Ford F-250 Super Duty sets diesel and biodiesel land speed records
Filed under: Motorsports, Truck, Etc., Ford
The Bonneville Salt Flats are a place where records are constantly made and broken. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes are driven, towed or pushed out to the brilliantly white sodium chloride desert where drivers embark on a quest for high speeds. You can expect to see production cars, motorcycles, purpose-built streamliners and vehicles that look ready to leave the flat plain and attack the sky. One vehicle you would not expect to pull away from the start line, however, is a Ford F-250 Super Duty.
Brent Hajek sees the world a little differently.
The Hajek Motorsports team prepped a 2011 Ford F-250 Super Duty for high-speed blasts under the Bonneville sun. The truck is a nearly stock diesel-engined model equipped with the new turbocharged 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8. Hajek Motorsports swapped out the fuel injectors, fuel pump and turbo to get more go-juice into the engine at a greater rate. Inside, a roll cage and five-point harness were added for safety while moonbeam wheel caps attempt to streamline the high-speed brick. Other than the moderate upgrades and sponsor stickers, the Hajek F-250 is a run-of-the-mill production vehicle that can run on standard diesel or B20 biodiesel. There's no exact number with regards to the upgraded performance figures, but Hajek Motorsports states that it's pushed horsepower and torque up by 50 percent over the stock engine's 400 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of grunt.
What sort of speed does that translate to on the salt flats? A new B Production Diesel Truck record of 171.123 miles per hour, which bests the previous record 166.850 mph held by a Duramax-powered GMC pickup. The Hajek team also filled the truck up with B20 biodiesel and set out to beat the previous record of 130.614 mph. They smashed that one, with a speed of 182 miles per hour. That's a pretty
Continue reading Ford F-250 Super Duty sets diesel and biodiesel land speed records
Ford F-250 Super Duty sets diesel and biodiesel land speed records originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsReport: Continental recalling nearly 400,000 tires used on Ford F-Series pickups
Filed under: Truck, Recalls, Ford
Due to some apparently shoddy rubber, Continental and Ford are recalling 2008-2009 F-250 and F-350 pickup trucks equipped with certain tires. The issue lies with nearly 400,000 Continental tires that are susceptible to uneven wear and, in certain situations, can experience tread belt separation. If that occurs, the risk of an accident will rise substantially.
This recall affects trucks built from May 6th, 2007 through September 20th, 2008. Approximately 390,657 units are faulty and the specific tires in question are:
- Continental Contitrac LT275/70R18 125/122S (outline white letters, black sidewall)
- Continental Contitrac TR BSW LT275/70R18 125/122S (black sidewall)
- Continental Contitrac TR OWL LT275/70R18 125/122S
[Source: NHTSA via Consumer Reports]
Continue reading Report: Continental recalling nearly 400,000 tires used on Ford F-Series pickups
Report: Continental recalling nearly 400,000 tires used on Ford F-Series pickups originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFord Excursion lives! Get your 2011 model right here
Filed under: Aftermarket, SUV, Truck, Ford
2011 Ford Excursion - Click above for high-res image gallery
The Ford Excursion lives, though not through any fault of Ford. The clever craftsmen at Custom Autos by Tim can turn any 2010 or 2011 Ford F-250 or F-350 into what looks to be a factory-perfect interpretation of what the Excursion would look like if it hadn't been axed in 2005. Buyers can get their behemoths with either four or six doors and it usually takes Tim's crew around six weeks to turn a vehicle from a pickup to an SUV. In that time, the shop finds a 2005 Excursion from the southwest, drags it to their shop in Guthrie, Oklahoma and surgically removes the rear-end of the vehicle.
From there, the aft is grafted onto the new truck and a completely new interior is installed. The whole shebang will cost you $23,000 on top of the purchase price of your standard F-250 or F-350. Given that the F-250 starts at $29,480 without destination, chances are you're looking at a price tag of over $53,000 by the time all is said and done. We think we'd just as soon stick with a Chevrolet Suburban were it our chips on the table.
[Source: Custom Autos by Tim]
Ford Excursion lives! Get your 2011 model right here originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsAutoblog Podcast #189 – Flex sunsetting, NHTSA stars, saleable Sebrings and a cruise in the Cruze
Filed under: Podcasts, Government/Legal, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, Hyundai, Lincoln, Rumormill
Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!
Chris Shunk, Sam Abuelsamid and Dan Roth are back for Episode #188 of the Autoblog Podcast. Topics this time around include rumors of a Ford Flex/Lincoln MKT phase-out after 2013, changes to the way NHTSA crash rating scores are given, patent images that could be the next Chrysler Sebring and the Chevrolet Cruze. Your feedback is incorporated throughout this hour and twenty minute extravaganza, too. Thanks for listening, see you next time!
Autoblog Podcast #189 - Flex sunsetting, NHTSA stars, saleable Sebrings and a cruise in the Cruze
In the Autoblog Garage:
Ford F250 Super Duty
Ford Mustang GT Convertible
Hyundai Sonata SE
News:
- NHTSA updates its crash-test procedure
- Chrysler 200C patent drawings and Sebring plant staffing boost
- Ford Flex/Lincoln MKT being phased out
- Chevrolet Cruze first drive
Dan Roth, Sam Abuelsamid, Chris Shunk
Runtime: 84:26
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Feedback:
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Autoblog Podcast #189 - Flex sunsetting, NHTSA stars, saleable Sebrings and a cruise in the Cruze originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsHDLI: Cadillac Escalade top target for thieves
Filed under: Coupe, SUV, Truck, Cadillac, Ford, Infiniti, Luxury
The Highway Data Loss Institute has churned out its official list of vehicles with the highest and lowest insurance claims for theft. The study combines the rate of insurance claims per vehicle as well as the cost of those claims, helping companies that supply coverage determine exactly how much to charge us poor saps. The Cadillac Escalade took top honors this year with $146 in theft loss payments per insured vehicle, per year. On average, insurance companies pay out around $11,934 per theft claim when it comes to the Escalade with 10.8 of the SUVs stolen per 1,000 vehicles. That's more than 10 times the theft rate of the vehicle with the lowest theft losses - the Volvo S80.
In fact, of the top 10 vehicles on the Highway Data Loss Institute's list, six were of General Motors origin. How do the thieves get around the bad-guy battling OnStar vehicle immobilization? Easy. They load the coveted SUVs onto a flat bed and drive away.
The 2008-2009 Ford F-250 crew cab four-wheel drive took the silver when it came to vehicles with the highest theft loss, followed by the 2008-2009 Infiniti G37 coupe. Hit the jump to see if your vehicle's on the list.
[Source: Highway Data Loss Institute]
Continue reading HDLI: Cadillac Escalade top target for thieves
HDLI: Cadillac Escalade top target for thieves originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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