830HP 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel

Once bitten by the diesel bug, people are often driven to go from mild to wild in a very short amount of time. Take Korie Nealis for example. After showing up at the TS Performance Outlaw Drag Race with a programmer on his lifted ’06 Dodge Ram 2500, he quickly realized he wanted to be more than a spectator. I always wanted to build a high-horsepower diesel, Korie told us. After watching the diesel drag races, I wanted my truck back on the ground and making at least 700 hp.

Supporting Mods First
Korie’s build got started by addressing the inevitable: the factory 48RE automatic transmission was pulled and replaced with a full-billet-steel shaft competition unit from Sun Coast. A billet-steel-faced, triple-disc torque converter from Sun Coast was also installed to provide efficient engine-to-transmission power transfer. While underneath the Ram, Korie installed a 165-gph AirDog II fuel system to support his future injection system upgrades.

The AirDog II supplies a stroked Double Dragon CP3 injection pump from Industrial Injection. The CP3 pump flows 120 percent more fuel than stock in order to support a set of 200hp common-rail injectors, which are also from Industrial Injection.

Aside from a set of heavy-duty valvesprings and push tubes from Haisley Machine, and ARP 625 head studs, the factory long-block is untouched. Not only is Korie’s high-powered 5.9L a testament to what the stock Cummins architecture can handle, but it’s one more example disproving the myth that the factory fractured-split connecting rods are a weak link.

Hanging from the ATS exhaust manifold is this S366 turbo from Fleece Performance. It features a 66mm compressor wheel inducer, a 73mm turbine wheel exducer, and a 0.91 A/R turbine housing. The non-wastegated unit sees up to 65 psi of boost on the street.

Hanging from the ATS exhaust manifold is this S366 turbo from Fleece Performance. It featu

Turbomachinery
The airflow combination begins with an S366 Cheetah turbo from Fleece Performance. Breathing through an AFE air filter, the 66mm charger uses a lightweight, six-blade, billet-aluminum compressor wheel to improve spool-up. Charged intake air makes its way through a Spearco intercooler before passing through a Wilson intake manifold, and into the engine. A three-piece ATS Diesel exhaust manifold improves flow and helps drive the turbo. The rest of the exhaust path is comprised of a 4-inch downpipe, a 5-inch Silverline exhaust system, and a 6-inch tip from Rolling Big Power.

A Smarty S0-6 Power on Demand (PoD) programmer loaded with TNT software handles the ECM calibrating and allows Korie to make on-the-fly tuning changes. The last power-adder comes in the form of a Snow Performance water-methanol injection system. Korie had the reservoir mounted in the truck’s bed, and he runs Snow Performance’s Boost Juice water-methanol mix.

Dyno Tested
On Danville Performance’s load-cell dyno, the truck made 795 rwhp and 1,596 lb-ft of torque. Utilizing the water-methanol system yielded an 831hp and 1,731-lb-ft pass, in which 800 hp or more was made from 2,400 to 3,200 rpm. With a 36hp gain and an extra 135 lb-ft of stump-pulling twist, there’s plenty of cause for keeping the Snow Performance reservoir full of juice at all times.

Street Proven
On the street, the 800hp punch this Ram packs is very noticeableas the truck can make just about any sports car, hot rod, or diesel pickup look foolish from stoplight to stoplight. In addition, Korie claims 20 mpg or more is possible when he can keep his foot out of the throttle. The combination of 830 hp at the wheels, an extremely useful powerband, and a sleeper appearance makes this Dodge the ideal -ton for most diesel enthusiasts.