Not only did we let the cats out of the bag, we now have them in our parking lot and in the shop. In fact, the cats are calling on the phone in search of the Pittsburgh Power Cat Box!
Mike Robinson, a high performance Caterpillar diesel engine technician from Washington DC, brought a test Cat which happens to be in a very clean 1999 Kenworth tri-axle dump owned by Kip Jones of Severn, Maryland (see photo below). This 550-3406E Cat had already been tweaked to 621 flywheel horsepower prior to Brian Moan of Diesel Injection of Pittsburgh installing the Pittsburgh Power Cat Box (computer). This was our first 3406E test of the new computer system and what a test it was. With dual 8" straight stacks it was rather easy to hear the 7 different power levels.
After the installation time of 3.5 hours, Kip and I headed for the hills on RT. 28 north of Pittsburgh. This computer “box” has 7 different power levels. Each click of the dial would be adding around 30 horsepower. We hit the first hill on level 5 and the hammer lane was ours - 771 HP showing on the digital readout and 54 pounds of turbo boost. Wow! Kip has a switch on his instrument panel which bypasses the waste gate on the turbocharger. That is why the boost was so high. We did not install a mechanical boost gauge to verify the reading. The 54 pounds of boost was showing on the digital readout on the Pittsburgh Power Box.
On the next hill I set the selector switch to zero, which means the engine is stock, and Kip rolled his foot to the floor and said the engine felt dead. Then we went to power level #1 and the sound of the exhaust changed, and the truck started to accelerate. With every click of the dial, the exhaust got louder, the
turbo began to scream and the KW accelerated up
the hill. All 7 power levels were distinguishable. On level 7, the digital readout was 840 horsepower. Please keep in mind that this 550 Cat was producing 621 horsepower - we added another 219 horsepower with the Pittsburgh Power Cat Box.
Upon returning to the shop, Mike Robinson and I both took our turn at the controls of this mountain lion, which is what is painted on the back of Kip’s cab and the engine. We all were thrilled with the results of our first test, so Mike and Kip took two more Pittsburgh Power Cat Boxes home to the Washington DC area to get ready for the Alban Engines Power Day 2002 on May 18th. In my opinion, there were three 3406E Cats at the Power Day with an unfair advantage.
On Sunday, May 12, 2002 Mike Robinson installed the second computer on another 550 3406E Caterpillar owned by Bruce Popp of Crofton Maryland. This Cat is powering a 2000 Peterbilt 378 with an 18-speed transmission and 4:11 rears. Bruce uses this truck for lowboy hauling in the Baltimore, Washington DC area. Mr. Popp was so happy with the Cat Box that he only used level 3 (90 additional HP) all day Monday hauling the lowboy delivering forklifts. Bruce Popp’s other truck is a 1991 Peterbilt 379 with a 3406B Caterpillar, which produces 710 HP to the ground, which is 835 flywheel horsepower. As you can see, Bruce Popp is a true connoisseur of horsepower and level 3 put a smile on his face. Bruce also owns a high performance Dodge pickup with a “B” series Cummins engine.
The Pittsburgh Power Cat Box also works on a
C-12 Caterpillar. Tim Soper of TWS Transportation in Indianapolis, Indiana owns a fleet of 18 trucks. Tim currently has a driver on a C-12 Cat with the Cat Box set to produce an additional 125 HP.
For more information about the Pittsburgh Power Cat Box, or if you would like a copy of my booklet on high performance Cummins diesel engines, visit www.dieselinjection.net or give Aimee a call at
724-274-4080. There is a $9.00 charge for shipping and handling. Just call us with your MasterCard, Visa, AMX or Discover card number and we will get one out to you. Or send us a check or money order to: Diesel Injection of Pittsburgh, 1403 Freeport Road, Cheswick, PA 15024. And you’d better catch those cats fast - it seems they are all getting away in a hurry.
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© 2002 10-4 Magazine and Tenfourmagazine.com
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