Power Plays
POWER PLAYS
THE NEXT STEPS TO A
LONG-LIVED DIESEL
By BRUCE MALLINSON
A
will accelerate sooner and quicker and throttle response will
fter turbo boost and exhaust gas temperature gauges
increase.
and learning how to use each, the next engine addThe Jet Hot coating looks like chrome – much better under
on to help extend the life of your engine is a bypass
the hood than a rusted stock manifold.
oil filter.
Be aware of the imposters on the market today: Their maniBypass oil filtration has been around longer than I have,
fold actually flows worse than a stock manifold. They are not
and I’ve been in the trucking industry for 44 years. Why do
Jet Hot coated and are not flow tested.
we not see it factory-installed on new trucks? Cost.
Manufacturers want to save money wherever possible, and
bypass oil filters are not cheap. Installation requires time
High-performance vs. small,
and hoses, but the benefits far exceed the cost, especially on wastegated turbos
engines that employ exhaust gas recirculation.
Turbochargers on factory engines are generally too small
Remember when coal miners used to get the black lung
and create excessive back pressure in the exhaust manifold
from ingesting coal dust all day every day?
and combustion chamber during the exhaust
Your EGR engine is ingesting soot all day
stroke. With excessive back pressure, the enThe exhaust
every day, and it’s abrasive to the cross hatch
gine has to work harder to evacuate the exhaust
has to go through and exhaust gas temperature gets hotter, causon the cylinder liners. Once the cross hatch
is gone, the engine will consume oil and a
ing decreased performance and fuel mileage.
the exhaust
rebuild is necessary.
You can feel this in your foot when it’s on the
manifold, the
Bypass oil filters can greatly enhance the life
accelerator. It feels like you always have to
turbocharger and give it more fuel to keep the truck rolling, even
of the oil and the engine and most filter down
to 1 micron. The standard full flow oil filter on
on level terrain and slight downgrades.
then through the
an engine is somewhere between 20 and 40
Small, wastegated turbos are only good for
microns. The human eye can see 40-micron
city delivery. Over the road, a performance
dirt, and the clearance between a rod and main work together
turbo allows the engine to run free and obtain
bearing while the engine is pulling a hill is
better fuel mileage and lowers exhaust gas
to enhance the
about 2 microns.
temperatures.
performance and
At our shop, we sell the OPS1, the Spinner 2
Performance straight-through quiet mufflers
and the Harvard 1 micron Luberfiner. The FS
are a wonderful product, but the exhaust must
2500, Amzoil and Gulf Coast are all good filtraget through the turbine housing first. If it’s too
tion products, too.
small, the mufflers will not be as efficient.
When the engine uses its first gallon of oil, it’s indicating
The exhaust has to go through the exhaust manifold, the
the oil filters can no longer filter out dirt, and it’s the dirt
turbocharger and then through the muffler. The three work
between the piston rings and the cylinder walls that causes
together to enhance the performance and fuel mileage of the
the engine to use oil.
diesel engine and improve driving pleasure. I place a great
deal of importance on driving pleasure: The more enjoyment
you get from driving your truck, the better care you will give it.
Ported and Jet Hot-coated
I realize many owner-operators can’t afford to make all of
exhaust manifolds
the changes at one time, but if you make just one change and
These manifolds can improve exhaust flow by 20 percent
gain ¼ mpg in fuel mileage, you save enough to purchase
and lower exhaust gas temperature by 125 degrees, renderanother part in a month or two.
ing a ¼ mpg in fuel savings. In 100,000 miles of driving, ¼
mpg saves 1,000 gallons of fuel – about $4,000 at $4 a gallon.
Cooler temperatures are easier on the exhaust housing of
the turbocharger, the piston skirts and the exhaust manifold
Bruce Mallinson is the owner
itself.
of Pittsburgh Power, an engine
Once the manifold is ported properly and passes flow
performance shop in Saxonburg, Pa.
testing, the turbulence is removed, and the turbocharger
14 CUSTOM RIGS Spring 2012