Godzilla - Dodge Ram Cummins Powered Diesel Truck

Reasons why diesel engines are far superior to gasoline engines:

• Far more torque. A typical gasoline engine has a torque to horsepower ratio of something like 0.9 : 1. A diesel on the other hand is more like 2.5 : 1 or even higher. Why is torque so important? Well, torque is what actually supplies the power to move the vehicle and anything you might be towing. Horsepower tells you how "quickly" you can apply that torque to the ground. A big rig might only have a 400 HP engine, but it also puts out 2000+ pound feet of torque. That's why a big rig goes up steep hills so slowly when he's loaded, but he can do that forever. If a big rig had a gas engine in it, he would slow down much sooner, and he would likely not even be able to make it up a really steep hill, because he would simply not have near enough torque to pull himself up the hill.
• Far better fuel economy. A typical gas engine that fits in a full size pickup truck will be extremely lucky to get better than say 12 or 13 MPG, unless it's a very small block engine. A similar sized diesel will easily get 18 MPG or better. This is part due to the chemical properties of diesel fuel and gasoline. Diesel has more potential energy in it than gas does, so it takes significantly less diesel fuel to get the same amount of released (useable) energy.
• Much longer engine life. Why? By it's nature, a diesel engine simply must be built much, much beefier than a gas engine. A gas engine has spark plugs which cause the fuel/air mixture to ignite in the cylinders. A diesel is a compression engine, meaning it squeezes the fuel/air mixture until the mixture builds up enough heat that it ignites on its own, which is a much more powerful explosion inside the cylinder than a gas engine experiences. Hence, in order to handle that extra explosive force, a diesel engine has to be much heavier duty than an equivilant gas engine. This therefore leads to the engine being able to last far longer than a gas engine, assuming proper maintenance is done on it, which of course applies to any engine, regardless of what fuel it uses. As an example, a typical gasser is intended for 200,000 miles of life before it needs any serious engine work. And that's only the more modern gas engine designs in the last 15 years. The Cummins engine in my truck is designed to go 500,000 miles before it requires any major engine work. Again, all these miles are assuming regular maintenance is done on the engine/vehicle.
• Also, on a related note, diesel fuel (more properly called diesel oil) is classified as an oil - a lubricant. Gasoline is classified as a solvent. Just think of what that does to the inside of an engine over time...
• Sometimes cheaper maintenance costs. Why? Well, diesel engines just don't have as many parts as a gas engine does. Like I said above, a diesel doesn't have spark plugs. Therefore, it also doesn't have spark plug wires, a distributor or any of that sort of parts which need to be replaced periodically on a gasser. However, some maintenance costs are more for a diesel. A diesel engine uses much more engine oil than a gasser does, and usually more coolant. So, when it comes time to change these things, you will of course pay more.
• Sometimes diesel fuel is cheaper than gasoline, but not always.
• Now a little trivia: A diesel engine can burn other fuels with absolutely no modifications at all. Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the Diesel engine, actually ran his engine on peanut oil when he first introduced it to the world. Diesels can run on a variety of what are collectively referred to as bio-diesel fuels. These include vegetable oils of many sorts, including used deep frying oil. It is true that some modern gasoline powered automobiles can run methanol, but you would first need to change the engine oil from conventional to full synthetic in order to safely run methanol fuel.

Now, why did I pick one particular brand of truck over another? Well, as I tell people, I didn't buy a truck. I bought a 5.9 Liter, Inline 6 cylinder Cummins diesel engine. It just happened to come shipped in a Dodge Ram package. I had always been a Ford person, and I still love Fords. But, I just don't like the current generation of Navistar diesel Ford offers in their pickups - the PowerStroke. For one thing, it just doesn't sound like a diesel is supposed to sound. That sounds kind of trivial, I know, but it's one of those "If I have to explain it to you, you ain't gonna understand anyway" sort of things. As I said already, I love automobiles. I love everything about cars, trucks, motorcysles, whatever. If it has an engine, I love it. And a big part of that passion is the sound made by a powerful engine doing it's thing. To me, there just isn't much that gets my blood going like a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. That sound all by itself just moves me. To some people, it does nothing. To some of us.........well, either you fully understand what I'm saying, or it makes absolutely no sense to you at all. To me, the PowerStroke just sounds like a nuetered sewing machine, not a bad ass, thundering monster just waiting to take off.

Ok, back to the topic. I have always been deeply in love with the sounds of the Dodge Cummins pickup. And after beginning to really research both the Ford PowerStroke and the Dodge Cummins, I quickly determined that Cummins Power was simply the only way to go for me. Even though the Cummins has "only" 6 cylinders and the PowerStroke 8, and the Cummins is 5.9L compared to the PowerStroke being 7.3L, the Cummins has several advantages.

