2800 degrees does matter. That will melt everything after the engine.” We kick this one off with a real story about a pegged EGT gauge and use it to crack open what exhaust gas temperature actually tells you and why placement matters. We explain EGT in plain terms and dig into the difference between reading pre turbo and post turbo, including the ballpark rule one of us saw when testing that showed roughly 100 degrees per 10 pounds of drive. Most light duty diesel folks read pre turbo, so the rest of the conversation stays there.

From there we poke at the old 1250 safe myth and talk about why newer common rail trucks can see 1350 to 1400 on a hard pull while a 12 valve might not love that long term. Timing plays a huge role and we lay out how advancing timing can drop the EGT number while raising the actual heat the piston sees. That’s why a lower number isn’t always safer. We walk through the failures we’ve actually seen in the shop and at the track like melted turbine wheels and dividers when the hot side is the weak link versus pistons that scuff from heat and clearance. We also share a simple towing habit that helps, which is watching coolant as a proxy for oil temperature and backing off after a big climb instead of idling hot.

If you’re fighting high EGT while towing we talk through fixes that work in the real world. The big one is getting the right turbo for your RPM and load because a mid sized single makes a truck smoky and hot. Freeing up the exhaust after the turbo helps drive pressure and spool. An upgraded intercooler can drop intake temps and we’ve seen that turn into a noticeable EGT reduction. Cylinder head flow and a sensible cam improve volumetric efficiency so the same fuel makes more power with less heat. We even get into water and water meth injection and where it can make sense. We wrap it with how we’d spend money on a tow build with tuning first then turbo then fuel and why that order worked on our own tow rig. If you care about towing, turbos, timing, common rail versus 12 valve behavior and real diesel performance, this episode is for you.