2008 Diesel Power Challenge - 12 Trucks, 1 Winner

We figured that Jeff Dean... 

   

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We figured that Jeff Dean and his CNG system were a shoe-in for this event, since he was using the CNG as fuel, along with regular old #2. At 38 mpg, he was miles ahead of Second Place. As a side note, Jeff also said that in his area, CNG is only about 70 cents a gallon, which is a huge savings at the pump.

Day Two: Fuel Economy Test And Sled Pull
Day two started out with some light rain and our ever popular fuel economy test. "When I read about people shaking their trucks during the first Diesel Power Challenge, I laughed," said Jerimiah Montgomery. "Then when I got picked I tried it one day as I was filling up, and I'll be darned if I couldn't put another gallon and a half in!" With diesel trucks rocking throughout the filling station, everyone knew they were still, at best, competing for second in the tiebreaking event. Why? Jeff Dean built himself a ringer, burning both diesel and CNG. Since we only measured diesel fuel consumption, he was a pretty sure bet for victory.

Our drive was the toughest route yet, a 146-mile climb through poor weather and the mountains. Though beautiful, the drive was pretty uneventful, except for the competitors continually slowing down to try and get the best fuel economy possible. Since Diesel Power was driving the lead vehicle, we kept speeding up during the uphill portions of the drive in an effort to combat the fuel-saving efforts of everyone else. In the end, our average speed was only about 60 mph, so we were looking at seeing some pretty good numbers.

A drivers' meeting was held... 

   

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A drivers' meeting was held at the beginning of day two, where Editor David Kennedy explained the ride and drive. Basically, it was a 146-mile route of twists and turns into the mountains that would test both fuel economy and durability.

The mostly-stock GMC of Derek Temple, who had so far been keeping up pretty well, shined in the fuel economy test with an awesome 25.7 mpg. Rob Coddens, who had a single CP3 pump and relied on twin turbos for horsepower, also was on the happy end of 20 mpg, with a 23.46-mpg reading.

There were some surprises too, as Chris' orange and blue Dodge scored an impressive 19.76 mpg despite monster injectors, and Charr and Al both used 8.02 gallons of fuel, making our first tie in the tiebreaking event. With Al in second and Charr in third, there was a chance they could end up tied after the sled pull. Down toward the bottom of the ladder, it turns out that pumped-up Fords don't like getting good fuel economy, as Ernest got 16.20 and Tyler came in at 15.94.

First Place, of course, went to Jeff Dean, who was actually a little disappointed in his 38 mpg. "I was getting 50-55 mpg while testdriving at 70 mph," he said. "I think if we would have went a little faster it might have been even better." With Jeff atop the fuel economy standings, all eyes were now set upon the pulling track, our last event before an overall winner would be declared.

While some people were shaking...        read full caption While some people were shaking their trucks, Chris Werner used the "tilt" method of fueling by putting a bag of manure that was sitting at the gas station under his rear tire when he filled up.	Competitors made sure to fill...        read full caption Competitors made sure to fill the tanks all the way to the top, as that is how they would be filled when we stopped our fuel test. Filling the tanks completely eliminates any variables that can arise when the pump "automatically" stops.	Derek Temple (right) must...        read full caption Derek Temple (right) must have had about five people rocking his black Duramax to get every last bit of fuel he could in it. Turns out their effort was good enough for Second Place.