"Weekend on the Edge"
Edge Products host their 2005 all-diesel drag race & dyno event.
$2500 Prize Purse

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By Jim Bigley
Photography by Tim Knobloch, Scott Eckerson & the author

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The third annual Edge Products' "Weekend on the Edge" event was held near Salt Lake City, Utah this past September. September 9th found us at the Rocky Mountain Raceways 1/4-mile track for an afternoon and evening of diesel smoke, howling tires and roaring diesel engines. September 10th found us at the Edge manufacturing facility in Ogden, Utah for a day of plant tours, product displays, burgers/hotdogs and watching 60 trucks wail on their two chassis dynamometers - with some in the 600 & 700 horsepower range. For anyone who loves diesel engines, fast trucks and big-big power, this was a weekend you didn't want to miss.

Edge has been big into diesel performance for more than six years, focusing on electronic upgrades that can add up to 150 horsepower and 200 lb-ft of torque. With 93 employees, a 24,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility and a broad engineering base, Edge Products has developed a wide range of easy to install and top-performing power products for the Duramax, Powerstroke and Cummins powered pickup trucks. Sponsoring an event like the "Weekend" is a great idea.

A hundred and twenty trucks ran at the strip, providing a great opportunity for both truck owners and spectators alike. While a freight train load of smokey Dodges ran, three of the top four best elapsed times at the 1/4-mile track and four of the top ten trucks on the dyno were powered by the Duramax.

To help produce a top-quality diesel drag race event, Edge Products rented the track for their/our exclusive use. This allowed those attending plenty of opportunity to compete. Trucks were organized into three classes: "ST" meaning trucks equipped with a Single Turbo running on just #2 diesel fuel, "O" for Open Class, which permitted the use of nitrous oxide, propane and/or multiple turbochargers, and "S"pecial (purpose-built non-streetable race trucks).

The first couple of hours saw many test/tune/qualifying runs, which were followed by a number of bracket runs, where trucks were staged and paired with other trucks that produced a similar performance. Robert VanOtten became the "Open Bracket" winner in his 2003 Dodge Cummins, and took home $325 for a 13.23 @ 102.5 mph run. Hazen Criddle's 1996 Dodge Cummins ran for a $250 win as the only entrant in the "Special" category, producing 13.852 @ 100.72 mph, using twin turbos, nitrous, and water/methanol injection. In "Heads Up ST" elimination, John Kennedy took home $750 after running his 2005 LLY Duramax to a 15.1 second run. And finally, Brett Williams took the "Open" win and $750 prize in his 2004 Dodge Cummins, which produced an ET of 13.22 @ 104 mph.

For many of us, we were there to test the performance limits and discover what our trucks were capable of. This meant running without limiting performance to remain within a specified bracket. The following four trucks were the best performing trucks of the day.

-12.2 seconds at 110 mph- Zane Koch's 1997 Ford Powerstroke produced the best ET of the event. There are a small number of 7.3L Powerstrokes around the country that have achieved impressive results. Four wheel drive and two wheel drive trucks each do very well when equipped with the right tires and chassis setup, along with a dedication to build engines with amazing power.

-12.60 seconds at 111.28 mph- John Kennedy's 2002 Chevy (far lane) produced the second best performance of the evening. While the engine is basically untouched and hasn't been taken apart, it is always a top performer. The combination of performance products John is using works, and works well. The following day, during Edge's dyno portion of the event, the big 2002 crew cab churned an incredible 725 horsepower on the rollers.

-12.62 seconds at 112.37 mph- Brandon Meyers has been campaigning his 2002 Chevy crew cab for quite some time now, and has incrementally improved his 1/4-mile performance. In addition to an engine that produced 650 horsepower on Edge's dyno, it takes considerable traction and chassis setup to launch hard. To help accomplish that, Brandon is running a set of M&H Racemaster MHD-11 cheater slicks on Eagle Series 058 16x10 rims. The slicks are 30/14.0-16LT with a T.W of 11.0, a S.W of 14.0, with a diameter of 30.0 inches. So cool watching the big wrinkle-wall low-pressure tires bite into the track during a hard launch.

-12.9 seconds at 112.8 mph- Rounding out the "Fast Four" trucks at the 1/4-mile track was Jim Bigley's Duramax powered 1989 Silverado Sportside. With power boosted by a PPE Xcelerator and nitrous, and performance further enhanced by a Kennedy Diesel ATS Allison Extreme, the little red truck broke into the twelves late in the evening after a series of shake-down runs. More power is planned, along with a few chassis mods that allow for harder launches and better times. Lil Red produced the fastest trap speed of the event.

For more track performance data, please visit the Edge Products Event page.

September 10th found us at the Edge facility in Ogden, Utah. Here, Edge Products CEO Paul Lehman personally guides our group on a tour of the facility. This photo shows one of the electronics assembly rooms, that included both hand assembly areas and an automated robotic machine that does the bulk of the circuit board assembly.

The dyno bays were kept hopping all day. The noise is what usually gets your attention the first time you see a 300 or more horsepower diesel spin the rollers. After watching a few trucks run, it becomes somewhat easy to identify the big power trucks from the average just by watching how hard the truck leans into the rollers and by the ferocity of the exhaust noise. Once the event was over, we asked a number of people what the best part of the weekend was for them. The responses split whether the track or the dyno was most entertaining.

John Kennedy's 2002 Chevy delivered the day's top horsepower on the dyno. 725 horsepower and 1373 lb-ft of torque are incredible numbers. This truck is as long as a locomotive engine, and seeing it lift the front of the truck while leaning into the rollers leaves no doubt about the amount of power this Duramax produces. Simply awe inspiring.

The complexion of this year's Edge event was dramatically different when compared to last year - due, in part, to TDP & friends attending. Three of the top four performing trucks at the 1/4-mile track and four of the top ten trucks on the dyno were Duramax powered.

Sixty trucks were dyno'ed on two chassis dynamometers. Dyno #1 was reserved for those trucks producing 400+ horsepower, and dyno #2 was made available for those trucks producing less than 400. The following data is ordered from highest horsepower, with the top ten performing trucks highlighted.

Dyno #1

Dyno #2

There were a couple of videographers in attendance at the Edge event. I spoke with one fellow during the dyno portion of the event who represented Guns & Gear TV, and he encouraged all of us to tune in to the Men's Channel (channel 218) on the Dish Network sometime in late October or November for a special broadcast covering the "2005 Weekend on the Edge". The Men's Channel reaches 27,000,000 households 3 times weekly in every region of the United States. Their weekly broadcast schedule includes Monday at 11:30 PM EST, Saturday at 7:00 and 9:30 PM EST, and Sunday at 11:00 PM EST.

In addition to the Men's Channel coverage of the Edge event, several photojournalists were also in attendance, representing a like number of truck-related magazines. During the event, I spoke with writers from Sport Truck, Four Wheeler and Truck Trend magazines. Also attending Edge's event were writers/photographers from Diesel Power, Diesel World, Performance Business, Street Trenz, Fastest Street Car magazines, Turbo Diesel Register and the Powerstroke Registry. Be sure to watch the news stands through late 2005 and early 2006 for more Weekend on the Edge event coverage.

Thanks to Edge Products and their whole crew for hosting a great weekend! Hosting something like this requires a lot of effort, and we appreciate it. Can't wait till next year!     TDP

Thanks also to Tim Knobloch and Scott Eckerson for shooting some of the photos appearing here.

Kennedy Diesel
W3351 26 Rd.
Loyal, WI 54446
Call: 1-715-255-9433 Fax 715-255-9499
www.KennedyDiesel.com