slide, and you don’t want it to hit the edge of the asphalt while sliding because a rollover will likely occur.

When driving along the interstates, many times you will see the tracks of a vehicle that went into the medium, tried to come back to the highway and went into a slide. And, in that situation, with a semi, the chances of a jack knife are almost definite. Just keep it going straight and stay in the grass until you have slowed to about 20 mph or less. Your chances of avoiding a horrific accident are much better if you don’t “fight” with your truck.

The other evening on the news they showed an SUV driving in the left lane. A vehicle in the right lane suddenly came over on the driver of the SUV so she swerved into the grass to avoid an accident. The driver then turned the steering wheel in an attempt to come right back onto the road. The SUV went into a triple roll, killing her daughter who was the passenger. She had avoided the first accident by swerving into the grass medium, and would have been okay if only she would have stayed in the grass. Trying to come back onto the highway is the worst thing to do. When in the grass, keep it in the grass! Got it? Good!!

Would you like to have another quarter-mile-per-gallon of fuel mileage? Remember, a quarter mpg improvement saves you 1,186 gallons over 150,000 miles of driving. At $2.75 per gallon, that’s $3,261 savings to you each year. This figure is based on a truck getting 5.5 mpg and improving it to 5.75 mpg. Along with the quarter mpg increase in efficiency, the exhaust temperature will run slightly cooler and the exhaust manifold will not burn out as quickly. To really put the icing on the cake, it looks great! What we are talking about here is a ported exhaust manifold that has been flow-tested before and after eight hours of grinding has been done on the inside of the manifold. The ports are not enlarged, just reshaped, and the rough edges are removed. When an increase of 110 cubic feet of air per minute (CFM) is obtained, the engine will gain one-quarter mpg. The average improvement to each manifold is 120 to 160 CFM.

Once the porting and machining of the gasket surfaces are completed, the exhaust manifolds are then Jet Hot coated to withstand temperatures of 1,600 degrees. These manifolds look like they are chrome plated when completed. The Jet Hot Coating on the inside of the manifold reduces friction, keeps the heat out of the cast iron and allows more of the exhaust heat to travel to the turbo. Because of the greater flow, the engine breathes better and the truck will run more freely. The Jet Hot Coating on the outside of the exhaust manifold reduces corrosion, helps to keep the heat inside the manifold and helps to make the turbocharger more efficient. Remember, heat is energy and by not absorbing it in the cast iron, the manifold will live longer, the turbo will spin quicker and the engine will breathe better. Plus, the Jet Hot Coating looks great (see photo)!

These manifolds are now available for exchange (a good core is necessary for trade in). Most exhaust manifolds, especially on Cats and Detroits, will have cracks in the center section, so a new center manifold section may have to be purchased. I almost forgot to mention that an additional improvement of 25 to 35 horsepower will be realized, which means you should gain a half gear on the hills. Sound good? Give us a call at Diesel Injection of Pittsburgh and we’ll hook you up.

So, if you’re looking to gain fuel mileage, you can’t cry at your wallet. You will have to spend money in order to make money. A stock truck is not fuel-efficient. The Pittsburgh Ported Exhaust Manifold will gain you one-quarter mpg; the Pittsburgh Power Performance Computer will gain you 3/10 mpg; the FASS Fuel System will give you another quarter mpg; our straight-through quiet mufflers, yep, another quarter mpg; and Lucas Fuel Conditioner, used properly, could give you an additional quarter mpg or more. Do the math - these upgrades could improve your mileage more than a mpg or more! And driving without the cruise control on the rolling hills could add another half mpg. That’s right – cruise control on rolling hills eats fuel, so you’re better off driving by the boost gauge and using your right foot.

Yes, it costs money to obtain fuel mileage. However, the amount you save the first year will be four times greater than what you spent to get the fuel mileage. Remember, as performance improves, fuel mileage improves; it’s a win-win situation. If you have any performance-related comments or questions, feel free to call me at (724) 274-4080 or send me an e-mail to bruce@pittsburghpower.com.