A lot of people look down on brand-new vehicles when it comes to performance. Buying an older, cheaper rig and then stacking the go-fast parts on it is a route many take. But some fearless people aren’t afraid to start modifying their brand-new vehicles for more power, performance, and reliability. Rob Oakley is one of those guys. You see, the new trucks have all the latest and greatest factory gadgets, the nicest interiors, and are generally smoother, quieter, and more civil than older machines—plus, you can finance the truck’s purchase price!
THAT NEW-TRUCK SMELL
Rob wanted to keep all these factory advantages, but he also wanted to go fast. He didn’t just want an intake, exhaust, and programmer, either—he wanted a bit more for his ’11 Dodge Ram Mega Cab. The build began by tearing into the engine and replacing the factory head bolts with ARP 625 head studs. Other than an H&S EGR delete, the rest of the 6.7L Cummins engine was left stock. The air and fuel injection systems are far from stock, however.
The exhaust is a very mellow, muffler-equipped, 4-inch design. Adding to the style of the
Rob knew that’s where power was to be made, so that’s where he went pretty wild. The factory turbo was replaced with a 66mm S400 with a billet wheel from Fleece Performance Engineering. The truck also got numerous fueling upgrades, including an Industrial Injection dual CP3 kit, 125hp injector nozzles, a fuel-rail shim kit, and tuning by H&S. While the truck has never been on the dyno, conservative power estimates are in the 650-rwhp range.
CHEAPEST AND STRONGEST SIX-SPEED OPTION
On newer Rams, the 68RFE automatic transmissions are a weak point, but Rob had a quick solution for that: Go with a manual! The stronger manual G56 six-speed has held up to the torque so far, with the addition of a dual-disc clutch from South Bend. Powerful engine? Check. Strong transmission? Check. Good lines? Always. So what does Rob do with his new hot rod? He drives it! As it turns out, modifying his rig hasn’t stopped Rob from putting more than 20,000 miles on his Mega Cab. He’s also looking to tune the truck up a bit more, but as it is, the Ram is very easy to drive and nearly smoke-free on anything but the hottest tune. With a truck like that, who can blame Rob for driving the wheels off it? Certainly not us.
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When it came to cylinder-head sealing, Rob didn’t mess around. The Cummins got a set of to
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Extra fuel comes in the form of a twin CP3 injection pump kit from Industrial Injection. O
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A WCC Pro Diesel Performance grid heater intake was incorporated into the build to reduce
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All the engine modifications on Rob’s mega-horsepower Dodge were performed by Michael Dalt
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An H&S display and programmer is used to up the fueling in the ’11 Dodge. Compared to a st
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Despite the newness of the truck, Rob has no qualms about using it as a workhorse. A Trans
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The turbo setup on the Mega Cab is from Fleece Performance and features a billet wheel and
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The interior is mostly stock, save for Auto Meter boost and rail pressure gauges.
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Here’s something that is getting more and more rare: a manual transmission in a diesel! Ro