I'm heading onto the freeway ramp which is two lanes narrowing to one lane yesterday. In the other lane is a huge F350 4-door diesel pick up. It's a long ramp and I don't want to end up behind the truck so I'm thinking I'll just squirt ahead in my E55. I guess the truck driver had the same thought about the same time and we both go for it. Huge puff of black smoke from the truck as we both accelarate to be first onto the freeway. Thinking I've got him easily beat I don't even floor it, just enough to drop one gear and get ahead of him. Well, that huge truck was stuck right to my door and I had to go into ANOTHER gear to pull ahead of him which I did but only barely.

I win the ramp race and we exchange thumbs up as we continue on our way. Later, I stop to buy gas and the pick up driver pulls in behind me. Nice guy and we chat for awhile. He tells me his truck run's consistant mid 12's at the track and has the time slips to prove it! He even has a roll bar in it.

The fact that a vehicle that size with a diesel can go that fast is just amazing to me.

Anyone else have a similiar experiance?

What the... a Ford F350 Pick up that can go mid 12's at the quarter mile?

...

Bwahaahhah!! Has to be at least a Dodge Ram SRT10!

There are turbod diesels that run in the 10s.

+1. Modern diesels can easily make 800+ HP and 1200+ lb/ft. The fastest ones are 4X4's that actually run the 1/4 in four wheel drive to be able to get the power down. Otherwise, a full 1/4 mile burnout is the result!

Yep. This was a 4 x 4. Absolutely amazing performance. Never in a million years would I expect to have a close race with one of these behemoths. I'm still having a hard time getting a grip on that.

I had a friend with a twin-turbo diesel Excursion that was putting down something like 900+- hp and over 1500 lb. ft. of torque. The thing was crazy. He blew like 6 transmissions and it spent more time in the shop than it did getting driven so he eventually got rid of it.

Yup. They have the worlds fastest pickup, 222+ mph, and it's you guessed it, a Cummins diesel. It weighs about 5000 lbs and although it obviously isn't setup to drag race, it ran a 12.16 on it's first pass, at nearly 6000 feet of elevation.

On my way home from somewhere yesterday I saw a Dodge Cummins slaughter a Civic in front of me. The guy in the Civic was like "WTF" the whole time. Clueless ricers.

What? I knew Diesels could be powerful but just throwing in a supercharger or 2 turbochargers get that much power and torque?!

I gotta get me a diesel!

beware of the new Toyota Tundra from a roll...

I was once following an Excursion in my CLK55 on a rural two lane when we got behind a loaded sugar cane truck that was just lumbering along. I backed way off so I could get a good run and pass them both when the road cleared. When the opportunity to pass finally comes, I floor it to pass them both and the damn Excursion pulls out to pass as well. Surprise, surprise, the Excursion pulls AWAY from me and we both pass the cane truck with ease.

Carefull when you mess with big diesels!

good story..

just keep your gear selection ready and don't take too long to down shift.

sometimes we AMG drives think if we just barely tap the throttle the car should be left behind.. but that is not always the case.

If you are going to put the hammer down, make sure its all the way.

nice 350!

I have seen a few 550's!!! FORD is going crazy with mini Semi trucks

These diesel titans are truly some potent sleepers. Some make even twice the torque of the M275 V12!

my roommate and i raced a turbo diesel one in his stageII STI. we didnt even know we were racing it until he floored it and the truck was right next to us. it kept up with us really well as we only pulled about 1 car on it. guy said he has dumped at least 35K into it.

if you wanna see a bad a$$ truck, there is one right here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=u8NwWBIzl...elated&search=

my roommate has a video posted online if him racing this truck in his turbo'd gsx. i believe the owner of this truck (name is Parish). i believe he running 9 second 1/4 miles now

I almost got stuck racing a Dodge diesel P/U at the track...would've been quite humbling as he ran a 12.2 to my 12.4. But it isn't just the fact that they are fast, they look pretty crazy doing it. This guy sat there with his brakes locked while he brought the big turbo (or turbos) to the boil... this one had twin five or six inch exhaust stacks and they are blasting black smoke about twenty feet in the air. When the tree dropped, it looked like he was on a aircraft carrier catapult as he fired down the track defying the laws of physics. He only trapped a 111, but as I mentioned, it was a 12.2 on a truck with a lift kit, mudder tires, and he may have even had a ladder rack! From my buddy who knows trucks, he says that the Cummins in the Dodge is totally overbuilt and can take tremendous boost. He says it's way stronger that Chevy's "Durajunk" (as he called it) or Fords Powerstroke. But I suspect there may be a bit of truck rivalry going on much like MB vs BMW or Mustang Vs. Camaro.

My cousin is a mechanic. American car enthusiast. Hes a big ford guy. Thinks Fords are the greatest things ever... Excpet when it coems to a diesiel engine. He swears by the dodge turbo diesiel. Other then that hes a ford junkie. He's getting into MB the more I have him work on my car lol. He likes how I have "diesel" fuel lines in a gas car.