How to Run NITROUS on a CUMMINS Without Blowing It Up!

If you own a 2019 through 2026 Ram 2500 or 3500 with the 6.7 Cummins, you’ve probably heard the lifter failure horror stories and wondered if your fifth gen is a ticking time bomb. This episode breaks down exactly why these engines fail and what you can actually do about it before that typewriter tick turns into a full engine teardown.Todd, Will, and Myer walk through what changed on the 5th gen Cummins in 2019 and why. Stellantis wanted a lighter engine, a cheaper maintenance schedule, and a quieter truck. So Cummins went to a compacted graphite iron block, full cam bushings, a steel roller cam, and self adjusting hydraulic roller lifters. It still says 6.7 Cummins on the side, but under the valve cover it’s a very different engine than the 4th gen. The guys explain how that design leads to pushrod and rocker arm wear, bent pushrods, lifter slack, and eventually wiped cam lobes.They also bust a couple of common myths. The factory lifter does not have needle bearings, and that little key on the side of the lifter is not a guide pin. Using insight from a Cummins engineer, they cover the real failure modes, the Ram TSB on lifter tick, the undersized oil feed passage, dry starts, and the 10W30 versus 15W40 oil debate.Then they get into the fix. Power Driven and Colt Cams are releasing a flat tappet conversion kit that puts proven 1989 to 2018 Cummins valvetrain technology back in your fifth gen. It comes with cast tappets, upgraded 7/16 pushrods, adjustable rocker arms, and a smooth street and towing camshaft. They talk about how hard the install is, the cam options (including a stock replacement grind for strict emissions states), and why this setup opens the door to performance cams for guys chasing more diesel performance. Will has been working on this fix for a couple of years, and it’s a big part of why Power Driven brought Colt Cams in house.Before the fifth gen talk, they answer listener questions:Mechanical versus electronic wastegates, and why so many racers at UCC fought their electronic gatesWhether a diesel needs a blow off valveHow air kills work on race trucksCompressed air supercharging on a dieselA correction on how nitrous affects cylinder temperaturesIf you learned something, subscribe on YouTube and follow the Power Driven Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Drop your questions in the comments, because the guys really do read them.If your fifth gen is ticking or you want to get ahead of lifter failure, the Colt Cams 6.7 Cummins Flat Tappet Reliability Kit puts proven flat tappet technology back in your 2019 to 2024 Ram.You can pick the Tow Series 181/210 or the Street Series 181/218 cam. Shop everything mentioned in this episode at PowerDriven.com: links below.Shop Power Driven Diesel: https://www.powerdriven.comColt Cams 2019 to 2024 6.7L Cummins Flat Tappet Reliability Kit: https://coltcams.com/products/2019-2024-6-7-cummins-flat-tappet-reliability-kit

Nitrous will make power your turbos alone never will, and it will scatter a diesel engine just as fast if you set it up wrong. This episode is the full nitrous strategy, from your first bottle on a single turbo truck to the tuning behind 4,000 horsepower Cummins dyno hits.Todd, Will, and Myer start with nitrous oxide basics: what is in the bottle, why the extra oxygen makes so much power, and why a single eighth inch solenoid tops out around 250 horsepower. They get into where to spray it, why pre intercooler is the safest spot on a turbo diesel, and how bottle pressure, line size, and phase change decide how much nitrous actually reaches the engine. If three stages of spray only picked up 100 horsepower on your truck, the answer is probably in your plumbing.Next up is using nitrous to spool a big turbocharger on the line. The guys explain why a 52 jet is a safe place to start, why too much spray makes a diesel pop, backfire, or snuff out, and how a Hobbs switch, full throttle switch, or pulse width controller keeps it under control.Then it gets into wastegates, which might be the biggest part of the whole deal. Nitrous makes a ton of exhaust energy and will overspeed a single turbo in a hurry, so they walk through setting up a gate with regulated boost to the hat and keeping your fuel only power when the bottle runs dry. You will also hear how gates and spray took boost to 144 pounds while drive pressure actually dropped on a compound turbo setup.The diesel tuning side is where most motors get saved or lost. They cover how clean your truck should be before you ever spray it, why timing has to change when you pull fuel, how to read EGT if you do not have a dyno, and why a two second hit beats a ten second hero run. Plus the story of a 12 valve that went down the drag strip close to 70 to 1 air fuel, and why everything you learned from gas guys goes out the window on a diesel.They also kick off a new comment section segment with a viewer question: does a 250 amp high output alternator hurt horsepower or fuel economy?If you are into diesel performance, diesel drag racing, or building faster diesel trucks, subscribe on YouTube and follow the Power Driven Podcast on your favorite platform. Drop your nitrous questions in the comments and we might answer them on the show.Shop nitrous kits, controllers, wastegates, and everything else mentioned in this episode at PowerDriven.com. Links below.Shop Power Driven Diesel: https://www.powerdriven.com

