It used to
be that the only place one could find a diesel engine in motorsports was
the tow truck. But in the past few years a handful of innovative aftermarket
specialists have applied racing technology to the diesel engine with eye-opening
results. Most notable so far has been the Banks
Engineering Dakota that has been clocked at over 222 mph at Bonneville
and holds a 1-mile record at over 217 mph. Called Project Sidewinder,
this street-legal Dakota has also been seen at the dragstrip, running
12.16 seconds through the quarter mile with a trap speed of 115 mph. This
run took place at an altitude of 5860 feet and with 2.75:1 rear gears,
two elements hardly conducive to acceleration. The engine was prepped
with a single Banks turbo and was not assisted by nitrous or propane.
Now another Dodge project is ready test the limits of diesel propulsion.
Edge Products has built a fullsize Ram drag truck with the goal of running
under seven seconds at over 200 mph. That would put the truck in the same
pit as Pro Mods and Pro Stock cars that run 500- to 700-cubic-inch engines,
often supercharged or running on nitrous oxide.
“We
want to give people a taste of the enormous performance potential possible
by applying modern technology to a farm-bred diesel engine,” says
Paul Lehman, chief executive officer at Edge Products. “Most people
said that the sheer weight and mass of a diesel engine—about 1100
pounds—would keep the truck from getting anywhere near Pro Stock
times. We accepted this challenge.”
The Edge truck is based on a dedicated tube-frame race chassis built
by well-known Pro Stock racer Jerry Bickel. Main chassis components include
Bickel/Koni coil-over shocks, 4-link rear suspension, Strange brakes and
huge 17-inch wide Goodyear slicks. Bickel fabricated a fullsize Dodge
Ram shortbed body out of fiberglass while Greg Ozubko designed the paint
scheme.
“We chose the Dodge body because Dodge is our core customer,”
explains Lehman. “Ford may sell more diesels but the Dodge guys
modify more of their trucks.”
What’s under the removable nose has been developed in a shroud
of secrecy. Lehman plans to market many of the innovations and products
his company engineers for this project.
“We want to demonstrate to the world we know diesel tuning. Also,
we felt there was a potential for the diesel that no one else was achieving,”
says Lehman. “The goal is to sell crate motors. I’d be unable
to face the world if we didn’t pull down at least 600 horsepower
and still be able to drive it everyday.”
