Diesel-Powered Vehicle of the Week: Stainless Diesel Sets New Pro Street Record in the 4s

There are people who try to tell us that competition is bad. It hurts people's feelings when they don't win, they say. 

One of the arguments to counter this is that competition makes people dig deeper, work harder to achieve success. "Winning" is meaningless if it isn't achieved the old fashioned way, through competing with rivals. When everybody wins, nobody wins.

When Roger Bannister broke the four minute mile in 1956, he was able to achieve this because he was in a foot-race with someone else and he wanted to win. Even though he did it by only six tenths of a second, the world went crazy because pundits said it couldn't be done.

Today's "Diesel Vehicle of the Week" is the new record holder in the Pro Street class, Team Stainless Diesel. The event took place this weekend at the Ultimate Callout Challenge where their diesel powered Ram 1500 clicked off a 4.96-second pass to break the 1/8th-mile record previously held by Firepunk Diesel, also a Ram 1500 pickup. (The record for a diesel dragster is a much snappier 4.10 seconds and 181 mph.)

You can be sure that there will be more tweaking by each of these teams this year as they strive to best one another's times. 

The Ultimate Callout Challenge in Brownsburg, Indiana, has become a major battleground for these kinds of 4-wheel ground wars. Still ahead, there will are plenty of other events coming up this year to test their wits and their resolve. 

The truck's sponsor is Stainless Diesel, a company that provides products for diesel powertrains. According to autoevolution.com they've been upgrading this truck for a couple years now. 

It's apparent that High Fives are a thing of the past for diesel pickups. We have at least two teams now giving us High Fours.

AS THE COMPETITIVE RACING SEASON RAMPS UP be sure your lubrication needs are taken care of. Check out our Champion Racing Oil Contingency Program, which covers a full range of motorsports racing events.

First Mods for Your New Diesel Pickup

This past week I came across a video titled Top 5 Mods for Your Powerstroke Diesel and it got me thinking about the countless ways our trucks can be enhanced, either for looks or for power. The YouTube video is one in a series of vids by TopCorey, whose YouTube channel currently has over 42 thousand subscribers. There's a link down below.

Thinking about modifications led me to do a quick search for other sites with recommendations of where to begin. This article by Trent McGee at Diesel Power Products's website seemed especially useful for guys and gals seeking max power for competition. According to McGee, these are the three critical areas where you need to invest.

What I like about this article is that it begins by explaining what an engine really is. "An engine is essentially a giant air pump," McGee writes. "It draws in outside air, compresses and injects fuel for ignition, then exhales the spent gasses." That's a very concise and explicit explanation. In other words, it's an efficient form of creating power but requires sufficient air and fuel, and a means for getting rid of the spent gases. For optimal power you also need a way to control that air-fuel mix ratio. 

In short, once you understand this, you understand why this article proposes the three following modifications. Once you process the previous paragraph, the essential modifications are three in number.

1) Cold Air Intake

2) Exhaust System Upgrade

3) In-line Programmer or Tuner
Installed between the ECM and the engine, think of it as A.I. for your performance diesel. 

The article goes into depth on each of these three vehicle enhancements. You can find it here:
THE TRIFECTA: THE BEST FIRST MODS FOR YOUR DIESEL TRUCK 

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The video shares TopCorey's Top 5 Mods for Your Powerstroke Diesel  which are directed more to Powerstrokes, but have application to all diesel owners. You can see that the first three mods are identical to the Trifecta above, except in a different order. The last two items on his list of five are more in the realm of cosmetics.

1) Custom Tuning via Easylink ("Unlocks a truck's true potential")

2) Exhaust Upgrade (5 inch pipe recommended)

3) Factory modified VGT Turbo from SPE

4) Wheels, Tires, Lift Kit

5) Window Tinting

Some of us like to get information through reading, others through seeing. The options are many and it sometimes helps to get guidance from people who have been there and done that. 

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Afterword: The Trifecta article has the words "Written by Trent McGee" in the title, but at the beginning of the article itself are the words "Written By: Diesel Josh" For what it's worth, I want to make sure whoever actually wrote this gets credit. Good stuff.