[bludragon13]

does anyone have any opion of the cat c-13 engine? just wondering how they perform and if they are experiencing any problems.

[piper1]

Valve actuators, turbos and the piping on the 07 's. Some were ok but most were not. All ACERT engines are very particular about how they are geared, if its wrong the engine is very thirsty.

That said, when they are set up right they pull really good!

[bludragon13]

thanks piper,I'm looking at an 09,what gearing would you guess being best for the c-13?

[nightcreacher]

Not sure about the c 13 but the rest of the cats need very fast gears,3.23 and 3.36's,thats in the big trucks,and trannies with .73 over drives.I'm sure the little cat is the same way.It's the gear fast run slow theory.I think that if your able to find a truck with the new Mercedes motor,you might be impressed,but I wouldnt recomend it if your in an E unit hauling 40000 lb loads all the time in the mountains

[bludragon13]

thanks for the input steve, the unit is a freightliner columbia,straight truck ,120in sleeper,18ft box,10spd ultra shift,geared ay 3:58,about 7300 payload when loaded with our gear fuel etc. will add tag axel at a later date. we are just looking now and this is less payload then we have now however we rarely use the higher payload. about 90 % of loads are less then 6000. thanks again for any thoughts on this setup.

[nightcreacher]

Dave,i feel the box isnt big enough at 18 ft,to be a D unit you need at least a 20 ft box,that truck will just be an oversized c unit,you wont need the tag axle then.A D unit has to be able to haul 10 skids on the floor.That 18 ft box wont let you do that

[piper1]

Originally Posted by bludragon13

thanks for the input steve, the unit is a freightliner columbia,straight truck ,120in sleeper,18ft box,10spd ultra shift,geared ay 3:58,about 7300 payload when loaded with our gear fuel etc. will add tag axel at a later date. we are just looking now and this is less payload then we have now however we rarely use the higher payload. about 90 % of loads are less then 6000. thanks again for any thoughts on this setup.

Depends on what size tires are on it and what hp/torque curve it is.

Yep, the ACERT's are that picky. Two 430 hp engines could be geared different based on the torque/hp package it has.

Last c-13's I did were 3.58's on low pro 22.5's and a flat 430hp/1650 torque (no multi torque or cruise power). Trucks had .74 final 10 speeds pulling 95,000 gross. I should have put 3.42's in them. They did OK, better than I thought but 3.42's would've done better.

[bludragon13]

steve, yup, have been reviewing records over last three years,on skids and load weights and it looks as if a c unit will handle the vast majority of our loads. it will be a change however the increase in comfort will allow us to stay out longer then 2 months at a time and it seems that the longer available the more loads with higher miles we get offered.most loads are govt and not time sensitive but do incurr a lot of sitting so the bigger sleeper is a real benifit. you have brought up a good point though and we are considering it before we make a final decision.thanks again,dave

[bludragon13]

piper, i really value your input,have always enjoyed reading your posts-now if i was just a mechanic so i could really understand some of these differences so i could relate them to the straight truck im looking at i'd be in good shape.i'm looking into exactly what this truck is equiped with then i'll have to get back to you to better understand wether it will fit the demands we will be putting on the truck.we run at 55to58mph in slow states and 62-65 in the faster states,so am trying to get an idea about reliability and milage expectations. this truck is 430 hp / 1650 torque as you had supposed. thanks for your insight it is apprcieated.