Ever heard someone swear a big diesel dyno number has to be fake? On this episode of the Power Driven Podcast, Todd, Will, and Myer take on the dyno slap myth and get into what really separates the guys making serious diesel horsepower from everybody else. Spoiler: it’s not cheating, it’s obsession.The guys break down why certain people become the go to experts on one Cummins platform, whether that’s a first gen, a VP44 2nd gen Cummins, or a P pump 12 valve Cummins. Seat time on one diesel engine teaches you things no forum post ever will, like a VP44 builder finding real horsepower differences just by swapping ECMs.You’ll also hear a great 12 valve troubleshooting story from a recent event. A 1995 Dodge Cummins lost its tach and speedometer, and after 40 minutes with a wiring diagram, the culprit turned out to be a pulled fuel pump fuse in the PDC. On a 95, that fuse also feeds the PCM, so pulling it to “delete” a lift pump that was never there killed the computer.Then the crew gets into diesel dyno strategy and why dyno slapping isn’t real. Myer explains how his Cummins nitrous kits are staged about 200 rpm apart with fuel ramping in over roughly 1,000 rpm. He opens the wastegates ahead of the spray to keep boost and drive pressure in check, and repeatable dyno runs that line up with the math prove the numbers are legit. They also cover how overfueling a big turbo diesel setup cools the exhaust and snuffs the turbo, and how to set up an AFC on a hot 12 valve so it doesn’t hit full fuel too early.Myer’s 48RE transmission has been a big part of his season at the Ultimate Callout Challenge (UCC), diesel drag racing events, and dyno days. As far as the crew knows, it’s holding more power than anyone has put through a Turbo 400, and the only maintenance on the truck all year has been an oil change. They explain how transmission slip can scatter an engine and why a Bosch ECM that thinks fast enough is worth every dollar over a factory 849.You’ll also hear why a 6.4 deck plate isn’t automatically the right call over a 6.7, why common rail diesel trucks dominate turbo limited classes like 72 fast, and the small details that win dyno days: chains instead of loose straps, rear lockouts, a spool, a weight rack, and where the tire sits on the roller.To wrap it up, a listener writes in to settle the EGT versus EGTs debate once and for all.If you’re into Cummins builds, diesel performance, diesel tuning, and making real horsepower, subscribe on YouTube and follow the Power Driven Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.Whether you’re chasing your first 1,000 horsepower out of a P pump 12 valve or building a Cummins that can survive serious dyno abuse, the parts and know-how behind this episode are available at PowerDriven.com. Shop Power Driven Diesel: https://www.powerdriven.com

Single turbo or compound turbo: which one really makes more horsepower? This episode started with a comment from viewer @V8Lenny (youtube.com/@V8Lenny) claiming a single turbo will always make more power than the same charger run in compounds, so we put that claim up against years of diesel dyno numbers and real Cummins builds.The conversation starts with results from 12 valve Cummins and 6.7 Cummins common rail diesel trucks. A 98mm charger that made 1100 horsepower as a single made 1500 to 1600 in a compound setup, while an S480 made the same power either way. It also covers why big singles are so hard to tune on a common rail diesel, from snuffing the turbo with too much fuel to adjusting rail pressure and timing so the fuel drives the charger.From there it gets into turbo science. Diesels have less drive energy than gas engines, which is why sled pull turbos run huge turbine wheels and why high altitude makes everything harder. Compressor efficiency, pulse energy, and interstage cooling all come into play, along with The Godfather, a triple turbo 12 valve that made 2800 horsepower with four stages of densification.Cylinder head flow is a big part of the picture too. Head flow decides where an engine wants to make peak power, and matching your turbos to the head matters more than chasing RPM.Testing on the Junker drag truck shows both sides of the single turbo vs twin turbo debate: an S476 single that barely broke 700 on a 5.9 Cummins, an S369 single that beat a set of towing compounds, and a 12v Cummins build where compounds made way more power. The episode also explains why compounds spool better at low RPM and when they don’t.It wraps with the 72 Fast class pushing near 1500 horsepower on a 72mm turbo and a final verdict on @V8Lenny (youtube.com/@V8Lenny) claim: compressor for compressor, a well tuned single usually wins, but compounds are way easier to tune.If you want real diesel power talk from guys who run this stuff on the dyno, subscribe to Power Driven Diesel on YouTube and follow the Power Driven Podcast wherever you listen.Building a big single or a set of compounds? Power Driven Diesel has the parts to back it up.Aggressor turbos, compound turbo systems, CNC ported cylinder heads, and complete power packages for 12 valve, 24 valve, and common rail Cummins are all available at PowerDriven.com.Shop Power Driven Diesel: https://powerdriven.com

