The Beginning of the End for 6.0L Factory Limits
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Term
ECU Masters
ECU Masters makes devices that help control how an engine runs, which can improve performance and efficiency compared to the original factory settings.
Term
factory FICUM
The factory FICUM is a computer that controls how fuel is injected into a diesel engine, helping it run smoothly and efficiently.
Term
factory PCM
The factory PCM is the original computer in a car that controls how the engine works and performs. It tells the engine what to do based on various inputs.
Car
Cummins
Cummins makes powerful diesel engines that are commonly used in trucks and heavy vehicles. They are known for being strong and reliable.
Term
standalone computer
A standalone computer is a special device that helps control how an engine works. It's used to make changes to improve performance, separate from the original computer that came with the vehicle.
Term
Cummins trucks
Cummins trucks are a type of vehicle that uses engines made by Cummins, a company famous for making strong and reliable engines, especially for big trucks.
Term
spool up
Spooling up means getting a turbo or supercharger to work and give extra power to the engine. It's important for going fast, especially in races.
Term
burnout
A burnout is when a car spins its wheels while staying in one place, making smoke from the tires. It's usually done to make the tires stick better when racing.
Term
turbo
A turbo is a part that helps an engine get more air, which helps it make more power. It's often used in sports cars to make them faster.
Term
RPM
RPM means how many times the engine's parts spin in one minute. Higher numbers usually mean the engine is working harder and can go faster, but too high can be bad for the engine.
Car
Duramax
Duramax is a type of diesel engine made by Chevrolet. It's known for being strong and is often used in their trucks.
Term
standalone controller
A standalone controller is a special computer that helps control how an engine runs. It's used in racing to make the engine perform better by adjusting settings.
Part
wastegate
A wastegate is a part that controls how much exhaust goes into the turbo. It helps keep the turbo from making too much power, which could hurt the engine.
Term
six liters
'Six liters' means the engine is capable of holding six liters of fuel and air, which helps it produce power. It's often used in larger trucks to give them more strength for towing and hauling.
Term
power numbers
Power numbers tell you how strong an engine is. They show how fast a truck can go and how well it can pull heavy things.
Term
nitrous
Nitrous is a gas that helps engines produce more power. When added to the fuel, it makes the engine run faster and stronger.
Term
daily driver
A daily driver is just a car you use every day to get to work or run errands. It's not usually a fancy or high-performance car, just something practical.
Term
billet blocks
Billet blocks are strong engine parts made from solid metal. They are better for high-performance engines because they can handle more stress and power.
Car
Mitsubishi Sigma
The Mitsubishi Sigma is a car that was made a long time ago and is not very common now. It was known for being comfortable and having a lot of space inside.
Part
front struts
Front struts are parts of a car's suspension that help keep the ride smooth and stable. They absorb bumps from the road and help the car handle better when turning.
Term
60 foot hits
'60 foot hits' means how fast a car can go from a stop to a distance of 60 feet. It's an important measure in drag racing to see how well a car starts off the line.
Concept
staging process
The staging process is what drivers do to get their car ready at the starting line before a race. It helps make sure everything is set up correctly for a good start.
Car
BMW 330S
The BMW 3 Series is a luxury car that is fun to drive and feels very nice inside. It's popular among people who want a stylish and sporty car.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful an engine is. The more horsepower an engine has, the faster and stronger it can make a car go.
Company
DFC Diesel
DFC Diesel is a company that rebuilds diesel engines to make them like new again. They work with well-known engine types used in trucks and focus on making sure their engines are high quality.
Concept
NHRA
The NHRA is a group that organizes drag racing events, where cars race in a straight line to see who is fastest. It's been around for a long time and is very important in the racing world.
Car
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a fast and stylish sports car that many people love. It's famous for its speed and cool looks, making it a popular choice among car enthusiasts.
Car
Dacia Duster
The Dacia Duster is an affordable SUV that can handle rough roads and is great for families. It's known for being practical and budget-friendly.
Car
Chevrolet Malibu
The Chevrolet Malibu is a family-friendly car that's easy to drive and good for everyday use. It has a comfortable interior and is designed to be reliable for daily trips.
LIVE
Welcome to the diesel podcast presented by DFC diesel.
How's it going, Austin? How you been?
Going good.
Just trying to get through the winter at the moment.
Staying nice and cold here in Indiana.
Yeah, it seems like it's cold over a lot of the country.
I think Florida got snow.
I saw the other day and everything.
So yeah, I'm ready kind of ready for spring and like once this time of year
hits and we get kind of closer to the end of January,
I start thinking about race season.
I remember last year, like in the fall,
we had chatted about your truck, an accident you had at the track
and what was going on there.
So I thought it'd be cool to catch up with you and see how progress has been going
on the you get in the truck back up and running and getting ready for 2026.
It's full swing and it is getting a little stressful.
But yeah, we added to the plate to say the least this year.
Did as far as like repairing the truck, how's that come along?
It's back running.
Nathaniel got the front half done.
The struts are fixed.
Everything's in it.
