We do have a laugh from time to time at the expense of guys who drive F-250 and F-350 pickups but never seem to actually haul anything. But we figure hauling ass counts as hauling. That’s why we doff our hats to Hajek Motorsports for eking a whopping 182 MPH out of an F-250 at the Bonneville Salt Flats. And by the way, that’s the diesel F-250.
Impressive. But our BS detector went off a little when we read Ford/Hajek’s claims via Automobile:
“The most remarkable thing about the F-250′s speed is that the truck remains mostly stock. Ford says that its engineers and Oklahoma-based Hajek motorsports only installed a high-pressure fuel pump, new fuel injectors, new turbos, and modified the compression ratio.”
Whoa there, guys. Swapping out pretty much the entire fuel system and turbos isn’t a small job, and any vehicle featuring custom forced induction, fuel, and major internal engine modifications isn’t “mostly stock.” By the way, they also “fitted a roll cage, a five-point harness, a drag chute, aerodynamic fairings for the front bumper, and moon-dish wheels.” In short: They modified the living crap out of an F-250.
Still, that’s a serious accomplishment. Don’t scoff at numbers like 182 MPH at Bonneville. Sure, you’ve seen 200+ numbers all over sports cars, many of which aren’t even in the supercar range. But take one out to Bonneville and it’s a different story with lots of grip issues on the salt. This is actually a pretty significant feat.
Build Ford Fast? [Automobile]
