Diesel News 4-15-19

Truck of the Week

New Pro Mod

The growing Pro Mod field just gained another fire ball. Now, thanks to Jonathan Montesino letting the social media world know his Ranger is just about ready for Rudy’s season opener, we have yet another truck looking to go deep into the 4’s in 2019. Montesino and crew plan to hit the ground running with the new ride, and will be competing in the ODSS Quick 8 race at Ultimate Callout Challenge 2019 in Indy right after Rudy’s. All but ready to go, the Ranger is currently in the final stages of being dialed in electronically at Hardway Performance.

Highlights

Firepunk Pro Mod at Outlaw Street Car Reunion VI

Following a winter of updates and upgrades, the Firepunk Diesel crew was looking to shake things up with the Save the Racks Pro Mod S10 at Outlaw Street Car Reunion. Unfortunately, even before the event-canceling rain swept in, engine problems would force the Firepunk team to pull out before they had a chance to make things interesting. Look for the Firepunk guys to be out in force April 26-27 at the Rudy’s Season Opener in North Carolina, where they’ll be looking to put the truck’s shorter wheel base, fresh D&J engine, Wagler billet head and runner intake, and monster 102mm GT55 single turbo to good use.

Nasty Street Build

It’s always nice to see a clean engine build come together, but don’t be fooled: the Cummins in Levi Krech’s ’06 Dodge Ram 2500 is more about horsepower than good looks. Put together at Krech’s place of business, Unique Performance, the third-gen it will power is coined the Alpha Assassin, and its prior setup made 1,400 hp—a handful on the street, to say the least. Now, with the help of names like Fleece Performance Engineering, Freedom Racing Engines, Done Right Diesel Performance, Breakout Tuning, Xcelerated Turbo Systems and Sun Coast Performance, the bad blue Dodge should have no problems owning the street, track, or dyno.

Events

U.C.C. Prep

With U.C.C. 2019 fast approaching, it’s crunch time for competitors. For drivers who’re lucky enough to have their engines assembled at this point, it’s time to fine-tune them on the dyno. Such was the case for Eric Merchant from Merchant Automotive, who set out for his dyno session amid a spring snowstorm sweeping through his home state of Michigan. Like many others, his Duramax had a date with the engine dyno at S&S Diesel Motorsport. U.C.C. 2019 kicks off May 3rd at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis and cruises nonstop through May 5th. Between the main event, U.C.C. Qualifier, ODSS Quick 8 shootout, and Diesel Performance Industry Expo, 2019 promises to be the most action-packed affair yet.
Source: https://ultimatecalloutchallenge.com/

OEM News

Lower Diesel Sales Mean Higher CO2 Emissions

In the European Union, a new kind of problem is surfacing following the fallout from dieselgate: EU car manufacturers are moving further away from their 2021 carbon dioxide (CO2) emission target. For the first time since 2009, gasoline powered cars made up the majority of registered vehicles at 53% in 2017, while electric vehicles only increased from 1.0% in 2016 to 1.5% in 2017. When new gasoline and diesel cars are compared, new gasoline versions emit 10 to 40% more CO2 than new diesels—and only the large-sized diesel vehicle segment achieved a small reduction in CO2 output in 2017 (just 0.5g CO2/km). On the surface, it seems diesels are vital in the overall scheme of improving carbon dioxide emissions. But with diesels still black-marked in most of Europe, and with the popularity and overall infrastructure of electric vehicles lacking, it’s unclear how EU car makers will meet CO2 emissions standards in coming years.
Source: https://www.dieselnet.com/news/2019/04eea.php