Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/107898
CUSTOM RIGS PRO TIPS Slamming a KW (and upgrading springs) Q A What's the best way to lower the front of a Kenworth W900A? — Josh Peterson via e-mail When lowering any older truck that has a higher profile than desired, the first step is the overview of the project at hand – and what it is you want: (a) a lower stance; (b) the full-blown slammed look or (c) a basic conversion to air-ride. Then you need to figure how the truck will be used: work, show, on-highway or off-road. Answering these questions will help ensure at the end of the day your truck is still workable. If it's just about getting the truck to sit level, or lower than stock, removing the factory spring spacers and installing a new set of springs most likely will get you where you want to be. Older trucks had, for the most part, stacker leaves. The leaf springs of newer trucks have fewer leaves for a more forgiving ride with more flex. When converting or updating, you most likely will want to use a two-leaf spring pack on each side. Converting old to new springs will take some legwork, and working with a local spring shop can help if you provide the right info: (a) width of your springs (b) number of leaves (c) distance from center spring pin to the front and rear of the springs (d) size of center bolt (e) front-end weight rating (f) spring-pin length and width and size of bushing (g) outside dimension measurements and width of springs When you go to the spring shop, they will want to know the year, make and model of the truck. This is where half will jump off the bus because if the book does not list the spring, they balk. Be patient: Giving them all the spring measurements will help them track down the springs by size – not make/model. Once equipped with the dimensions, double-check your truck to ensure there are no clearance issues. Then take it from there. — Jeff Battler, 12ga. Customs Power plays The No. 1 item to add to improve engine life is a straightthrough performance muffler, which runs about $150 and helps reduce the amount of soot in the oil by eliminating backpressure. Soot will destroy an engine; it will wear away the cylinder walls, removing the crosshatch in the liners and causing excessive oil consumption. Mufflers also benefit fuel mileage; a quarter- to half-mpg can be gained. For every quarter-mpg improvement, the engine will use 1,000 fewer gallons per 100,000 miles — near a $4,000 savings. After a muffler, consider a turbo boost gauge and pyrometer, also known as an exhaust gas temperature gauge. Some trucks come with them, but many owneroperators are hesitant to install them aftermarket. They are affordable — $68 for a turbo boost gauge kit and $168 for a pyrometer kit — and anyone can install them in a matter of hours. Their importance? Diesel fuel is required to make turbo boost — the higher the turbo boost, the more fuel burned. – Bruce Scan this QR code with your smartphone to read more on how turbo boost gauges and pyrometers can be used to diagnose engine problems and increase fuel mileage and engine life, or visit OverdriveOnline. com/items-to-extend-engine-life. Bruce Mallinson is the owner of Pittsburgh Power, an engine performance shop in Saxonburg, Pa. The 2003-2010 Caterpillar, 2003-2010 Cummins and 2003-2007 Detroit Diesel engines are known for reliability and performance issues. Poor fuel mileage and downtime due to the common failures these engines have will be a thing of the past. For over 30 years we at Pittsburgh Power have responded to the needs of the industry and have developed solutions and upgrades that will give these engines greatly improved reliability and performance. Our upgrades give your engine between 600 to Straight-through 700 horsepower and at least 1 mpg better than a stock engine when properly driven. Do to the complexity of these upgrades we require that all work performance must run mufflersbe done at our facility in Saxonburg, Pa. Please call and speak to one of our about $150 and service managers to schedule in an appointment and to discuss pricing and options. potentially can return $4,000 in fuel3600 South Noah drive (In the Victory road business park) savings. Saxonburg, Pa 16056 724-360-4080 Mon-Fri 7:00 - 5:00 February 2013 | Overdrive | 41 Text INFO to 205-289-3555 or visit www.ovdinfo.com A few items to extend engine life