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Detroit 8V92 vs. Cummins NTC-400

m16ty

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I like to drive a Detroit every now and then as long as it belongs to somebody else. While they do seem to run forever with very little maintenance, when they do go to giving trouble they can be a pain.

The Cummins is simpler design. You don't have a blower, temperamental rack, or temperamental governor to deal with. Not nearly as many oil leaks either.

The old 2-strokes are neat and unusual engines but I've never really been a fan.

You really can't compare a 60 series Detroit with the old 2-strokes. They have nothing in common other that the nameplate on the side.
 

Recovry4x4

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I was told that an effective way to drive a truck with a green motor was to slam the door on your hand prior to getting in.
 

EMD567

Driver for the Ga Mafia
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I drive both, and the series 60 detroit is a much quieter/smoother engine to work with. About the only thing I like about the modern cummins is that the oil dipstick is easier to check then the detroit.
Now I love the 250 in my 5 ton. While it has the powerband of about 100 rpm, it is night and day a better engine then the modern cummins that I drive on a daily basis.
 

Ord22

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Stockbridge, Ga
i'm not comparing the series 60 to the 2- cycle, by no means. i like the 2 - cycle and they've beefed up there game with the series 60. detroit diesel will never die! they will live forever!
 

wreckerman893

Possum Connoisseur
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Akenback acres near Gadsden, AL
I have driven the Series 60m Detroits and still they do not compare to a Good CAT or Cummins
A 60 series Detroit is just a CAT painted green......if I remember correctly there was a lawsuit over the 60 series concerning patent infringement.

I had a 97 Freightliner with a 60 Series in it and I loved it.....I could leave Huntsville, AL with a loaded tanker (grossing 78,000 pounds) and never drop a gear all the way to Nashville if I hit the hills running.

If I were going to build a hotrod truck my choice for power would be the 12V Driptroit.
 

bill2444

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cheboygan/mi
Yesterday i was looking under the hood of a new Western Star, And what caught my eye was: Right under that big label of DETRIOT DIESEL was
made in mexico
Shouldn't it be called mexican diesel now. Just not a fan of those oil spewing slime devils.
 

JasonS

Well-known member
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Eastern SD
Found this with a quick search:

8V92:
0.345 BSFC minimum at 1700 RPM, for an efficiency of roughly 39.8%.
0.355 BSFC at rated horsepower, for an efficiency of roughly 38.7%.

Series-60:
0.311 BSFC minimum at 1550 RPM, for an efficiency of roughly 44.2%.
0.315 BSFC at rated horsepower, for an efficiency of roughly 43.7%.

For comparison:

LDS-465
0.400 BSFC minimum at 2000 RPM, for an efficiency of 34%
0.430 BSFC at maximum horsepower, for an efficiency of 32%
 
Last edited:

saddamsnightmare

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July 31st, 2011.

Maddawg308:

If it were my choice and I were going out to buy a diesel for reengining purposes on the project you mentioned above, I would avoid both the Detroit and and Cummins and pick a Deutz from Germany, just for the reliability, better engineering and cold start capacity (knowing where you live). I have a Deutz FL912-4 on a genset, air cooled normally aspirated, that will start at -20 to -30 below without preheat and without eather. Plus it is rated to go 10,000 hours without teardown, and the cylinders are individual jugs, so you can tear one down, rebuild or replace parts on or in it, and have the engine back up and running in no time. Plus on a 30/35KW Gen set it would put out full power for days on end without attention and at 1.75 gallons per hour max fuel consumption. That pretty much cured me on the newer American diesels which can't start below 20 without help and will not take the beatings the German machines can do. They also make water cooled and marine engines in many different sizes, and the parts are available all over the world (like you're gonna take your truck overseas....).

How have things been going back in Virginia since I last wrote you (last winter when the snow was flying)....?
 

spicergear

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I think a fun build for a deuce would be a 8V53 Detroit tuned up to about 300hp, an M35TOM modified FIVE ton trans (like in the Millennium Deuce) for a nice overdrive and either 14.5R20's or 395 XML's mainly depending on cruise rpm based on OD ratio.

And before some says they didn't make an 8V53...YES they did.
 

mudguppy

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duncan, sc
FWIW - the 8V92 can't be too outdated, the M1070 HET and the HEMTT trucks still use 8V92TA's, and I heard they were pretty good engines...
... except they are replacing them with big Cats.

they sound cool, but that's about it. DDEC or not, they have no power when loaded heavy (HET, 984, or loaded PLS).

as soon as they get them replaced, the other two outdated motors that should be replaced are the v903 Cummins and the 6.5s.


i vote Cummins for pulling power, reliability, and less mess.
 

73m819

Rock = older than dirt , GA. MAFIA , Dirty
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For off road, I would take a older DD, where its lugging pulling power can be used, you can drop the rpm down to where you can almost count the cylinders fire.
On the other hand, on road the the older DD sucks, looses rpm to quick, hard to keep top end, need to many gears, for on road I would use a V CAT, short stroke, easy to keep rpm ( higher op. rpm to start with), NOT a lugging engine like the DD

just my 2cents
 

bearboley

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Circleville Ohio
Well, back when I first got a CDL I was driven a 1979 Pete cabover with what was suppose to be a 435hp 8v92 silver motor, but I think it was around 100hp. I tried everything to get that motor to pull. Anyhow I would make 1 trip a day from Circleville Ohio to Akron Ohio up 71 on the little hills all the way shifting my ass off, then some smartass in a big old long nose with a 4 stroker would fly by me with their feet on the dash and it would just piss me off to no end. Well I got a truck with a Cummins in it a 315 formula at that , it would just smoke that Detroit and get 6mpg where the 8V92 would do about 3.5 to 4 mpg. Now I have a 3406b 425 cat and it will out run the Cummins hands down. As far as the 8v92 went its only good point was it would start on the coldest day with a little whiff of either. I rode alot of miles with that strait 5'' stack screamin, it sounded good that was about it. And as far as a 60 series goes I had a truck with a 500hp 12.7 in it and a friend with a n14 435 cleaned my clock I got it home and sold it.
 
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