Filed under: Diesel, Green Culture, Vegetable Oil, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, SEMA Show
Diesel pickup that runs on peanut oil has 200mph aspirations
Ever mix peanut oil with nitrous oxide? That's what Lin and Steven Austin will try when they attempt to set a land-speed record with an '87 Chevy truck and a massive 2-stroke Detroit Diesel engine. The V6 engine must run on regular diesel fuel to reach 220-degree operating temperature before switching over to peanut oil. When needed, Lin can activate the nitrous oxide. The 552-cubic-inch diesel needs plenty of air to turn over 5,000 rpm, so a pair of 70psi turbo chargers and a Roots-style 8-71 supercharger force air into the cylinders. The engine also gets a spray of alcohol for cooling purposes. The truck weighs 10,000 pounds and is hardly suited aerodynamically for land-speed attempts. But the Austins, which run Orange County Rod and Custom in Placentia, California, feel the 3,000-horsepower engine can propel them to a record run of nearly 240 mph or more.
There's another picture after the jump.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
RichC 12:48PM (11/02/2006)
The comment "The V6 engine must run on regular diesel fuel to reach 220-degree operating temperature before switching over to peanut oil" isn't exactly true ... they could use biodiesel. ;-)
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Howard Lee Harkness 1:15PM (11/02/2006)
Yawn. You can make a brick fly if you apply enough thrust. I would be a lot more impressed by a pickup truck that got 200 mp*g* on peanut oil.
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ChrisF 8:41AM (11/03/2006)
3,000 hp on peanut oil! THAT'S amazing!
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1985 Gripen 2:52PM (11/03/2006)
Imagine what kind of mileage they could get if they inflated that front tire! Look at the picture. It seems a little low... ;-)
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Will 12:37AM (11/16/2006)
Detroit still doesn't get it! A fuel-efficient diesel engine in a compact pickup is what we need. People would love it for so many reasons! It would be fuel efficient, green -if powered by bio-diesel or vege-oil, and offer all the mechanical advantages of diesel, such as low end torque and long life. Dodge could do it today with a jeep crd engine in a mini-ram or dakota pickup. So why do I have to run a hot rod shop (eg build my own from scavenged parts)in order to have my own?
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Charles 3:33AM (8/26/2008)
This surely looks real cool and green. I could smell peanut butter when the engine rev up. LoL.
related post:
http://greenfuelpower.blogspot.com
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