JH Diesel’s tire slaying 6 Liter

If you are plugged into the diesel scene, you are probably aware that burnout competitions are absolutely huge right now. Winners not only claim bragging rights but can also potentially take home substantial payouts. Knowing someone personally who competes in these or just likes to shred some rubber in the pit after the comps are done, you know that burnout trucks can be your greatest friend…or your biggest enemy. The difference sometimes boils down to luck; thinking you’ve finally bulletproofed the motor only for the bed to be destroyed after a tire popped, or the boot just being as stubborn as a bull and not stopping blowing off mid-run. It takes a lot of patience and dedication to have a burnout rig that can consistently show up and bring home those checks, especially in the diesel world.

To help shed some light on these burnout trucks and how they operate, we met up with Justin Hildebrand—aka JH Diesel on YouTube—at Lifted Truck Nationals. He gave us the full story behind his 2006 F-250 burnout truck that has been dominating the burnout competitions this year. This domination only came about due to an ongoing rivalry between him and his buddies over who could make the better burnout vehicle. And what better way to prove that than with a $1,500 2006 Ford F-250 single cab? JH told us they immediately went ahead and did the usual: ARP head studs, an oil cooler upgrade, and an extra radiator mounted in the bed, and it wasn’t long before Warren Diesel jumped onboard to supply a fuel and air package that significantly increased the power of the 6.0.

They took this setup to their first competition and promptly blew a boot halfway in the first run, but it was a killer run, and the truck showed so much promise. After a quick pit stop, they went back out and ended up hurting the motor. So, their friends at Warren Diesel got JH in touch with Kill Devil Diesel, and they got straight to work on building the 6.0. After 10 or so competitions, the truck ended up getting hurt again, and JH recalled being frustrated at how difficult the truck was being with managing EGTs/IATs. The truck refused to cooperate and would run super hot. Accepting that the failures were the result of themselves and not any of the shops or companies on board, they cut their losses and wheeled it into a field, feeling over it all. I think that feeling resonates deeply with all of us. It sucks knowing that you have to just shrug and move on.

Having moved on to a gas burnout truck that did just fine, JH always felt that while the truck was great, it simply wasn’t a diesel. And just like that, they yanked the retired 6.0 back into the shop and decided to take it back to the basics and pull some of the power out of it. They started by removing the monster 350/450 injectors and throwing in some Warren Diesel 190/75s. KC Turbos supplied its Stage 3 VGT setup (stepping away from a non-VGT setup), Nitrous Express supplied the nitrous, and the crew kept the FASS fuel system the truck originally had. The F-250 basically had a stock engine with head studs and a cam, plus a fuel system and nitrous at this point.

Did that do the trick? Well, the first run out was the burnout competition at Ultimate Callout Challenge 2024, and they won! “We were fired up, to say the least,” JH reports. Now they were confident in having a serious contender, so long as they could pull down the EGTs/IATs. All it took was a massive air-to-water intercooler setup that holds 80 pounds of ice and uses two large bilge pumps for flow, and it couldn’t have fixed the problem any better. IATs only reached 120°F during a one-minute burnout, and the EGTs just crested 1,000°F.

Eventually, the engine took some damage and had to be pulled apart, and what was revealed was a melted piston that hurt the cylinder. Throwing caution to the wind, JH pulled out a dingleberry hone, and after about 30 minutes, deemed the wall good enough for some fresh pistons. What else do you do with a $1,500 burnout truck? Kill Devil Diesel sent out a new set of modified pistons, and they haven’t looked back since. JH can happily report that the truck has been running flawlessly—it even does four-wheel burnouts in 4×4 mode and never skips a beat. Remember that consistency thing? JH has won six of the last seven burnout competitions he has entered. The proof is in the pudding. Sometimes less is more, and simple is best. All that is left now are some cosmetic updates.

If you’d like to see more of JH Diesel, we highly recommend subscribing to his YouTube, where you can find hundreds of videos that are filled with knowledge, insight, and plenty of laughs. He is also a regular on Cleetus McFarland’s YouTube and has participated in his Cheap Truck Challenge with a diesel. JH is ‘bout it. Keep an eye out on the burnout competition circuit as well—you never know when JH might show up to take that cash payout!

2006 F-250 burnout

Engine

• 2006 Ford 6.0
• KC Turbos Stage 3 turbo
• Kill Devil Diesel Stage 3 camshaft
• Kill Devil Diesel modified Mahle pistons
• FASS Fuel System 290 gph
• Nitrous Express 150 hp shot
• Power Hungry Performance FICM tuning
• Warren Diesel 190/75 injectors

Transmission

• BD Diesel TapShifter
• Derale transmission cooler
• Goerend converter
• Warren Diesel transmission
• Welded rear diff

Interior

• Carbeau off-road seats
• Drift handbrake