What happens when an $11,000 VP44 Cummins with a short parts list out tow trucks that cost five times as much? Willard, our 2001 Dodge Ram dually, just pulled a race trailer home from Diesels in the Mountains and held the speed limit up the grades. This episode breaks down why this old 24 valve keeps surprising everybody and what it takes to turn a 25 year old diesel truck into a legit cross country tow rig.Todd, Will, and Myer walk through the simple build on this 5.9 Cummins with the VP44 injection pump: a 650 horsepower transmission, Power Driven stage two injectors, a turbo upgrade, head studs, intake, and exhaust. On a clean tow tune it pulls hard, makes around 520 wheel horsepower on the top tune, and the EGT control is so good the crew had to verify the gauge with dual pyros on the dyno. They also get honest about the limitations, like the four speed and 3.55 gears making it slow off the line with a heavy trailer compared to a newer six speed truck.Next they cover the comfort list that turns a fun truck into a real tow truck. That means killing exhaust drone with a better tip and a big straight through muffler, adding an inline four inch exhaust brake that leaves room for compounds later, and why V band connections matter for exhaust brake performance.Old truck problems get their own fix list too: a leaking heater core, a cracked second gen dash, sound deadening while the interior is out, a turbo silencer ring, a modern radio with a backup camera, better tow mirrors, headlights, and brakes.The guys also run the numbers. Willard sits around $22,000 all in, with way fewer electrical gremlins than a brand new Ram 2500 that can lock you in the cab on the side of the highway.Finally, they map out the next stage of this VP44 build: camshaft, ported cylinder head, then turbos, chasing a 700 to 800 horsepower tow truck on a stock VP44 pump. Plus some fun talk about how Willard might stack up against the new 8.3L Duramax in a TFL Truck style towing test.If you love old Cummins trucks and real diesel performance talk, subscribe on YouTube and follow the Power Driven Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.The parts that make Willard tow like this are the Power Driven stage two VP44 injectors, the 650 horsepower transmission, and the turbo setup.If your turbo whistle is wearing on you during long tows, the turbo silencer rings are on the site too. Shop everything mentioned in this episode at PowerDriven.com. Links below.Shop Power Driven Diesel: https://www.powerdriven.com

A shelf on cylinder head just won the biggest payday in diesel drag racing, and it beat trucks running heads that flow a lot more air. If you think bigger is always better on a race build, this episode of the Power Driven Podcast might make you rethink your whole combo.Todd, Will, and Myer break down the 72 Fast class in Texas, where first place took home $100,000. Every truck runs the same 72mm VS Racing turbo with zero modifications, weighs at least 6,000 pounds, keeps a factory ECM, and launches off a foot brake against an instant green tree. No nitrous, no water injection, no trans brake. It all comes down to engine building, tuning, and the guy behind the wheel.Will explains how he ran the numbers on Matthew Parker's 6.7 Cummins and built him a Power Driven Stage 3 diesel cylinder head with the shelf left on. At a 4,000 rpm shift point, the engine only needed about 267 CFM, and the head flowed 261 on the bench. Parker tested it back to back against his old head with the same tune, watched his air fuel ratio go leaner, kept adding fuel, and eventually ran out of CP3 at peak torque. He went on to win Texas after already taking Indy.The guys also talk about Spencer Shultz, who finished runner up with a head Will reworked after a dyno contest, and why those two trucks were nearly dead even. That opens up a straightforward breakdown of coefficient of discharge, valve size, and airspeed, and why a smaller, efficient port can fill the cylinder better than a big one when everything is sized to your RPM window.Camshaft selection, two valve versus four valve heads, and why injector placement matters for combustion all come up too. It is the kind of conversation every diesel engine build should start with before anyone orders parts.To wrap things up, they cover rumored new classes for next season, plans for their own race trucks over the winter, and a 3,503 uncorrected horsepower pull on a SuperFlow dyno that set a record for raw numbers on that machine.If you are into diesel performance and truck drag racing, subscribe on YouTube and follow the Power Driven Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Plenty more coming this winter.The Power Driven Stage 3 cylinder head that carried Matthew Parker to his second straight 72 Fast win is available for your own 6.7 Cummins, along with our full lineup of diesel cylinder heads, engine blocks, and performance parts built and tested in house using real race data. Whether you are building a race truck or a street build that pulls harder where you actually drive it, grab everything mentioned in this episode at PowerDriven.com.Shop Power Driven Diesel: https://www.powerdriven.com

