Horsepower

[dano2006]

Just wondering what do most (the big names) over the road companies have for horsepower in their trucks? Just wondering do you have to really floor it from first, second, and third gears to get goin? Thanks in a advance just thought about that one when I was cruisin down the road the other day.

[Fozzy]

Horsepower doesn't get you moving, torque does.

[PackRatTDI]

Just wondering what do most (the big names) over the road companies have for horsepower in their trucks? Just wondering do you have to really floor it from first, second, and third gears to get goin? Thanks in a advance just thought about that one when I was cruisin down the road the other day.

Knight Transportation, for instance, runs 400hp ISX Cummins. That may not seem like much but as Fozzy said, torque is what you want and the 400hp engines that Knight runs are ST (Smart Torque) engines that run 1450lb/ft and turn it up to 1650lb/ft in the top two gears.

For the most part, the big fleets run 400-450hp.

You can have all the PONIES in the world under your hood. However if you do not have any TOURQUE you are stuck. I drove a truck that only had 390HP but 1850ft lbs of torque she may not have flown down the road but would pull in the hills like no tomorrow. When you can pull Mt. Eagle in TN coming out of Atlanta grossed out and only drop to 8th gear you must either be geared right our have a mountain motor under the hood.

[maggieb]

MMMMMM HP & Tourque

[geeshock]

nah, I work for swift and I don't have to floor it. Thats probably a newbe mistake. All you do when you floor it is eat a lot of fuel.

[Teal 95 KW]

Well...it says 475 on the Kitty Cat under the hood of my W9 I can pull the Grapevine at 80k lbs in 11th gear at 60mph without a problem....

It took me awhile to learn my truck pulls just as hard at 1/4 throttle on a hill as it does at WOT...and gets better mileage doing it..if I floor it, it does get louder and the mpg's go down.

[Jackrabbit379]

My buddy that I work with just got his truck leased to EW Wiley, was telling me about his trip coming back from Ft Worth, after orientation. He, and his driver both went to Ft worth in his truck. After orientation, they found a load of pipe. He said that it was right under 46,000. He has a 550 kitty in his 379, and he told me that Jose had the cruise set at 73. Never dropped more than a couple MPH. The wind blew quite a bit last Tuesday night, and he called me when I was heading back on my line-haul run, and they were heading in from Ft Worth. He asked me how my big ole SYSCO truck was running. I told him that I was barely running against the governor(68MPH), and anytime I came up on a hill, it pull down to about 65-66. He just laughed, and then he told me how his Pete was doing. I sure coulda used a Kleenix that night. I finally had to tell him to just stop. I couldnt take it anymore.

[continental]

SUUUre. I've got a 300 Mack with a 5 speed, and my
wagon grossed 96000 and pulled the Grapevine 70mph in 6th gear, noooooo problem.

[Teal 95 KW]

SUUUre. I've got a 300 Mack with a 5 speed, and my
wagon grossed 96000 and pulled the Grapevine 70mph in 6th gear, noooooo problem.

I'm assuming this is in reply to my post? Tell me why it's hard to see a 550 cat with a 13 speed 3.55 rears and tall 24.5 rubber grossing 77k lbs pulling the grapevine at 60? I stated "grossed out" but 3k lbs. isn't goign to make a difference..I was pulling a flatbed with flat steel sheets on it.

[Mackman]

SUUUre. I've got a 300 Mack with a 5 speed, and my
wagon grossed 96000 and pulled the Grapevine 70mph in 6th gear, noooooo problem.

He did say a MACK so i believe it.

[continental]

Well, first it was 475HP at 80000lbs, now it is 550 with 77000. In neither case
will you climb the grapevine doing 60MPH. And I speak from experience.Especially with a 3:55 rears.
Any other EXPERIENCED driver on this subject?

[Teal 95 KW]

If you would have caught the first 5 or so words of my original post. I said "well it says 475 ....." Bigger turbo, injectors, and computer work all tend to improve upon that. I'm supposing also you will doubt the fact that my single turbo pegs the 40lb. guage and keeps building boost too...OR the fact that it will spin to 2400rpm all day long...surely a stock 475 doesn't do that.

3k lbs. isn't going to make a difference in how fast/slow my truck pulls the hill. 60mph in 11th gear is about 1900 rpm in my truck.