Every year, Diesel Power Magazine hosts the Diesel Power Challenge, an event that has become the premier test in the diesel performance industry. Each year, 10 of the nations most powerful, street-driven trucks are selected by the readers to complete a grueling torture test, causing contestants to push and sometimes find the limit of their Dodge Cummins, Ford Powerstroke, or GM Duramax truck. With each year getting more extreme than the last, its easy to see why record horsepower levels and extreme carnage are commonplace in the DPC!
Diesel Power Magazine runs this event with simple rules! Diesel Power Challenge is a run-what-you-brung event. While the competitors can modify and repair their trucks as time permits, they have to run at the same weight and with the same tires throughout the whole competition.
Day one kicks off at the ATS Diesel facility in Arvada, Colorado. Each truck gets strapped down and run to its limits while trying to put down the best combined horsepower and torque number. On day two, we hit the track for 3 different events, the trailer-tow obstacle course, the 1/8 mile trailer tow and of course, 1/4 mile drag racing. With some changes from the past years, Diesel Power Magazine has taken the mileage drive out of the contest and instead, measured fuel consumption throughout the entire event! On the final day, the competitors head to the fairgrounds for the Sled Pull!
After the 3-day ordeal, the truck that ends up with the highest numbers of points will be crowned the Diesel Power Challenge champion and have bragging rights for all of 2015!
The Event:
Dyno:
Our annual event has always featured some of the biggest power numbers around. A true test of mechanical limits and competitors nerves, the dyno competition shows us what trucks can hold up when pushed to the limits!
1/4 Mile Dragstrip:
In the dragstrip portion of the test, our 10 competitors screamed down the 1320' as fast as they could.
1/8 Mile Trailer Tow:
Perhaps one of the most feared competitions in Diesel Power Challenge is the eighth-mile trailer tow drag race. Here, good transmission tuning and broad powerbands are rewarded.
Trailer-Tow Obstacle Course:
Theres nothing that tests the streetability of these trucks, or the drivers skills, like our trailer obstacle course. This is an event in which youre rewarded for keeping your towing mirrors and having a brake controller on your Diesel Power Challenge truck!
The Sled Pull
After three days of pain and suffering for both the vehicles and the drivers, the trucks that are still running will then hook up to a 30,000-pound sled to see who can tug it the farthest.
The competitor that scores the most points from all the events will then be crowned the winner of 2015 Diesel Power Challenge!