Blinkage- ALL diesel pickups have turbos, you cant buy one without (except the really old ones) the black smoke is cause the timing needs to be ajusted. As for why buy a diesel? once you buy one its going to last 15-20 years without problems. The diesel engine is very realible, the body will fall off the truck before the engine craps out.

 

Totally SWEET!!

 

I admit if you are towing a lot/or often, diesel is the way to go, cause of the increased low-end torque they produce. But what I see in my area anyway is these wannabe truck drivers running around the city with their diesel pickups, that never tow or haul anything. I had an 03 F250 with a V10 which could haul/tow just as much as any diesel could. Since I didn't tow all that often, I elected to go gas because overall it's cheaper to own and operate. Sometimes these psuedo-semi jockeys would ask me why I didn't get a diesel and I would tell them. Then I'd ask them, why did you get a diesel? Their usual response was "because I like diesel." I would then ask how much they haul/tow, etc. and they would almost always say "nothing." Then I would inform them that their diesel can't do nothing my gas engine can't do, except drain their wallet.

 

I thought diesel's couldn't have blow off valves...

You can get some crazy power out of diesel trucks. A tuner will work wonder on them, like a poster before said easy +100hp, probobly closer to 150hp. This is given that aren't towing anything. I know of some Dodge 5.9 diesels that are have hit 700+hp and over 1500lbft. The black smoke you typicaly see is when the injectors are dumping too much fuel into the cylinders. Odds are if you see a newer truck doing this, its making some good power.

 

Ya theres a huge Dodge 2500 diesel that was at the track last time I was there and I was talkin to him for a bit, he was claiming just over 600 with just under 1k of torque.. shortly after that he continued to smoke an 03 cobra by running a high 11.

 

I always loved the idea of running propane and nitrous injection.

 

You really need to learn before you speak! All diesel engines in today's trucks are turbocharged. Using a tuner gives you the ability to change several vehicle parameters. I added 115 hp and 200ft lbs of torque by using it giving my a dynoed 396 hp and an incredible 656ft lbs of torque! Try and get that with a gasser. Diesel pickups cost more because you are buying more power and longevity. Low rpm torque cannot be achieved by gas engines, and is not distribited evenly across the power band. Maintenance costs more, but is done less. The only maintainence that is done is oil, oil and fuel filters. I change my oil every 15k miles, not 3k like gas engines. Repairs are more expensive, but rarely have to be done. As far as hauling, you are completely wrong. I tow a 40' fifth wheel toy hauler that weighs in excess of 16K pounds when fully loaded. The combined weight is 25k pounds. The only gas engine that even come close to this is the Ford V10(the only one made), but it dies on hills. That leaves only the 460 Ford or the 454 GM as the big gassers, and they are dogs. Diesels have a normal mileage lifespan of about 500,000 miles before an overhaul is due. Also, my truck gets 18-20 mpg all day long when not towing. NO other big block gas truck can achieve this. Ego stroking? No. Anatomy compensation? I wish. That truck is huge!!

And no, there are not blow off valves on diesels. There are wastegates that regulate pressure. With the open 5" exhaust I have, you can definitely hear it when the wastegate opens. That's probably what was heard. Either that, or the driver ground a pound in the tranny.

 

I thougth about buying a VW Beetle with the 1.9TDI diesel motor and try building that up. It would be nice to get a diesel Beetle down into the 13s range. But it would probobly cost more than I'd be willing to spend to get it there.

 

If you want a fast Beetle just buy an old Super Beetle some of those cars FLY, I've been to a few VW shootouts and it's amazing what those guys do.

 

Think of this, all the 18-wheelers you see on the road aren't running a gas motor for a reason.