It is currently down at a hard way.
Brandon is down there wiring away, trying to get all of the EU Masters put in it
and get everything in that truck integrated.
And with the EU Masters, they're releasing their
their actual diesel specific ECM
we're going to attempt and won't happen this go around.
But we're starting we're starting the process of making
the first diesel engine that runs on that ECU Masters actually be a six litre.
So Bill, hopefully the end goal is to do away with the factory PCM
and the factory FICUM and, you know, jump into the 21st century here.
That's really cool.
Let's spend a little bit of time talking about that, because I'm familiar with
Hardway and Ryan Millikin.
He's been he was one of the first guests I've ran on the podcast.
I've known him for a long time.
One, when you were going to send it down there, how hard did he try to
sell you on throwing the Cummins in that truck?
Surprisingly, not at all.
He's joked about it.
There was apparently some time there right after the New Year's of a little
boredom where they photoshopped a Cummins into the chassis.
But no, I mean, he reached out and has been
one of the more helpful guys I've ever come across when it comes to trying
to figure all this out.
I mean, it kind of kind of been out there in the dark a little bit,
just using the computer resources we have at hand with tuning and stuff.
And I said, he reached out and said, let me help you, please.
And I was like, perfect.
And he said, I think we can make all this work and do this and do that.
And I was just like, whatever you can do to help me, I'm all game.
I'm all ears.
I'm willing to learn like.
Oh, please, because I'm beating my head against the wall with this thing.
What's like when it comes to.
Like a standalone computer, I've had guests and racers on talk about it
with Cummins trucks a lot, but with being a six liter, can you help me
understand what are some limitations that those trucks have with the factory
computer and what the what ECU masters is going to allow you to do for
performance, power and control.
Um, like any other platform out there, at least I believe it's that way for
like certain aspects of racing, like staging limiters and stuff.
We have to do a lot of very full sensors and try to use a bunch of relays to
flip circuits and hope it never triggers a check engine like is then it won't
work and along those lines, it'll help with being all simplified that in
terms of the pro mod, um, switch on the fly tuning capabilities.
Like currently the tune that I'm going to make my drag passing is the tune
that I have to use to try to spool up to a burnout with.
And, uh, that poses its own level of just difficulties at times because I've
learned now, once you do a burnout, there's already a bunch of heat in the
exhaust and the turbo has already got a little bit more momentum in it.
The second you start to school up your, where you have your ramp set up at is
it just that engine passes through that window drastically faster.
And that's why the problem kept fighting backfiring and stuff because
everything just happened so much quicker.
Um, as far as the factory tuning, we can't spend a six liter over 6,000
RPMs.
There's nothing we can do that would allow us to do that.
And from what we're seeing with the Duramaxes and stuff, there's a lot to
be had above that 6,000 RPM and trying to not break parts and just progressing.
But currently at like 5,200 RPM, no matter what we do with the factory, you
see a metal start cutting ICP and not, it's just not good deal.
It kind of really limits everything.
So currently I make peak power in my truck at 3,700 RPM.
So on shifts and on lockups, I've learned in the pro street truck
that it makes the engine hate life is for instance, referencing the pro street
truck, we will be making 150 to 160 pounds of boosts.
And when lockup and the two, three shift happen, it'll get dragged down to 2700 RPM.
So the torque just goes through the roof.
I love the cycle or the cause and effect that happens.
Like we're talking about a standalone controller on a race truck and most of
our listeners aren't going to be in the market for a standalone controller or a
race truck.
But what is going to happen with this when it gets up and running,
it has this like cascade effect, right?
Because then it's going to, there's going to be companies make hard parts,
whether it's injectors, pumps, turbos, components in the engine that are going to
see a whole new set of, I don't want to say problems, but maybe challenges.
If you're able to fuel it that high and what's going to happen is going to be
things that break and then you and them are all going to learn with it.
And then eventually that experience lends itself towards a daily driver or street
truck, somebody wants one that runs really strong.
Would you say that this standalone option is maybe the most or most revolutionary thing
to happen to six liters, maybe ever?
I'm not going to go that far because we haven't obviously done it yet.
We don't have like a proof concept, but we're pretty confident we can make it happen.
I would like to think so.
There's some people that say it's a dying platform, but I don't know if I believe that
because there's just so many of them out there.
I know there's a lot more sled pulling six liters, especially in that,
that Northern region, Wisconsin, PA, Northern Ohio out there that people just,
I don't know if people forget about, but all of this translates over to there too.
So anything we can do is just going to help and integrate things.
It'll also help with not breaking things as much.
We can learn at a quicker rate versus me going, oops, I blew the turbo up because
the wastegate didn't work with the standalone system.
There's a lot of safeties in there that you can start trimming fuel and stuff as all these
Cummins guys do is just makes the possibilities limitless.
At the end of the day, it's still just a giant air pump.
You just got to try to make it more efficient.
I remember a time when seven threes were a dying platform and then I look it out popular
that they are now.
So it's things change and there's a ton of those trucks that are out there.
And whenever we talk six liters, there's always a lot of interest around them because they can be,
there's so many possibilities and reasons people choose them, whether it's their first diesel
truck or they just, they love it or they see what you do or some of the other racers out there with
six liters.
And you have that potential if you want to invest the time and the money and the effort
to have a truck that's making really good power numbers that can have fun with.
So I think that'll be really interesting to follow throughout this year and probably in
next year, I'm sure it'll be a process, but that sounds like a game changing possibility
that's going to allow you to achieve some of those goals and maybe goals that you don't even
know that you want to achieve yet, but you're going to see them on the horizon and be like,
I can do that now.
It's got me excited.
I was over the moon when Ryan reached out because I was like, just I'm tired of beating
my head against the wall, even on the simpler side of just integrating the whole truck into
one controller for the transmission and the waste gates, dumps, nitrous, everything on that
truck.
And it was, and then Ryan approached me and said, I think I can make this around completely on a
standalone, which before the thick of them was the big hold up, but after the PRI and meeting
with ECU masters guys, they're like, we're, it will take some work and it'll take some stuff we
never done before.
Well, those guys over there and ECU masters, they're open to the challenge and open to trying
anything it seems like.
I mean, it seems to be a very open notebook on where they want to take that platform.
What's the, what do you think the timeline is going to be to get that one set up and then
two start to be able to play around with it?
Will it be this year, the spring or summer or what are you looking at?
I would assume it's going to be this year.
It's going to be some point this year.
I think it'll end up being, it'll end up being on me.
It'll end up being, being taking the truck back down to Florida for them to get hands
on with it again.
So we'll have to try to find a little or some time there where I can, you know, make that
11 hour drive down there to Ryan's, drop it off, let him have it for a week, two weeks,
whatever it takes, go back down there to pick it up and get back racing and keep learning.
But currently there's a, they need to get, we need the truck to running, but it's,
like I said, Brandon's doing all of his work to it.
So there's some measurements within a oscilloscope and everything they need to take
so they can send to ECU masters.
So ECU masters can write the logic and everything into the controller.
And then that process would be them, them sending the controllers and the drivers and
seeing what we can do from there.
So we're halfway there with already having the truck wired with the PMU and everything.
So this is process.
It's really cool.
I had, Lenny Reed was on any couple episodes ago and he was talking about ECU masters and
working with them on some of the, like his race vehicle and some things like that.
So I think hearing about it and what you're doing with it is really cool and something
I'm going to, I'm going to have to keep my eye on because that's, like I said, when,
when you guys do stuff at the track and you hit these new milestones, it affects
everything all the way down to a tow truck or a daily driver.
So that'll be, that'll be interesting to see as far as the truck itself,
any big changes you're doing to it, fuel, air, transmission, anything like that.
Nope. What is there?
It, I think can be, once it's all figured out, can be very fast.
It will, the guy in the seat needs to get his butt a little bit, but
I mean, it's still bullseye powered turbos with just an 88 on it right now.
They have the parts for my 98 sitting there, but I didn't really want to try to learn a
whole new truck with a big 98 millimeter single.
So I made strides from Xana last year and I think I could utilize that turbo and make
it work, but I would rather use a more, started a lower power, figure this truck out
and just make laps. And then when I think I got a handle on it, change the turbo and
you know, I might have to beat my head against the wall for an event or two,
but I'll figure it out and put in the time and the effort, but no, it's just, it's still the same.
The billet blocks are still coming. There's some tweaks that Jesse keeps making that he's learning
from, you know, putting a Sigma truck on his or a Sigma pump on his pulling truck and
he found some more weak points and we're addressing those and, but yeah,
another net still the same, some different front struts
and some more controlling abilities. What are your, what are your goals this year with it?
Not to put it in the wall, solid one. No, my goal currently is to get it and make as many
passes as humanly possible and not full passes either. I want to,
me and the lagglers are very close and Jeremy's already with open arms told me just let him know
when and we'll prep the track and I can have it for a weekend.
So I just want to go down there and make 60 foot hits and until I feel comfortable in the truck,
there's no reason to even go past the 60 foot until that whole staging process,
burnout process, all that is figured out. There's just no reason to run it all the way,
even to the 330. So make 60 foot hits, get comfortable, get comfortable. If I have to,
go back down there another week and then we'll start going 330s and just work our way up.
Probably what I should have done last year, but ODSS season was there and I was ready to
try to compete and based on how some of the ladders were working out and he was showing
up the races as in the finals a couple of times. So I was ready to go and we had an unfortunate
incident that bit me in the butt, but luckily Jesse's fully behind me and on board and said,
fix it and let's get it back figured out and start going. But for sure, reset the six liter
record, chasing the power stroke record, which is a 450. I think that record's going to be lowered
this year. Don't think it's going to be by me. I'll get close, but I think that record will be
held at the end of the year by another person that has a new truck coming out.
It's going to be cool to follow. What are some things that you're,
and maybe it's not specific to your race truck. Maybe it's a diesel in general.
What are some things you're excited about in 2026?
It's early, but we're already prepping for it. UCC, the event continues to grow 72 fasts.
It is massive and I don't know if I see that going anywhere. I'm pretty excited for that.
All these trucks that I'm being privileged with to drive,
me excited. I mean, it's a very exciting, I mean, we're getting a regular race for a hundred grand.
That is something I never thought I'd see in the diesel industry. We're going to have an event
where there is a lot of money being offered to people to win and it's already starting to spread
to other stuff. I saw Matt and Charlie. I don't quite understand completely all of it,
but that like two little drive street truck class they're trying to put together or doing
out there in Arizona. It looks interesting, but it's still, it's excitement. It's getting people
going to see a class introduced and see a hundred and I don't know how many people actually ended
up getting on like that waiting list and signing up, but 150 plus people instantly wanting to
get involved to go racing. Some people might have been getting out of the stands and wanting to go
racing and just I'm glad to see it. I like seeing this industry grow. Obviously, I wanted to last
for until I, I want my little boy to build and jump in a truck and go driving and go racing at
ODSS or any inter-DA or whatever it ends up becoming with the whole, you know, global,
worldwide cross-country series that looks to be coming. That'll be interesting, but I don't know.
It's just, there's a lot to look forward to. We released my schedule and instantly I had like
three more promoters call us saying like, Hey, you don't have anything on this week.
If you want to come to our event. So now that it's off and getting married at the end of the
year, we're, I think I'm up to 16 or 17 events for the year to go compete at. So there's a lot
to get going on. How do the events, how do events like the ones you described,
how did they motivate, energize, kind of get you going and keep this whole process
evolving itself? Like from the perspective of connecting with people, like the human connection
side, maybe companies, maybe other racers, people pushing you, how does that factor into it?
It, it just, seeing other people excited gets me excited, I guess. And
uh,
man, you stumped me.
What I was thinking about with it was like, when you're around high level competition like that,
I think it really, it pushes innovation. It pushes the competitive nature. Like diesel is
very competitive. Racing is very competitive. This whole industry is like built on competition,
whether you're buying like a towing transmission or a towing turbo or we're talking like 450s or
4,000 horsepower, whatever it is, it's just, it's so competitive. And I think like from the
outside looking in, you know, we see you at different events, but we don't know,
it is, does that like recharge you to be around other competitive people and
maybe a little bit of, you know, competitive talk and, you know, things like that. Does that
kind of energize you? Yeah, to be honest with you, I think what drives me the most is
everybody with the kind of, they joke about six leaders. Like we've always have been the
butt of everybody's jokes and everybody thinks they can't compete in stuff. And
that narrative has now changed to the people that have competed against me and have raced against
me. They don't bring those jokes up anymore. And I've started to notice over the years here,
like especially the last two or three, like I don't, people don't pull up into the lanes next to me
and think like, Dixley, we got this one handled. They're like, crap, that's Denny,
we gotta be on our game here. At the level we're at, it's more thinking in the pro street game
right now, that you can't slip up. Like if I'm racing Paul Cato or Justin Ziggler, if those
guys have any kind of bobble or flip or spin the tires or anything, they're going to get beat.
And they know that. I know that. It's just right there.
And that's just what entertains me. And that's something me and Jesse have teamed up again
once more is like in the 72 fast class. There was a lot of, you know, kind of not
urban but trash talking and stuff and saying it's definitely going to be 100% of Cummins guy
winning that class. And when you have a turbo limited class, that's all Jesse does.
He sled pulls and he tuned sled pull trucks. He said, Hey, we can be competitive. Can you
build a chassis? You think that can fit those rules and, you know, be competitive against
those Cummins guys? And I said, I'm confident I can. So we started another build. So we'll
three trucks in the stable for UCC that will be driving and come out and try to prove a point
that a six liter can compete and a class that, you know, is Cummins dominated.
Comment question we get from you guys a lot is, Hey, I need a diesel engine. I either, you know,
I can't wait this long to get one or normal place. I get stuff from it. It just takes too long or I
don't, they don't have the parts in it that I need. Maybe my truck's not stock or I tow heavy with it.
I don't want to go back with just a stock engine. DFC diesel is a sponsor of the podcast. We worked
with them, you know, hand in hand on doing episodes, answering technical questions. They have a
complete lineup of Cummins, Duramax and Powerstroke remanufactured engines that are set to a standard
of ISO 9001 2015 standards, which is a huge deal in the aftermarket. And there's certain levels of
quality testing validation that are required for that. So you know, when you get one of those engines,
the type of quality that's built behind it with an industry leading warranty,
that's really comprehensive. And you know, the other thing with that is, you know, sometimes
the options that are out there, it's just, it's a basic OEM engine. You want a little bit more.
You don't want to have the same failure again. So there's a bunch of different series of engines
that they have from core street tow haul and also the speed of air series, which we've covered on
the podcast before, there's a lot of really cool benefits to it. And if you have questions about
that, reach out to them. If you don't know the type of engine that you're looking for, if you go to
dfcdiesel.com, there's a ton of info there, you can send an email or you can reach out to them.
