Feature > Events/Trail Rides
Weekend on the Edge
A Celebration of Black Smoke
story and photos by Jim Allen
Now you know why Ford diesels are sometimes called Power-smokes! The amount of power and torque possible from modern diesels have made them the muscle cars of the new millennium. They have become just as popular as the original muscle cars were in their era, but far more practical and economical. Even a performance diesel can manage mid to high teens fuel economy.
To a diesel performance enthusiast, that puff of black smoke from a diesel exhaust is as heartwarming as the ring of dual exhausts are to a hotrodder. It’s one sign of a modified diesel (or one that’s running like crap, but let’s not go there). Edge Products in Ogden, Utah hosted its second Weekend on the Edge event, a celebration of diesel nuts and hundreds of them descended on Ogden, Utah for the shindig.
Edge Products
- Dept ORA
- 1080 S. Depot Drive
- Ogden, UT 84404
- 888-360-3343
- www.edgeproducts.com
The Edge/Diesel Dynamics Wolverine on its first test run on a Hot Friday afternoon. All they did was do some tracks tests and practice launches this time. It was nearly 100 degrees, so the full test was saved for after dark when everything cooled off.
Is this sucker coal fired or diesel? Either way, it managed a 14.59 second E.T. Usually this much overfueling is used to maximize nitrous oxide performance, but we were not able to determine whether this truck was so equipped.
So, what do diesel performance nuts do for fun? Well, the weekend event started at Salt Lake City’s Rocky Mountain Raceway on Friday afternoon. Diesel pickup trucks of all makes and levels of performance tried their hand at running that long quarter-mile. What was most interesting is how fast many of them were. Averaging 42 runs came out to 15.8 seconds overall, with a best time of 11.51 and a worst time of 19.81. If you wonder about the fastest brand, our unofficial averages were: Ford- 15.4 seconds, Dodge- 16.7 seconds, GM- 15.25 seconds. The fastest street truck we saw was a Ford at 11.51 seconds, but the official winners in the open competition were Chad Simper, of Vernal Utah, at 14.1 seconds in a Duramax truck. In the single turbo class was Scott Peterson, of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, made 14.965 from a truck make that was not listed on the results sheet,
Mike Sholes’ F-350 was one of the few Powerstrokes to hit the dyno. It cranked out a very healthy 390.5 rear wheel horsepower and 696 lbs-ft of torque.
Dueling duallys! Ford vs Dodge at the Rocky Mountain raceway.
Participants also got a special sneak preview of a new diesel powered Pro-Stock drag truck. Called the Wolverine, after that irascible North American mammal that eats rattlesnakes and fears nothing, it’s powered by a 1,100+ hp 5.9L Cummins diesel that cranks out at least 2,500 lbs-ft of torque. The engine is from an ’04 Dodge truck and was built cooperatively by Edge and Diesel Dynamics. The race team is cagey about what’s in this engine, but we’re willing to bet that it has more than 120 psi boost. The custom built tube frame chassis was built by Jerry Bickel Race Cars and the body is a ‘glass replica of a Dodge Ram shortbed. The truck is driven by veteran drag racer, Keith Lockliear, who likes to comment, “Driving this truck is a gas!” Ahem!
Show and shine.
A real try this time, but one that was cut short by mechanical gremlins. After a two second burst of power, hoses blew off the twin-turbo manifold and twist one of the turbos on its mounts. The truck then coasted to a 11.03 elapsed time at 91 mph.
Idle threat, or not, this cameraman didn’t tempt fate!
The truck made its first strip runs ever, and while it’s designed to run a 6.50 E.T. (Elapsed Time), it only turned an 11.03. Huh? Well that was after little more than a two second spurt of power of power before all that boost blew hoses off the turbo housing and twisted one of the turbo housings. The recorded 60 foot time was 1.32 seconds, so it’s obvious the truck has potential. Usually this sort of shakedown work is done in private, where teething difficulties can be dealt with sans an audience. Kudos to the team for being brave enough to try it under the watchful, critical eye of a thousand or so people.
Saturday moved the event to the new Edge facility in Ogden. Besides guided tours, a Show-n-Shine, great eats and a chance to pick the brains of gurus in the diesel performance industry, both dyno rooms were in constant use by the diesel owners who signed up to make runs. Of the 26 recorded runs, some fella named Clint with a Duramax being fed by nitrous recorded the highest numbers of 572 hp and 1014.8 lbs-ft. Hooah! There were a number of 500 hp or near 500 hp runs but they were all Cummins or Duramax powered trucks. There were a bunch of Powerstrokes at the event, but only a few hit the dynos.
If you might find your diesohaulic self near Ogden, Utah this August, check the Edge website for information on the event.
Check out the license plate. Most of these diesels were 16 seconds or under doing the quarter mile. When you consider that the lightest of the stock trucks is at or over 6,000 pounds curb weight, these times are truly remarkable.
The Wolverine on display at edge on Saturday. As much as everyone wanted to see the engine, we were only given the most fleeting views under the hood. Must be some top secret stuff there!