Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/93143
CUSTOM RIGS PRO TIPS a certain brand or application technique that works better than others? — Will duPre, Seattle Engine painting Q DuPont Industrial Coatings, which can resist tem- peratures up to 400 degrees. Most engine blocks run between 200 to 230 degrees, so 400 works well. The only negative on industrial paint is the color choice is pretty limited. On some of our customers' custom trucks, I use DuPont's ChromaBase Paint, which has a maximum temperature of about 230 degrees. As long as the driver watches the engine temp, all is fine. As for application, we sand the engine down to the metal, then apply two coats of etching primer followed by two coats of sealer, three coats of base paint and, finally, three coats of ChromaClear to give it a wet look. — Roland Mendez, Triple R Diesel A Will, always do your research on high-heat paints by reading the labels closely. We use What's the secret to painting an engine block so the paint doesn't peel or flake off? Is there Muffler straight talk Q of the horsepower being generated in the cylinders to be used by the crankshaft. A couple things to remember, as far as exhaust flow is concerned: (1) Every 90-degree elbow is the equivalent 13 feet of straight pipe. (2) The further the exhaust has to travel, the more it slows down. When exhaust cools down, it's harder for the pistons to push the exhaust out A of the stack; thus, higher backpressures are realized in the stacks. The higher the backpressure in the overall exhaust system, the poorer the fuel mileage. We recently built a custom exhaust system for a Mack and eliminated six 90-degree elbows and a reverse-flow muffler. The end gain: 0.5 mpg. Next, the soot level in the engine's oil will be eliminated because it's flowing out of the muffler. We've also seen a 50 percent decrease in the iron particles in the engine oil with the imple- mentation of a straight-through performance muffler and slightly larger stacks. — Bruce Power plays What do straight-through "performance" mufflers and larger stacks offer that factory ones don't, besides being louder? Does a diesel really benefit from such an upgrade? — Paul Yashanskey, Augusta, Maine Paul, performance mufflers reduce exhaust backpressure, which in turn takes some load off of the piston during the exhaust stroke. That alone allows more Bruce Mallinson is the owner of Pittsburgh Power, an engine performance shop in Saxonburg, Pa. Text INFO to 205-289-3555 or visit www.ovdinfo.com Text INFO to 205-289-3555 or visit www.ovdinfo.com December 2012 | Overdrive | 55