Also, they're working with speed of air pistons, which it's the only piston that pays for itself.
And there's a lot of really cool technology behind it. So you can add that into your build
and be able to get better fuel economy, you know, increased power, increased torque and better engine
life out of it. You know, some of the most common engine applications or series of engines that they
have with that lead time, a lot of them are in stock or they have really short lead times.
So you can check your favorite retailer or go to dfcdiesel.com, check them out to see what's in
stock, see what you can get. If you have questions, maybe you want to do, you know, something that's
outside of the normal series of engines, they have tons of choices for rods, cranks, pistons,
valve train upgrades, tons of different things. So if you're in the market, definitely make sure
and head on over and check them out. Hey diesel fans, I wanted to chat with you about diesel fuel.
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over to their website, use code dieselpod20 and get 20% off your order. It's my favorite part of
racing. It's not necessarily like the trucks or what type of engine it is. It's that it simplifies
competition in such a way that there is a start, a middle point, and a finish. There's a time
and you have like those direct results that you see where in a lot of other areas of life,
whether it's business or marketing or other things, it's not that direct. It's it can either,
you don't see the results necessarily as quick. So when I watch racing or pay attention to it,
that's what really kind of interests me is I get to see, I don't see all the work you do behind
the scenes. I don't know the struggles. I don't know the late nights. I don't know any of that
stuff, right? But I can see the results of it. And then when you get different people that are
really highly competitive together, the times are what they are. And you have a winner,
you have a loser, and then you go back and you do it again, you make changes and stuff. So I love
that kind of aspect to racing. But that's why I asked you that question is what it's like to be
around other highly competitive people that put in a lot of the work, same work, or people you're
chasing, you know, or, you know, people you're trying to to beat just what's that like at that
top level? It's you realize also really fast at this top level. I don't I can tell you that the
people looking from the outside that and I get to I understand I'm very blessed and a lot of us
are that race at this high level in the diesel motorsports industry or at this higher level.
I don't know if people realize really how much work it is. It is my fiance jokes with me all the
time. She's like, you just work two full time jobs, one just gives you a paycheck every week and the
other one, you say you love it, but you're always mad. And I was like, but it when you
surround like I said, when you surround yourself, everybody says they wish they could do it and
stuff. And at times I'll look at them. I'm like, are you sure you really want that like are you
positive because it's, you know, 4045 more hours a week in the shop when I get home from work and
getting in here, especially now with my fiance Simony and her, well, essentially mine now, but
our boy, you know, I try to prioritize getting in a decent time so I can put him in the bed and I
can be here to spend some time with her versus when I single. I was just out the shop till midnight
didn't care as long as I get up in time for work. We're good. But you see that and you see the work
that all these other guys, I mean, coming into UCC, Michael Brown's been preparing since last
Halloween. I mean, I still race in ODSS and he had his truck ready to go and I was like, dang.
So on top of the promo, we're getting the pro street ready to go and building this other truck and
some of these guys that we were raised with are as crazy as us and work all the time. Like
he's one of my very good friends now, but Nathaniel the long from Rudy's.
I don't know if he sleeps, but he decided to text me at about
430 on Saturday morning and said, what are you working on today? And I was like, man,
I don't know. I'm trying to sleep for another couple of hours.
But that's just the drive they have. They want to be great. They want to be good. We want to
prove that certain platforms can compete and the great struggle is if we get close or, you know,
start beating some other platforms, those platforms just start working and pushing even
farther and it makes us just have to keep going. It's just a never ending vicious cycle.
There's so much that happens. I think it's changed to the diesel aftermarket industry so much from
what it was a long time ago, which was, I think in my opinion, would be more regional
kind of competition where it was a sled pulling truck or drag racing or
something like that. Whereas like the ultimate call out challenge when it first started,
it became national and so much grew from that turbo, turbo stuff, tuning, injectors,
transmission technology, things that people were learning out there. So it's, you know,
someone who owns a diesel truck and you're an enthusiast, you may not have a race truck,
but what you and other people are doing, it gives us more options to make our trucks
more reliable or to make more power and keep it streetable or, you know, just kind of keep it
together. So I think it definitely fuels the entire aftermarket in a lot of different ways.
