A race prepared semi truck is an odd site to begin with, but this Freightliner is focused on the race up America’s mountain – the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Mike Ryan is the racer behind this big rig. And this year he teams up with Gale Banks to provide the extra oomph to climb the 14,110 foot mountain peak. So what monster motor can push this truck to a record breaking run this year? Well, it’s the Banks Racing Super-Turbo Detroit Diesel – of course! What does this all mean?
This truck is powered by a large Detroit Diesel motor, but this year it’s running a Banks Racing Super-Turbo setup. The basic idea is – if two turbos are not enough, then add a supercharger on top of it. Yep, this truck has two turbos and a supercharger pumping enough air in to satisfy even the most power hungry. Banks has experience with this forced induction system from their military boat engine application. Of course, this system also benefits from Banks dynamically and automatically adjustable boost pressure controller. No matter what the elevation, this controller adjusts to provide a consistent power output. Oh, and then there is the full racing Banks StraightShot injection system to deliver all the fuel the engine needs.
The engine and transmission are still under construction, so the final output numbers are not yet known. Nonetheless, this beast will have plenty of juice to break any records that Mike wants to break. Mike Ryan had a spectacular run last year. He had a “little” spin in one of the tight hair pins coming up to the Devil’s Playground spot along the climb, but he recovered very quickly. In the end, Mike finished 9th in the Pikes Peak Open division clocking in at 12:39.960.
TFLcar team will be on location (June 30th, 2013) covering the race and you can be sure we will be cheering for #777 Freightliner. We are excited to bring you coverage of this challenging race. For now, please check out this TFLcar video from the 2012 race.
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, software engineer, writer, and reporter. He has been writing and reporting at TFLcar since 2011. When not working or spending time with the family – you can find him tinkering in the garage or scouring the internet and other media for various automotive, mechanical, and computer related information.
