Turbocharged Weekend In The Rockies - 2010 Diesels On The Mountain

2010’s Diesels On The Mountain At Bandimere Speedway

ATS Diesel will host the 2010 installment of Diesels On The Mountain at Bandimere Speedway’s Thunder Mountain located in Morrison, Colorado, as well as an ATS open house in Arvada, Colorado. Diesels On The Mountain and Truck Fest take place August 6-8. Competitors from across the US and Canada will converge in Colorado to battle for top honors in sled pulling, drag racing and the show-n-shine categories (many using one truck for all events). Cash, trophies and prizes will be awarded to top finishers.

Friday August 6th ATS will host an open house and Armed Services Appreciation BBQ for Colorado area military members at our Arvada facility. Activities at ATS will begin around 10:00 a.m. Various areas of ATS’ manufacturing plant and grounds will be open for tours for those interested in how our diesel upgrades are manufactured.

Saturday August 7th features the sled pull/ truck pull at Bandimere Speedway’s unique mountain-side venue. Action will take place in Bandimere’s outlying dirt lot with gates opening at 11:00 a.m. and pulls beginning at 1:00 p.m. All competitors and spectators are invited. Classes will range from stock trucks to heavily-modified dedicated pullers. 2010’s sled pull will be cosponsored and sanctioned by NSPA (National Sled Pullers Association) and will feature NSPA’s pulling sled which is one of the newest and latest technology sleds in the country.

Sunday August 8th Truck Fest transfers the excitement to the upper paved drag strip portion of Bandimere Speedway - sponsored by Cummins Rocky Mountain. Events for Sunday include drag racing, vendor midway, rock crawling, and show-n-shine competition starting at 8:00 a.m. Spectators will see some of the most unique and detailed vehicles in the truck genre. Many of the country’s fastest trucks will be in attendance to lay down impressive quarter mile times. As with Saturday, Sunday’s competition and spectator opportunities are open to everyone. Drag racing trucks are required to either have upward-firing exhaust stacks, or use a temporary exhaust turn-up pipe for this year’s racing. This change was made at the request of the track which must manage issues presented by smoke from trucks that can damage track property and disqualify racers due to issues with the timing light system. Clamp-on exhaust turn-up kits can be acquired by calling ATS directly.

Sawdust And Loud Noises - ATS Diesel Remodels

Customer service can be difficult with the droning buzz of a jackhammer mere feet from your desk. The customer service crew at ATS Diesel has found creative ways to be 'flexible' and persevere through the daily construction that has been part of a massive building overhaul at their Arvada Colorado HQ. Since neither the construction nor the day-to-day operations at ATS can be put on hold, much of it has occurred during the same hours.

Somewhere around six months ago the ATS building began undergoing the second major remodel in its six year history (the first being the initial move-in during the 2004-2005 transition). When the 104,000 square foot building was first purchased it was just an empty shell and it was difficult to know exactly what layout would be most effective. Over the years a number of ideas and plans were discussed to help streamline the production of a product line that now covers some six hundred products.

With many of the truck owners who upgrade their diesel wishing to have installation happen at ATS, the Arvada building tends to become a temporary home during the day to those that travel to Colorado from other areas of the country. For that reason the showroom and lobby areas have been a big focus and include some new amenities including a projection screen entertainment center lounge and video game room.

Complete ATS Newsletters: http://www.atsdiesel.com/ats2/newsletter/issues.asp

Manufacturing is being streamlined and departments such as engineering are shifting to different areas of the building to update procedures and increase efficiency. The ability to have a clean engineering area with updated technology will mean that products continue to be the best quality and fit for installation on trucks. Consolidating production areas like converter machining and laser cutting are already helping to make a difference in production turnaround times. Things have come a long way from the previous ATS facility and even the current building in its original form.

A Billet Converter By Any Other Name Is Not The Same

We see a lot of 'billet' torque converters on the web and in ads these days and wonder how many people understand the inner workings of them enough to know the differences in brands and what offers the biggest advantages. So many of the converters available are simply a stock-style rebuild stuffed into a billet cover with few true modifications to make them better and stronger than stock.

While the billet cover is a feature that we build into the Five Star and TripleLok Torque Converters which prevents warping and 'mushrooming', that is just the beginning. The other main components of the converter's internals are just as critical to supporting increased power output from the engine and serious towing weight. These other areas include: lockup clutch system, lockup apply piston, turbine and impeller, stator, bearings, and hub. When ATS builds diesel torque converters all of these areas are given equal attention and all aspects are greatly enhanced.

Torque Converter Info

By looking at the internals of the Five Star or TripleLok Torque Converters compared to the stock unit (above) it is clear how much work is really done to provide increased strength. Most other upgrade converters simply change part 'A' (billet cover), but the rest of the internal structure is mostly just a stock rebuild. The ATS cover begins to show drastic differences from all others in the fact that the mounting surface features a twelve bolt design (with bolt holes incorporated into the cover) versus the factory six (with bolt holes welded on externally). Stock converters are completely missing section 'B' and have a single clutch friction surface bonded to part 'C' (piston). Our design is very different in that we add a multi-disc clutch pack (part 'B') which more than doubles the torque-holding ability by distributing load and using locking square tabs on each disc. The square tab design is patented and exclusive to ATS. The stock stamped steel piston 'C' is replaced with a billet dampened piston that doesn't warp and provides a cushioned engagement compared to other aftermarket designs which don't have a dampener. The turbine and impeller (parts 'D' and 'F') are furnace brazed and reinforced to prevent flattening or damaging of the fins due to fluid pressure wear. Finally a proprietary billet CNC machined stator ('E') is used to provide optimized fluid redirection between the turbine and impeller.

Conveying how different and how much stronger the ATS design really is versus stock and other aftermarket units is always a challenge, but those that have visited our manufacturing facility in Colorado instantly see quality and workmanship that set the Five Star and TripleLok Converters apart from all others.