And so it's so important to the industry. The aftermarket, the levels that we have
jumped and leaped and played over, if you start thinking about diesel performance,
ODSS just celebrated their 10th year or is about to celebrate. I can't remember which
one it is. Either we just did or we're about to go into our 10th year. If you compare that to
NHRA, who just celebrated their like, I'm not going, I'm probably completely wrong in this stat,
but it was like 50 plus years of NHRA drag racing. And you just think about that. Imagine
where we would be if certain people would leave things alone. How far we could be and,
you know, even 20 more years or 10 more years on our 20th year in ODSS, like it's just going to keep
going and it's not going to stop. It's not slowing down. There's people building cars now
because they want to go compete with the like RVW Pro Mods. Rod and Ryan and the Corvette,
LeVon with the Duster, Dan Zeltin, the blessing, getting ready to bring the four wheel drive Duramax
back out to go play in ProTruP and go after that Duramax 4x4 record, which Dustin Sterling's working
on some stuff to keep that record for himself. It keeps evolving and we keep catching up and
we're catching up at a very rapid pace to a lot of those different industries. It's exciting to see,
like especially every time Nathan Wheeler races, I find something on Facebook so I can watch it
or pay attention or see what he's doing because I don't know how he gets down those no prep surfaces,
but he does. It's been really cool in the sense of that's allowed me to cover this, like 10 years
ago, 15 years ago, I would read about you in some article and I'd have maybe three or four quotes
from you. That would be all I know of Austin Denny and what you do with your six liter and
there'd be a couple pictures. I mean, I don't know how many podcasts we've done, but I've been able
to follow you through a lot of different journeys, not just racing, but things you did with like
fitness and your mindset and preparing things and really talk to you in depth about like today,
like ECU Masters and what a standalone is going to allow you to do and and the competition. So I
think being able to just tell the stories of what you guys are doing and working on
diesel fans can hear that and they can relate to it more and then they get excited and they think
maybe I will go do a test in tune or a ET class or something like that. Or maybe I'm going to shift
money from one hobby to this truck hobby a little bit. This seems fun. I caught the bug
and that kind of stuff. So it's been cool to follow it and just talk to so many different
aspects of diesel and tell the stories. I can't dream it a lot enough. If you have any kind of
don't be scared, just get out there and try. Start learning on the track. Go make a pass.
There's so many people that go to these events that beat the snot out of their trucks on the street,
bounce off the limiter and stuff. Put it on the track. Go start doing that. Get bit by that bug
because I promise you I don't care how stock your truck is. I don't know if you can make your first
eighth mile pass and not be like, hey, there's something here. What was that? It'll be ingrained
on you and even if you do want to, you'd like a challenge but you don't have that big pocket book.
You get an ET, there's places like you can consistently focus on aspects of it to better
yourself to become a better racer and all that transitions. No matter what you do, just making
laps will make you better but you can focus on your reaction time. You can focus on paying
attention to your truck like, oh, it's up to operating temp now. It's 20 degrees hotter. I
need to take a couple of tents off my dial in. There's so many aspects to it and if we got people
in the stands to get out and race more, there's no reason every event can't be like UCC where we
have 100 plus ET trucks. There's people that go to these events to party and have a good time
and I'm all for that but if you want to be there too, come out during the day and race. You can party after.
It was one of the things that really bit me when I never did this intensely or anything. It was
kind of fun. It was like test and tunes after work and stuff and then some of the ET things and
it was the adrenaline at first and in my mind it's like, well, I want to be faster than the
truck I'm racing, right? Like when you start out and then you do it and it's like I found a nemesis
there and it was a guy with an LLY Duramax. My truck was faster but it wasn't as consistent as his
and then I realized, oh wait, how come he's so consistent and I'm not? I mean there's so much
factors into it like what I'm doing, what I'm not doing, how the truck's set up. There's so
many different aspects to it that it changed from being about I'm faster than the next person to
how can I be more consistent which is I think more challenging because there's so many factors that
go into it. It was entertaining when Evan lived with me to watch him. I convinced him, I was like,
just go make a pass on your truck. Started on a dirt drag and then he went to UCC and he's like,
I want to race ET, I think. I was like, let's do it. Like you ain't gonna hurt it. You beat on your
truck harder on the street than you're going to on this track. It's stock. If it was going to break
on the track, it was going to break on the street the second you left that last stop light and just
matted it. Sometimes I don't know if people believe that, but it's the truth. But watching him
his first couple of times, he's like on dirt drags, he's like, I'm slow. I'm like, huh, well,
I mean, stop. Then he goes and races ET and he's like, hey, like this is a bug and then he's getting
mad at himself because his reaction time was like a little bit slower than it was the last pass and
I'm like, yeah, you got that bug, buddy. Like you're, you're cooked now.
Do you find that because of like the high performance trucks that you have,
do you find that that same desire for power applies to your daily drivers? Or do you just
completely separate the two? And the only way I separate is that daily drive at 2014 Chevy
Malibu, sir, with a big exhaust leak and it is a, it gets me back and forth to work, but
no, it, the only thing I left stock was my six, seven power stroke. It,
it's an old farm truck serves its purpose, pulling goose necks and stuff. And I,
it sits back there until I need it. That's the only one that we've talked about before the crew cab,
you know, it's a 1300 horsepower truck that I still was the truck I daily drove to high school.
No, I can't leave anything alone. It's an addicting.
I was just going to say, that's one of the really tough parts when you,
you have a diesel truck and you get into the performance side is like, how far do you take
it before it stops becoming something you want to daily drive?
It is a, it's a slippery slope. It's a horsepower is by far the most expensive
and the most addicting drug on this planet. I have any personal experience with other drugs?
But I hear not half the agrees.
