What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Turbo Diesel, Rockwells, and 52" Tires?

O

OffRoader93

1/2 ton status
Joined
Nov 30, 2002
Posts
262
Reaction score
0
Would a turbo diesel be a good motor to have with 2.5 Ton Rockwells and 52" Michelins? Would it turn enough rpm or not? Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Brenton
 
planning on driving it on the street? turbo diesel looks to be a bit low on the powerband for that application. you definitely dont want to run an OD trans.
 
You need to be way more specific, for all i know you are planning on running a 1.8 TDI out of a VW Beetle.
 
A Cat diesel, Cummins 5.9, 7.3 Powerstroke, 6.2 or 6.5 diesel. Just seeing what people think. Just thought about the idea tonite.

Brenton
 
diesel's in general dont make good mud truck motors causs theyre super heavy. pushes the front end down in the muck.better off with a BBC. or better yet a 500" caddy. it would work good for a street truck. you'd still want OD causs diesels spin real low rpms, gotta keep it under 3K all the time.
 
cummins. best light truck motor ever made. cat 3406, best big truck motor ever made. but im way biased.:D
 
diesels are good tow rigs but As far as mudders go they're out of their element. All that low end torque that diesels are known for isn't needed for mud. Mud and sand is all about hp, tires, and clearence.... nothing else. a 600 ft lb deisel usually will make around 350 hp... a good smallblock will out mud a diesel any day.
 
With 6.72:1 gearing and tires that large I'd have to say you're into fire breathing big block territory to get any real wheel speed in the mud.

Lets assume NP 205 and TH400 and mudding in low range.

A 6.5TD (higher revving than the average diesel) is going to be limited to about 38 mph wheel speed in low range before hitting the governor.

A built big block should be able to get the tires spinning at 65-70 mph before running out or rev's.

With 52's and Rockwell's it isn't likely to see much if any street anyways, so the benefits of having a diesel are negated by the fact fuel mileage doesn't matter much for a mud truck.

Rene
 
In theory, if the diesel had enough torque, you could go into a higher gear than a gas engine and thus maintain similar wheel speed. I think an engine with 700 or 800 ft lbs or more should be capable of this and be much cheaper and more reliable than a big block that makes the same power, just a theory though.
 
Jonny-K5 said:
cummins. best light truck motor ever made. cat 3406, best big truck motor ever made. but im way biased.:D
Click to expand...
The 5.9 is a medium duty engine and the 60 series Detroit is hard to top when it comes to reliability and mileage. We have 10 out of 14 trucks that have 60 series engines....one with 900,000 and another with a whopping 1.1million miles so far.
 
It is an interesting question IMO. If we're talking heavily modified gas or diesel it only becomes a cost/benefit analysis. Both will be spendy to build, both are capable of 700+ lbs of torque. I have to give the nod to the BBC still though because it has a wider powerband, and can be built to spin double the rpm's and will be much lighter in weight.

In order for the diesel to attain the same wheel speed it would need nearly double the torque to do the same job in high range.(500 lbs of tq BBC doing the same work as a 900+ lbs of tq diesel) 52's are not going to be easy to get spinning.

Those are just my thoughts...(and you know I prefer diesel in just about anything)

Rene
 
I understand and agree with most of what you say except the rpm capability part. It is my understanding that most BBCs, unless very built with finely balanced and lightweight parts, high duration and lift cams, and lots of carburetion (or fuel injection), it will only make usable power to 5000-5500 rpm. Now, you have to figure that most v8 diesels will turn or are capable of turning 4000 and the 5.9 can easily be made to turn 3500 or even more, then the rpm capability seems much more evenly matched I believe. So really, in real world terms may be only talking about more like a 1000-1500 rpm difference, which I think may be overcome by picking another gear or two higher. :thumb: Of course, this whole theory is negated if someone drops 20k into a big block so it will turn 8000 rpm and still be making tons of power, but then you have an engine that more than likely barely idles, uses gas like no tomorrow, and was expensive to build in the first place.:dunno:
 
Ha, its a lot, me and another CK5 member have moved them around, and it's a chore. I would guess from 250-300 a tire depending on brand and tread depth.
 
It would seem to me it would depend on the driver also. I get nasty with the peddle on the right and use all my RPM's up to 5,500-5,700. If I was going to set up a diesel mudder I would have a relativly tall gear and tire combo with an auto transmission.

Reasons are...
I would take the auto behind the diesel because you could then shift under power while in the mud to help keep from running out of RPM's, unlike a gasser where I will leave it in 2nd and tach it out instead of shifting because I don't want to bog down at all. I would imagine a torquey diesel could shift to the next gear without bogging like a gas engine.
 
rjfguitar said:
The 5.9 is a medium duty engine and the 60 series Detroit is hard to top when it comes to reliability and mileage. We have 10 out of 14 trucks that have 60 series engines....one with 900,000 and another with a whopping 1.1million miles so far.
Click to expand...

ya i know the 5.9 is a meduim duty. but they put it in the ram, so that makes it the best light truck diesel. i dont doubt the detroit is a better motor. personally i've never seen or driven one. all our trucks have cat's.and they are all 15-20 yrs old. i love how simple they are. like i said, im way biased.

1.1mil, thats quite a bit. hows the steering on that truck? must be pretty sloppy. i know our oldest truck w/ a 3208 has over 700k and the steering linkage has seen better days.
 
Jonny-K5 said:
ya i know the 5.9 is a meduim duty. but they put it in the ram, so that makes it the best light truck diesel. i dont doubt the detroit is a better motor. personally i've never seen or driven one. all our trucks have cat's.and they are all 15-20 yrs old. i love how simple they are. like i said, im way biased.

1.1mil, thats quite a bit. hows the steering on that truck? must be pretty sloppy. i know our oldest truck w/ a 3208 has over 700k and the steering linkage has seen better days.
Click to expand...

me being a diesel mech, if the truck is serviced properly, and looked over, it shouldnt be sloppy. if u replace the ujoints in the steering shaft, the kingpins, and tierod/tierod end, it should be tight.
 
There is a guy over at pavementsucks.com...name is GotSmoke
I know the guy personally and his struck is fricken mean...
got 10" lift, 40" hawgs on a 1999 dodge diesel
power programmer and turns 750ft lb torque...
put stacks on it and when it loads up she screams smoke....

anyhow lemme go look for some vids...
cant find them so I pm'd him...
will post them later:grin:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom