While much attention is given to cars that look good, are comfortable, have great sound systems and can find their way home, diesel trucks continue to be workhorses, and their owners need them to deliver “performance” in ways that go beyond some of the common notions of the definition.

Turns out, there are a lot of aftermarket products that provide the extra performance diesel owners need. To install some of them requires training, tools and expertise that are usually only found in places that specialize in diesel truck performance.

But there are still a lot of products a restyling shop can either sell to do-it-yourself “weekend mechanics” or install in the shop without going through a years-long training program to re-invent itself — which means there is a potential profit center for restylers in the diesel trucks aftermarket.

Marc Cloutier, MPRP Inc.: From the perspective of the performance exhaust market we have always recognized that each consumer has his or her own unique set of needs and expectations from the products that they invest in. For that reason we have pushed hard to provide as wide a choice as possible by manufacturing applications in multiple material grades (T304, T409, aluminized, black powder-coat) and in multiple configurations (singles, duals, stacks, competition, turn-downs, with or without muffler).

Jason Bruce, Advance Flow Engineering (aFe): Diesels tend to be more work related. We see a lot of construction trucks, landscapers pulling trailers, horse trailers. But there are also three sub-niches that we see. You have a work guy; a pleasure [enthusiast] pulling a boat or fifth-wheel; and a new secondary market starting to thrive, with younger people spending $7,000-$10,000 getting a diesel that can run literally forever. In general, almost all are looking for the same things: torque and pulling power. Diesels are about power production — a strength statement more than anything. You don’t see diesel trailer queens.

Brock Meacham, Northern Utah Diesel: The biggest thing we see, from an aftermarket selling point, is the new diesels off the showroom floor don’t do as well in the fuel mileage category, so we sell a lot of performance chips. But it’s not just performance that truck owners are after. We sell these things for fuel mileage, also. Five years ago they were getting 20 mpg. Now diesel mpg is in the low teens. As far as lifestyle, we’ve even seen some people revert back; used-truck sales have come up substantially because people are buying new diesels and not liking them as well as the older ones, mainly because the fuel mileage is way down.