My Blog

Tag: diesel

  • World's Largest Diesel – The Wartsila-Sulzer RTA9-….Nevermind.

    When the Cadillac 472ci came out in 1968, they were a giant in the world of displacement. While still a large motor, it has now been overshadowed.

    The Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C Turbo 2 stroke diesel engine is the most powerful and most efficient Diesel motor in the world today. These engines were designed primarily for very large container ships that need ridiculous amounts of torque to move.

    National Speed Worlds Largest Diesel Motor

    (Note the stairs leading into the crankcase!)

    Let’s talk numbers here: How does 1,556,002 Cubic Inches sound? That’s equivalent to 25,480 liters. Take that Honda! The 14 cylinder version of the inline diesel motor produces 108,920 horsepower. Sure that sounds pretty astronomical, but not when compared to its astounding 5,608,312 ft/lbs of torque. Holy cow! You can forget about taking this baby to a 9k redline though — this motor tops out at a blistering 102rpm. You can also get rid of your hopes of a 50/50 weight distribution too because this motor weighs 2300 tons.

    National Speed Worlds Largest Diesel Motor Piston

    (Worlds Largest Piston)

    I wouldn’t expect to hear about some crazy motor swap considering I’m sure it’s hard to find something else suitably sized. It’s interesting to see how far you can push the mechanical limits sometimes, and I hope that the (deep breath) Aioi Works of Japan’s Diesel United, Ltd. (whew..) keeps pushing the limits.

  • Turbodiesels – Not just for your Truck.

    I honestly think the Turbodiesel is the way of the future.

    National Speed - Diesel Smoke Cloud

    Countries with astronomic gas prices have been using them for years…why has it taken so long to catch on in the United States? The UK has diesel powered EVERYTHING and 40% of new cars sold are Diesel Powered. Sure, we have them in our Turbodiesel Powerstroke/Cummins powered trucks, but what about the economical reasoning behind it? There’s a common misconception about black smoke being emitted from Diesel powered vehicles. Most people seem to think that because there is black smoke, it is “dirty”. In fact, diesel burns MUCH cleaner than gasoline.

    National Speed - Diesel BMW 123d

    Let’s use the BMW 123d for our example. A Turbodiesel sportscar you say? Blasphemy! I think not. Here’s some numbers to boggle your mind for a moment. How about 201 horsepower and 295ft/lbs of torque. A top speed of 148mph? Perhaps a 0-60mph time of 7 seconds dead. Sure, they may not be blockbuster statistics, but how about this one: 54.3 Miles Per Gallon. While the BMW is one of many examples, I know that the US will see a surge of Turbodiesel powered vehicles in the future.

    National Speed - Diesel Audi R10 TDI

    The Diesel Powered Audi R10 TDI racecar won LeMans in 2006 and surely that must be saying something. A race of that caliber has always been dominated by Gasoline powered vehicles. I don’t think the problem here is performance. Sure, you’ll miss a little bit, and perhaps wringing out a Turbodiesel to a 5k RPM redline isn’t quite the same as the 9k wail of an RX7, but you have to see what you’re gaining. Honestly, I could give up a little bit of performance for a ridiculous MPG number. Gas isn’t cheap, nor is it going to last forever.

  • Diesel Dyno Day

    Saturday, September 20th marked National Speed’s first annual Diesel Dyno Day. In between coughing fits from all the smoke and chomping down on juicy burgers we ended up dynoing over ten massive diesels with John Porterfield taking home the most horsepower trophy (826.84) and Nate Eix claiming most torque (1020). Congratulations guys, but I still don’t think you have enough under the hood to take on my Ford Focus…Please don’t run me over.

    The Speed Girls made their debut at the event, raffling off prizes, giving away free t-shirts, and keeping our technician John company. He needs that kind of ego boost. Just kidding, John…but not really.

    Towards the end of the day smoke was flying everywhere with several of the trucks making over 800 horsepower and two of them maxing out the dyno’s torque reading. It was an awesome event with some serious diesel power on display. We really gave the dyno’s ventilation system a workout.

    To see more pics from National Speed’s Diesel Dyno Day click here. Thanks again to everybody for showing up and making it a great event. We’ll see you guys at the next one!