How, how challenging do you like, because I'm sure you meet a lot of people at the tracks
right? And they're going to be at all different levels. You're going to meet, you know, peers,
you're going to meet people who have been around it for 30 years and are kind of interested. And
then you meet people who are like, maybe it's their first time ever seeing diesel trucks race.
How do you convey that to them? Like somebody who's new, because that was a struggle for me.
Gosh, however many years ago, when I first saw like two trucks go down a track really quick,
I didn't know diesel trucks could do that. To me, they were like work trucks or they towed a camper
for a guy that liked to hunt or go fishing or something like that. And it was just like revolutionary.
It changed my whole life, actually, to see two trucks go do that. And it turned into a career
that I have. So I had a couple of kids in high school, but, you know, they were farm kids and
stuff. We live in a very rural part of Indiana, and it's very small school. You know, we have
drive your tractor school day and stuff. But those guys were into diesel trucks. Well,
I never really, I mean, up until I was always about hot rods and stuff for my dad.
And I'd say my freshman year, I was like, okay, I rode a tuned truck. It was actually
old Spartan tuned 64. I was like, oh, okay. So big trucks can go fast. This is something here. And
then I, you know, my sophomore year, dad bought what ended up being my first truck to pull our
camper around. Knock off to a test and tune one night at Muncie Dragway with it. And that bug was
it. That was hooked. I was in. I was all about it. Didn't care. I will figure it out.
Um, young, you know, 17 year old Austin. So the real things are
really serious and as entertained to see that still to this day at that point, my dad had no idea
like, you know, what was possible. The, he knew the boys I was hanging out with and everybody
asked, you know, the friend group I had when everybody had trucks and stuff. And
he just thought they were show trucks and things like that. So
can't remember exactly what year. First year was 18, 16 or 17. We, uh, my dad and my grandpa rode
with me to Shide. And that's when he saw Chase Lunsford truck at that time, the whole Kingspeed
pro street truck make a
540 or something back then. I said, Hey, lit up and he started walking around the pits and he
saw Johnny's pro street truck then and, uh, his eyes opened up to what's possible. And that's
when he, you know, stepped up and it seems like a small investment now, but bought me the,
what is my pro street truck now, but bought that ask you for me to start with that, uh,
Kansas state work truck, $4,000 investment that has now turned into
here, nine years later, everything that we've got going on here.
I don't, first, first time somebody comes up mentioning stuff like this, I do not bring up
the money. Let's, let's get the hook set in first. They'll figure out the money thing later.
I can't scare them off right away.
I first, I went to shy diesel extravaganza. I think it was 2013
and I worked in diesel. Like I worked in the industry, like on the sales side and
in Colorado, which it's a totally different scene, but I remember driving from Indianapolis to
Terre Haute and I got in like towards, it was like afternoon and all I see are tons of diesel
trucks everywhere. And then like you pull into the campground area and I see semi trucks out there
and they're just like lined up and all the people and then like through the event,
it was something where I realized like how, how it's its own like culture subculture even
and it's so much bigger than anything I was exposed to out this way. And it really just kind of,
it got the wheel spinning of like seeing all these companies that I had seen in magazines for
years or I saw on YouTube and there's their like their Suncoast, there's ETS, there's BD,
there's all these different places, these companies that are there and then the stands and how many
people and the families that are there and how packed the parking lot was. It wasn't like this
fringe kind of test and tune night diesel truck thing where there's like 20 trucks. There were
thousands of people there. Hey, it sounds like it's about time for you every union since we're
going back to Terre Haute this year. Yeah, I got to get back out there and see it's been a while.
It was like crazy then and impressive. Hey, I'll tell you this, the airport's on the way,
you catch plane ticket, I'll pick you up. Very cool. Yeah, that would be fun. It's
people need to, they need to experience that. I think especially if you're like an enthusiast or
and I'm sure even like around that area, it's like a local kind of event that you go to but
it's worth traveling to go see something like that because you could interact with people,
you can see these companies, you can see the sled pulling, the drag racing and
you know, I think that was the first time I met Ryan from the Hardway Performance was down there
and Paul Cato, I met him there and Michael Dalton and some other people and to see like
where they're at now and what they're doing. It's so cool. So I see how it goes like kind
of full circle and once you go out to an event like that and you participate and it really starts to
you realize you're not alone as a diesel enthusiast, you know, which I'm not sure maybe in that part
of the country they're more common, but here it's different. It's not as, they're not as prevalent,
you don't see them as much. It's just kind of at a distance. So it was like coming home in a sense,
like everything that I love about diesel is right there. It is, there are those kind of
within a one mile radius, there's probably 15 of them just out here in the middle of nowhere
and there's not many houses. So yeah, out here in central Indiana, the diesel industry is still
alive and very strong and very large and there's a lot of excitement about going back to Terre Haute.
