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Interesting replies in this thread, and a lot of well informed people.
Keep in mind what trucks DO, is put out maximum horsepower for as long as you like. Even in the hottest weather I have never had one even start to overheat. That big fan up front starts with a mighty wooooosh! and pulls enough air through to inflate the Super Dome.
I have always been impressed by what that straight six will do. My Detroit DD15 would pull decently all the way down to 900 RPM.
If you treated your car, pickup, or even gasoline powered boat like that it would fail very rapidly.
BTW: If anyone things trucks are too slow going up hill, they should hop aboard and see what happens when they go DOWN hill!
Last edited by Listener2307; 04-25-2018 at 04:37 PM..
Even in the hottest weather I have never had one even start to overheat.
You need to get out more. The climb from Santa Rosa N Mexico on IH40 will have a lot of them sitting on the side of the road cooling down. The same for the climb in Arizona going to Flagstaff. It's not just the coolant that gets hot. The transmission temps soar as does motor oil. You'll find a lot of pickups that are pulling trailers on the side of the road cooling down. That's about a 40 mile climb, FWIW. Been there, done that, too many times.
You need to get out more. The climb from Santa Rosa N Mexico on IH40 will have a lot of them sitting on the side of the road cooling down. The same for the climb in Arizona going to Flagstaff. It's not just the coolant that gets hot. The transmission temps soar as does motor oil. You'll find a lot of pickups that are pulling trailers on the side of the road cooling down. That's about a 40 mile climb, FWIW. Been there, done that, too many times.
The hotter a Diesel gets the better they run, my brother never shut his truck off in the winter in Detroit in the 80’s.
The problem with the big rigs today, is that many of them have 'governers'/'speed limiters' installed. In the past, trucks would build up speed/momentum in order to climb the hills but nowadays they are unable to do so. They may be able to build up some speed going down a hill, but when they put their foot into it to try to get up the next one the limiter says "No can do" and nothing happens- fuel flow is curtailed until the speed drops below the limiter's set rate...and then it's too late, momentum is lost and the driver has to start down-shifting to reach a gear where he can make headway against the grade.
Tractors are tuned down to save fuel and extended the life of an engine. That results in less power across the board. I keep my CAT 3126's tuned to 80% of their full power. It's a problem on very steep grades. You get in the right lane turn the flashers on and keep going.
The problem with the big rigs today, is that many of them have 'governers'/'speed limiters' installed. In the past, trucks would build up speed/momentum in order to climb the hills but nowadays they are unable to do so. They may be able to build up some speed going down a hill, but when they put their foot into it to try to get up the next one the limiter says "No can do" and nothing happens- fuel flow is curtailed until the speed drops below the limiter's set rate...and then it's too late, momentum is lost and the driver has to start down-shifting to reach a gear where he can make headway against the grade.
Blame the 'nanny state', not the motor.
Independent truckers don’t have goveners if any they are fleet trucks.
You need to get out more. The climb from Santa Rosa N Mexico on IH40 will have a lot of them sitting on the side of the road cooling down. The same for the climb in Arizona going to Flagstaff. It's not just the coolant that gets hot. The transmission temps soar as does motor oil. You'll find a lot of pickups that are pulling trailers on the side of the road cooling down. That's about a 40 mile climb, FWIW. Been there, done that, too many times.
No I don't.
I put 750,000 miles on 18 wheelers, and of course some of it was I-40 through New Mexico. Never had one overheat.
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