Your Cart is Empty
FREE SHIPPING TO USA!*exclusions apply
FREE SHIPPING TO USA!*exclusions apply
Image Courtesy of Mike Corsilli via Facebook
Roadkill Nights, an event sponsored by Dodge and hosted every year in Detroit Michigan, brought the fire back to the Motor City by hosting a car show, cruise, burnouts, drifting, and yes street drags in one of the cities that started the performance movement. As awesome as it is to see cars dragging down a no-prep city street, inevitably the organizers always do something weird that creates controversy. Last year, they had a funky timing system that didn't start at the starting line, and this year after the event was moved to M1 Concourse raceway, the distance was shortened from 1/8th of a mile to 580 feet; a distance that doesn't mean anything to anyone. The rules were also "chase is a race," which nobody does anymore either. Still there was an excellent turn out, nobody seemed to have crashed, despite the narrow track with concrete barriers. A number of very quick cars showed up, running high 4s and low 5s in the eighth....err, 580 feet. The racing was close, fun, and the people we talked to that went said it was still a blast. And maybe that's what counts.
For years, the best-selling vehicle in the USA, and the World has been the Ford F-Series pickup. Especially if you combine the numbers from F-150 and F-250/350 sales, the Ford has been a juggernaut, beating out almost everything out there. That's why we were extremely shocked to learn that the best-selling vehicle in the World for 2023 was (dum roll)......the Tesla Model Y? Initially we found that hard to believe, but indeed it seems to be the case.
If you're wondering how this is even possible, we have one word for you: China. The far Eastern country has just been eating Teslas up, with hundreds and hundreds of thousands of units sold each year. China has long since embraced electrics, and with many offerings there being of very poor build quality and performance, the Tesla is basically a very fast luxury vehicle. Those in the U.S. need not worry though, here Model Y sales barely cracked the top 5 here, with F-Series sales being nearly double the Tesla's. Since America is so vast (California alone is 760 miles tall, Texas is 773 miles wide) it makes sense that trucks and diesels still reign supreme.
A decade or so ago, turbocharging was all the rage; if you didn't have a turbo, you might as well just stay home. Well, the blower guys weren't just going to take that laying down, so a lot of companies put in the time to develop new, stronger, better, and more reliable supercharger systems. In a nutshell, we've seen Coyote engines top 700rwhp in mostly stock form, with lightly modified versions (oil pump gears, etc.) in the 900-1000rwhp range. Superchargers have the advantage of being "instant" power, are often more inexpensive, and take less horsepower to drive than one might think. There are still those of course who are "turbo or nothing" types, but we have to say that it's a far more even playing field than it used to be, with companies like VMP, Whipple, and Edelbrock all supplying superchargers. One thing we can definitely say for sure: it's better to be boosted.
Almost two decades ago, Ford decided to change from the ultra-reliable 7.3L Powerstroke to a 6.0L engine, that turned out to be, well, far less reliable. With oil cooler, EGR, injector, cylinder head, electronics, and a number of other potential failure spots the 6.0L was somewhat of a disaster. In only a few years that engine was replaced by the 6.4L which in many people's opinion was even worse, as complete engine failures were far more common than in other diesels. So did Ford finally get it right with the 6.7L Powerstroke? In our opinion, whole heartedly yes. Early job one engines had some turbo issues, and other small issues like oil leaks, but most of these issues were resolved by the 2020 model year. For the last decade we've seen tons of 6.7L's rolling around with almost no problems, and it's our hope that this trend will continue. Ford will eventually come up with a new powerplant, but given the 6.7L's power and reliability, it might not be any time soon.
As awesome as diesel engines are, they've always been known for their limited powerbands an RPM range. While aftermarket options are available to spin diesels up to 5,000 or even 6,000rpm, even the newest 2024 Ford diesel still makes its peak power at a stump-pulling 2,600rpm. So Ford, rather than try and change the nature of the diesel engine, decided they would come up with another solution for putting power to the ground: more gears. Now instead of five or six-speed transmissions, the new F-Series diesels have ten! While this may sound like overkill, having to never worry about spooling again while towing, or getting "stuck between gear," has immense benefit. Not only that, but these 10-speeds are some of the strongest transmissions out there, and honestly they aren't that much more to rebuild if they do ever wear out. Our take on the 10-speed? About three thumbs up.
With thousands and thousands of shares all over the Internet, Aussie racer Paul Mouhayet made huge waves with a mammoth 5,362-HP dyno record on Fuel Tech's chassis dyno with his Proline Racing Engines Hemi--a new record! Surprisingly though, this isn't the overall record, as in 2022 a giant 670cid twin turbo Mike Moran-built engine put down an insane 6,144rwhp on the chassis dyno at Precision Power in Washington D.C. Of course now we get into play on the whole different dynos, different testing parameters, different days scenario, as some scoff at the 6,144-hp pull as not legit. Others point out the fact that Moran engines have been 5.54 at 272mph in the quarter on a sketchy Australian track (making it one of the fastest Pro Mods in the World) which does lend some credit to that insane 6,000+ number. So who's engine really makes the most thump? It looks like it could be settled in an Australian Pro Mod battle!
Comments will be approved before showing up.