I mean, not for the people that live in Terre Haute, but for everybody if you're
like Terre Haute, there's a lot of excitement there. I remember once when I was walking through
like the parking lot there, I thought, you know, if I ever wanted to buy a really clean diesel
truck, I would just get a lawn chair and have a duffel bag full of money and just sit and wait
and ask somebody if they'd sell their truck because I saw so many clean, nice trucks there that
it was just like anything you'd ever want to see was right. If you wanted a single cab
LBZ that looked really clean or Cummins or Powerstroke or whatever it was, I could see the
pride that people that were attending the event had in their diesel trucks and it was really cool
to see that. You think you have some nice stuff until you go to a guide, a Fitzgerald's, these
bigger shows and you're like, sometimes it's disheartening, you're like, man, back home,
she's 10, but we came out here and about a six. These people take it to another level.
I think I like to think I build and have some nice stuff. I don't really personally know him,
but Jack Markley on a Snapchat, I saw him
ceramic coating his frame last night. I was like, yep, as a level I'll never get to.
I can't do that. I can do it, but I'm going to be really angry the second I drive it outside the
shop. Well, like the show and shine, which I'll see on social media of shies, I'm like,
man, that is such an exquisite truck. I would rather go there and see that stuff or something
in that region than I would even like SEMA because those are real people with real trucks
that have pride. It's more real to me than something that's built as a promotion that I see
in a booth or something like that. I've never been to SEMA. It would be cool to go one day.
I would prefer to go to PRI. I can tell you that already, but from what I can see on Instagram,
it seems like everybody buys a new truck, puts a big old lift kit on it,
powder coats everything, and put some rock lights on it. That's kind of the gist of things.
I have respect for those builds. Those people have a lot of time, money, and put a lot of effort
into it. But to see some of the trucks in the show and shines that we end up going to, because
that's one of the enjoyments I have. I like to get away from the racetrack or sometimes just go
walk around, see what's going on at the event instead of being completely stuck up in the pit
all weekend. But to see some of the builds that these people build and they're not shops, just in
their garage, in the house, in the driveway, and to see how clean they are and the pride that people
take in it and the custom ideas that they have is they might have an idea that translates over
into the racetrack, whether how they tucked wiring or where they hid some stuff or how they
did something or any of that. Yeah. It's cool. It took me down memory lane and then
like with your excitement about it, it's got me excited and it's like middle of January,
it's cold. There's nothing really going on and I'm getting excited and thinking about that stuff.
So I like having you on the podcast. I like to follow what you're doing, what you've done with
the truck and I really am going to be curious about ECU Masters. So when you feel comfortable
and you've gotten enough into it, let me know because I want to have you back on to talk about
that, Austin. It was cool to catch up with you. I'm glad that the truck's up and running again
and you got some really cool stuff planned for 2026 and I will let you know with plenty of lead
time if I will be at Shide or can I get away? Come on now. I'll let you know. Shide or UCC,
you know, they're both pretty close. Yeah. Yeah, they are. Awesome, Austin. Well,
I appreciate your time today chatting with me. I look forward to seeing what you do this year
and we'll be in touch soon. Of course. And as always, thank you to everybody that does support
me and helps me, you know, Stoke Ability Ink, Warrant Diesel Injection, Hot Shot Secret,
Max Effort Diesel, Flat Out Diesel. I don't get to do any of these cool things. Bullseye Power
Turbos. I don't get to do anything cool without those guys helping me. I'm a guy working a 40-hour
work week trying to make some cool stuff happen here. I just want to give a shout out to some of
our Patreon supporters, Robert, TSW Diesel, Brian, John, all of our other Patreon supporters,
all of you who subscribe on YouTube and podcast apps, follow us on social media.
We appreciate all your support here at Year 9 of the Deast Podcast and look forward to bringing
you more of the content that you want to hear in 2025. Until next time, keep the shiny side up.
About this episode
A deep dive into the evolving landscape of 6.0L diesel engines, focusing on the integration of standalone ECU technology to enhance performance. The hosts discuss the challenges of factory limitations and the exciting potential of the new ECU Masters system, which aims to unlock higher RPM capabilities and improve tuning flexibility. With insights from racer Austin, the conversation highlights the collaborative efforts with Hardway Performance and the anticipated impact on both racing and everyday diesel applications. The episode captures the spirit of innovation in the diesel community and the journey of pushing boundaries.
Original notes
Austin Denny joins The Diesel Podcast for a 2026 season preview. After
last year’s crash, the Pro Mod 6.0L is back together and headed to
Hardway Performance for a major step forward: integrating ECU Masters’
new diesel specific standalone ECM on a 6.0L Powerstroke.
Austin breaks down the limitations of the factory computer, why going
fully standalone could be a game changer for staging, burnouts, tuning,
safety strategies, and RPM potential, and what it means to finally move
beyond the constraints of the factory PCM and FICM. We also talk about
his conservative approach to the season with lots of short passes first,
building confidence, chasing records, and why he still believes the
6.0L platform has plenty of fight left.
We also dive into the growing excitement around UCC, massive purses, new
classes, and how high level competition continues to push the entire
diesel aftermarket forward. Plenty of real talk about the work behind
the scenes, the late nights, the pressure, and why getting hooked on
diesel drag racing becomes a lifelong obsession.
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The Diesel Podcast
The Diesel Podcast
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