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Sidewinder S-10 Drag Truck Update
Dear gearheads and fellow diesel freaks,
It's mid-May 2008, and we are now at a power level with the Banks Sidewinder S-10 that is reminding me of all the nitromethane-burning engines I raced back in the day. We are using up pistons like a good thing. We're not changing them every run like I did with my nitro-burning rails and drag boats, but we're changing them too damn often for a diesel. We've been doing it for a while, and it's only gotten more problematic as we've made more power and gotten down into the 7.70s. Now we are too close to "running on kill" for my liking.
The culprit is injector on-time as measured in crank angle degrees. As we have gained engine speed (now 5,800 rpm at times) and increased fuel rate, our piston position at injector closing has gone down the hole. The truck weighs 2,930 pounds, we're in the low 7.70s, and we're making good power (1,280 bhp). Of course there's more power to come, but first we need to address getting more fuel in and using less crank angle to do it.Right now, at 1,280 bhp, the thermal energy from the injected fuel is gradually drilling 7 holes in each piston right at the top edge of the firing cup. We have not killed an engine, but this is not good for long-term piston life. We have gotten to this level using a single Bosch 3.3 pump that we have modified for proper fuel control at the flow and pump speed (same as engine speed) that we are demanding. Honestly, with this engine combination, 1,200 bhp is probably the safe limit. Beyond that, we begin to have demanded rail pressure problems.
Posted by Gale Banks on May 14, 2008A Tribute to Wally Parks
Wally Parks, 1913-2007Dear friends,
Wally Parks was a friend to thousands, and I am pleased to have been numbered among them. His gentlemanly demeanor was an example that I have tried hard to emulate in my career. His sense of humor was always a pleasant surprise. His leadership was the stuff of legend. In my life I have had few heroes...but Wally Parks was one of them.
Wally helped me out from time to time and sometimes without my asking. As an example; back in 1997 the SCTA asked me to write an article for the 49th Annual Bonneville Speed Week Program. I was wondering about the details behind the first Speed Week in 1949 when I received a letter from Wally. It transformed the article, "My Memories of Bonneville Are All a Blur." Here is Wally's letter, or see the entire article here.
Dear Gale:
Alex Xydias told me you're having some difficulty unraveling the history of hot rod cars running at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Here, right from the old horse's mouth, are some details of the history of hot rod cars running at the Bonneville Salt Flats:
In 1948, when I was secretary and general manager of the SCTA as its first full-time employee, we had contacted the old AAA regarding the hope we might run our cars on the Salt. In a reply letter from Mr. Art Pillsbury, then the AAA's chief steward for auto racing in the United States, we were advised that "the world record in Class C is 203 mph and it is highly doubtful any hot rod will ever attain that speed."
Posted by Gale Banks on October 01, 2007High School Biodiesel Brain Power
There are lots of articles being written about "home-brewed" biodiesel today but I've felt that most of these backyard projects getting ink are the automotive equivalent of brewing moonshine. I say this, because while the end result is probably combustible in a diesel engine, the biodiesel fuel produced is not refined and finished to any known standard.
Posted by Gale Banks on July 20, 2005Giving Something Back
I'm sitting in my office waiting for the guys from WyoTech to arrive. This morning, I get to put something back into the diesel industry. I volunteered to work with WyoTech on the development of a light-duty diesel curriculum (with a high-performance overlay, of course).
Posted by Gale Banks on April 15, 2005
