Performance Turbo Products - Engineered Diesel
We have heard a lot of people sing the praises of Engineered Diesel out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, so when we had the chance to stop by for a visit, we jumped at it.
Chris Beardsley and Glenn Rotman have built themselves a unique spot in the diesel performance market, with some of the finest machine work on OEM turbos being done in the area. Engineered Diesel is able to utilize a number of raw, unmachined components in performance turbo builds. Building turbos this way allows them to decide exactly what pieces go together and how they fit.
"With constant rule changing and competition increasing," Chris said, "we can create a turbo that doesn't exist by normal standards." And when you realize that something that is mass-produced for the big-rig, over-the-road market doesn't have the tightest tolerances in a performance application, you can see why Engineered Diesel can "close up tolerances for more efficiency and power gain. We can control that gap in our machining process, rather than mating part A with part B. Our turbos don't have to go one million miles, and our performance customers are OK with that." You might think of the turbos coming out of Engineered Diesel as "balanced and matched." Not many people in the diesel performance world are talking about that, but for the Engineered Diesel guys, it's a must. Performance-orientated turbos generally run around $1,300 to $2,500, but the sky is the limit for the really serious customer.
The new Race Cover was recently released for public consumption when we visited. The ED guys were eager to show it off and explain its performance gain. This compressor cover has been designed to smooth the flow of air into the turbo much like a carburetor venturi is designed to smooth the flow of air. Testing has shown as much as 30 hp and enough of a change that the tuning had to be adjusted accordingly.
Another really hot product they showed us is the aluminum governor assembly for the P7100 P-pumps. This lighter governor allows the pump to maintain full rack travel at high rpm. The result is that it's not so touchy and the driver can control the pedal easier. Power and control are both enhanced with these kinds of products.
We were excited to see the Hot Pipe at the shop too-it's designed to individually control the turbos. This product allows the truck builder to "run a real tight AR (Area divided by Radius) housing and get the secondary to light almost instantly," Glenn said. "Then you bypass the secondary charger with the first wastegate. The second wastegate will control how hard you run the primary. There's enough wastegate to add nitrous without over-spinning either turbo." The Hot Pipe is ductile iron with a thick wall (yet compact in shape). People have typically used thin-wall pipe to achieve this task, but Engineered Diesel wanted to control the heat loss with the thicker iron.
Engineered Diesel has made things a lot easier for a lot of the diesel enthusiasts and competitors through the offering of a multitude of adapter plates. Power is only one aspect of performance. ED has contributed to the safety side with its Air Shut Off. When you push a diesel hard in sled pulling, drag racing, or dyno competitions, engine failures can sometimes continue to run wild after being shut down. The Air Shut Off is mounted inline in the intake tract and it incorporates a spring-loaded valve that shuts off all incoming air. Endplates with gaskets make it completely air tight when installed. The advantage with the Engineered Diesel part over guillotine-type products is that it's very compact and therefore requires little to no rework to make it fit. Most sled-pulling organizations require the use of some form of shutoff. In the event your truck becomes detached from the sled, they want to prevent it from rocketing dangerously toward the crowd.
5 Things You Must Know To Help You Pick A Turbo
1. What is your intended use?
2. What other performance mods have been, or will be made?
3. If it is for competition only, what are your goals?
4. Does it have to meet sanctioning body rules?
5. What's your budget?