• The Cummins has 40% less parts than the PowerStroke. Less parts to me equals less to break or wear out. Not to mention one of my favorite principles of designing anything - KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid. A nice simple, elegant design has less that can go wrong, and it just appeals to me.
• The Cummins has larger displacement per cylinder than the PowerStroke. 5.9/6 = 0.98 Liters/cylinder for the Cummins versus 7.3/8 = 0.91 Liters/cylinder for the PowerStroke.
• The Cummins engine that is used in the Dodge Ram truck was actually designed by Cummins as what is called a Medium Duty engine, intended for use in things like school buses, Bobtail delivery trucks and other such applications. The PowerStroke was specifically designed for pickup trucks, and as such, is what is called a Light Duty engine. School buses and Bobtail trucks might have to haul around 30,000 pounds of weight or more, while a pickup is designed for no more than maybe 15,000 at most. Not that the PowerStroke can't haul or tow more, it can do so very well. But you hopefully get the idea.

Now, up until I bought my Cummins Powered Ram, and then joined several internet based diesel truck clubs, I had never heard of the concept of hotrodding a diesel engine. I have been around diesels for over 20 years, ever since my dad and I transplanted 2 Perkins I6 diesel engines from school buses into my dads two Ford pickups in the very early 1980's when gasoline first went over $1.00/gallon. So I have been quite familiar with the benefits of a diesel powered pickup over a gasser for along time. I just didn't know you could do the amazing things with them that you can today.

Well, I am an Engineer. And being one, I just can't leave well enough alone. Not to mention that like most teenagers, I have always wanted a disgustingly powerful hotrod. But I have always preferred pickups over cars. Even though I could finally afford my first new vehicle, I can't afford two (thank you stock market...) So.... what do I do..... hot rod or pickup truck.... oh the agony of decisions.... Well, now I can, and do have both in the same vehicle.

Meet Godzilla

• Cummins 5.9L I6 High Output Turbo Diesel engine
• 6 speed manual transmission
• Heavy Duty 4x4 transfer case
• 4 wheel disc brakes with 4 wheel AntiStop Brakes (if you can't tell, I hate ABS brakes)
• 3.54 Limited Slip rear end gears

• Diesel Dynamics Stage 3 injectors
• Holset HX40 turbocharger (un-modified)
• South Bend Con 01 FE clutch
• Edge Products Drag Comp fueling/timing control module
• SPA Technique Series 2 Digital gauges: EGT/boost, tranny/rear diff temp, engine oil temp/fuel pressure
• Galaxy DX959 CB radio
• Armacoatings spray in bed liner
• Stainless Steel rocker panel covers by Northwest Custom
• 2 1/2" Skyjacker Double Flex lift kit
• DT trac bar
• Fastcoolers on the transmission
• MagView front & rear differential cover
• Amsoil 100% synthetic oils everywhere: engine, tranny, both differentials, 4x4 transfer case
• Hitco exhaust manifold heat blanket
• eXtreme driving/fog and backup lights
• Smittybilt nerf bars
• K&N RE-0880 or AFE MegaCannon air filters (I switch between them)
• 4" Jerry Jardine exhaust - straight piped
• Braided stainless steel fuel line upgrades
• 7PSI Carter pusher pump back near the tank
• TransferFlow Inc. OEM replacement 54 gallon fuel tank
• Rack-It lumber rack
• Denver Off Road front bumper - powder coated black

Here are some more pictures:

Drivers side shot showing how it looks with the 2 1/2" Skyjacker lift installed.

Passengers side showing how level the truck sits.

Sitting in the driveway

Another driveway view

This is what I did to my exhaust pipe. Hey, *everybody* does the chrome Monster tip thing. I gotta be a little different....

Now, that bright red paint job actually only lasted a few months, because with the extra fueling mods on the truck, the tail pipe quickly turned black from all the soot that comes out the pipe, so eventually I just painted the darn thing black so I don't have to keep cleaning the thing constantly.

Some shots of my new triple SPA digital gauge setup.

Another SPA shot...

Still another gauge picture.

In case you are wondering, the gauges are:
Top: Transmission oil temp / Rear differential oil temp
Middle: Fuel Pressure / Engine oil temp
Bottom: Turbo boost pressure / EGT (also called a pyrometer)

If you're interested, here are some links to my truck club websites:
The Turbo Diesel Register specific to Dodge Ram Cummins powered trucks
Diesel Central for all diesel powered pickups

You Know You're a Dieselhead when...

Better
Off
Modified
Baby

• Your computer uses a Cummins being started as the bootup WAV file
• When you're P.O.ed that the "global warming" doesn't get more pronounced after every BOMB party
• when you dump out your old spice cologne and re-fill it with #2
• You freeze to death in the winter time with your windows down just to hear your straight piped exhaust
• You take pride in being solely responsible for a smog day
• You're hacked off when your dyno run shows ONLY 1000 ft lbs of torque
• You lay in bed dreaming about rice burners in the right lane with their windows down
• If the first thing your friends ask is..."so what did you do to the truck this time"
• You see a guy with an "un-BOMBed", mufflered Cummins and feel the need to enlighten them
• When you turn on the key and wait to start. IN ANY VEHICLE YOU GET IN, diesel or not
• When pulling into a parking space in any vehicle, you let it idle for a few minutes to cool the turbo down
• When pulling up to a fast food drive up you automatically shut the engine off
• When you fart and a puff of black smoke comes out
• You take pride in the fact that most big rigs and dump trucks have less HP
• You buy more propane for your truck than you do for your gas grill
• When you laugh at Dodge Vipers because they *only* have 500 horsepower