The Big Red Flatbed as Featured in Diesel Tech

The November issue of Diesel Tech had a nice story titled "The Big Red Flatbed" that appeared in its online  edition in December. The article by Colin Peterson focuses on a 2000 Dodge RAM 3500 powered by a 24-valve 5.9L Cummins engine. The vehicle is a labor of love for Alejandro "Alex" Ramos, a California teen from Camino, California.

The truck, which started as a stock dually, is a long ways from home, its original home being 3000 miles across the country in North Carolina. Today, the truck is in the midst of a complete makeover "with tractor-trailer-like rims" and beefed up performance. 

There's no question that Alex loves his truck. The article has lots of photos of this beautiful big red beast, but also includes an Instagram link where you can see even more. Alex is proud of what he has and of what he's been doing. It's a work in progress, and a work truck at the same time that he uses to pull excavators and other equipment around on winding roads.

The most aggressive upgrades have been under the hood, Peterson notes. Here's a partial list of what's taken place beneath the surface:

--195-horsepower BD Diesel Performance injectors

--BD Diesel high-performance VP44 injection pump

--Banks Power High-RAM air intake elbow

--Holset HX40 Super 40 turbo. 

"He keeps all of that running strong with Hot Shot’s Secret products. Behind the flywheel and before the NV4500 transmission is a South Bend Clutch dual-disk clutch, plenty well-designed to handle all the amped up performance that the engine puts out. With this setup that provides enhanced fuel flow, airflow and boost, the flatbed western hauler definitely gets the performance it deserves, and Alex has no problems with his heavy towing or hauling."

As noted earlier, it's a work in progress by a young man with big dreams. Dreamers peer into the future and make things happen. The world could use more young dreamers.  

READ THE FULL STORY HERE
https://www.dieseltechmag.com/2020/12/the-big-red-flatbed

More Insights on the Future of Diesel: An Engine Design that Meets 2027 California Standards

This engine by Achates Power is getting real attention.

We've all seen the impact of communication technologies and the Internet. The world today is far different from the one we experienced as kids in the Fifties. There are many futurists who have been watching the auto industry, anticipating an equally explosive shift with regards to the future of transportation. One of these is Mike Millikin, founder and editor of Green Car Congress. 

Millikin was a trained journalist who spent most of his career in IT and Internet related pursuits. He was right in the center of the 90s whirlwind that transformed everything. In 2004, he saw that an even bigger transformation was coming as science was applied toward the goal of green transportation and energy. 

This past week Green Car Congress published an article titled Achates opposed-piston 3-cylinder 10.6L diesel emissions meet 2027 EPA, CA requirements.  It's about a radically improved internal combustion engine that meets California emissions standards. That seems pretty progressive as far as I'm concerned.

The article begins:

Achates Power’s innovative 3-cylinder, 10.6L opposed-piston heavy-duty diesel engine has achieved performance results that comply with pending 2027 requirements of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California to reduce sharply emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). Engine and aftertreatment system development and performance assessments were conducted at the Achates Power facility in San Diego and the Aramco Research Center-Detroit.

It is a major development for a project that aims to improve the environmental performance of commercial vehicles using hydrocarbon fuels.

The most recent test of the engine, including aftertreatment, measured 0.02g per brake horsepower-hour (g bhp/hr), demonstrating the capability of the engine to be certified under California’s ultra-low NOx regulation, which requires diesel commercial vehicle engines to reduce NOx by 90% by 2027 to no more than 0.02g bhp/hr over the Federal Test Procedure (FTP) cycle.

Furthermore, carbon dioxide emissions are 8% below the current standards in California. As the saying goes, "Aim high, you just might hit it." 

The engine is a three-cylinder design in which the opposed pistons move vertically. Achates Power power accomplished this achievement with a standard DEF injection aftertreatment system. 

You can read the full story here:
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/12/20201218-achates.html

We applaud these efforts toward a clean diesel future.

$40 Million in Grant Money Available in the Bay Area to Reduce Diesel Engine Pollution

This story was sent to us the other day regarding funds available to upgrade older diesel trucks with state-of-the-art clean diesel engines. The primary aim of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is to reduce toxic emissions from older diesels. Vehicles being considered include medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses, mobile construction and industrial equipment, agricultural equipment, marine vessels, locomotives and school buses. 

I'm imagining that school districts with nimble leadership will try to take advantage of this offering. Those whose decision-making apparatus is tangled in tape will be less able. 

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If you've ever wondered why air quality is such an issue in California, a visit to Los Angeles in person might answer part of that question. This city, and most of the coastal cities on the Pacific, are situated in basins with mountains stretching up on the East and an incoming breeze from the ocean. It's like a bowl that cataches and holds all the smog, zone and particulate matter. An atmospheric inversion occurs which causes it all to form a "pollution dome" over the city. 

Most major cities have a slightly discolored dome hovering over them, but wind and weather usually cleanses this cloud in most places. The cities on the West Coast, being hedged by mountains, find themselves with a unique drawback. 

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California has been wrestling with air quality issues for a century now and San Francisco has not been exempt. Jack Broadbent, the Bay district’s executive officer, said the grants would pay for “cleaner-than-required equipment to improve air quality in neighborhoods that need our help most." The funding comes from the Carl Moyer Program and Community Health Protection Program.

NOTEWORTHY

The announcement was made on December 11, and these funds will be distributed on a first come first serve basis. 

To apply or for more information, go to www.baaqmd.gov/AB617grants or call (415) 749-4994. Applications will be evaluated on a first-come, first-served basis until funds run out.

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Story Source: The Independent News