When did the real diesel revolution happen?
There have been diesel engines in vehicles for a century. But other than heavy duty applications, they always sucked hind tit if compared to gasoline engines of similiar specifications. Diesel pickups were bought at first for 2 reasons: Economy and fuel compatibility for farms.
GM came out with the first diesel pickup, then Ford, then Dodge. The first with a "medium duty" engine was Ford with their International Harvester designed 420ci V8. But these were not comparable in power to gasoline engines of the same displacement. They just got better mileage and lasted longer.
The real revolution happened when suddenly one year, you bought the Diesel because it would outperform the gas engines. Suddenly the higher price tag was for PERFORMANCE not economy. And coupled with a 5-sp medium duty Allison transmission, finally a true diesel worthy transmission was included.
We know this truck as the Duramax. It was the first time anyone bought a diesel because it was an "all-around" better choice, not just an economical one.
Today, even though HP ratings on gasoline engines continue to climb, the Duramax claims King of the Hill with a 365HP turbodiesel engine, besting the Ford gas 6.8L engine with it's questionable 362HP rating, and will solidly out perform all gas heavy duty pickups ever made.
But who leaves it stock?
While the Dodge Cummins enjoyed a brief advantage early on due to the more extensive parts catalog including HP Marine versions, the minute the hotrodders figured out how to talk with the new Duramax engine computers, it was all over. The Soldiers of the New Revolution re-defined High Performance for diesel pickups.
How do you define "High Performance"? For nearly 50 years, the line in the sand has been the
12 second quarter mile. Anything that runs 12's is a true High Performance vehicle. Going over 100mph in less than a block is undoubtably insanely fast for a street vehicle. Nobody can call a 12 second ride "slow" with a straight face.
The Duramax today the only diesel pickup that will run 12's with nothing but a tune-up.
That makes the Duramax Hotrodders the true Soldiers of the Diesel Revolution.
Duramax Diesels we salute you!!