What does it actually take to keep a Cummins alive past 3,000 horsepower on the dyno? It is not just more fuel and a bigger nitrous shot. This episode breaks down the real engineering behind Myer's second gen common rail race truck and why so many mega power builds scatter before the pull is over.With Diesels in the Mountains coming up in Utah, Todd, Will, and Myer dig into the torque limit of a factory cast block and why it wants to split right at the cam tunnel. They explain how making the same torque at 6,000 rpm instead of 2,500 turns a tow rig number into a record number, and why dyno correction factor at altitude means the uncorrected number is the one worth comparing.On the engine side, the guys walk through how a deck plate and a longer rod move the peak cylinder pressure above the factory block, and why they run the sleeves with a loose fit instead of a press fit so the weaker cast iron is not preloaded before the fire ever happens.For diesel tuning, they cover why nitrous means pulling 10 to 15 degrees of timing compared to a fuel only tune, how injector size changes how precise your injection window has to be, and why floating valves are behind most nitrous dyno blowups. Diesel cylinder pressure at this level is closer to Top Fuel than anything a gas valve manufacturer is used to, which is why Inconel is on the table.Then it gets into the turbo and nitrous setup. Myer runs four bottles, each on its own feed line, plus three wastegates that open the moment each nitrous kit fires so boost stays in check before it can overshoot. They also talk about undivided turbine housings, running as lean as 50 to 1 on the dyno, and why four bottles is about delivery, not showing off.The episode wraps with transmission line pressure and how slippage quietly costs hundreds of horsepower, running higher tire pressure with a spool to keep tires from blowing apart, and the dream of a hub dyno power wheelie.If you learned something, subscribe on YouTube and follow the Power Driven Podcast on your favorite platform so you catch the next one.From deck plates and sleeves to turbo boots and nitrous components, the parts behind builds like Myer's are the same ones we run and trust every day. Shop everything mentioned in this episode at PowerDriven.com.Shop Power Driven Diesel: https://www.powerdriven.com

Every diesel guy has a list of mods he would take back, and in this episode Todd, Will, and Myer own up to theirs. From pushrods that snapped on a tow to Texas to a 12 valve Cummins quietly running out of oil, this is a shop floor confession about diesel truck mistakes that cost real time and money, and how to avoid repeating them on your own build.They break down turbo choices that missed the mark in both directions, including a big single on a 12 valve that never wanted to spool, an oversized junkyard turbo that made a truck lazier, and why a smaller 60/64 setup on their VP44 test truck ended up being the most fun to drive and tow with. If you are picking a turbo for your Cummins, that lesson alone is worth the listen.The fuel side gets plenty of attention too. The guys talk about cheap lift pumps that fell flat feeding a VP44, why a 13mm injection pump with no timing advance felt underwhelming, and how delivery valves really work, including where a full cut helps and where it just adds smoke and EGT.Then the fabrication stories start. Doubled up flex plates, a home welded turbo adapter, splines welded onto an input shaft, injector nozzles that sprayed the wrong way in a 12 valve, and a gallery plug that needed overnight to cure all come with lessons learned the hard way.They also cover mods that look cool but bite back, like hood stacks that coat the cab in soot, ceramic clutches on a street truck, torque converters that are too tight or too loose, and duct tape and baling wire on a boost boot. Plus what they learned about cast compressor wheels overspeeding on the dyno, and why you keep the engine running after a turbo lets go.Got a dumb mod story of your own? Drop it in the comments.Subscribe on YouTube and follow the Power Driven Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode.This episode is full of hard lessons on turbos, lift pumps, delivery valves, and fabrication, and if you want to build it right the first time instead of learning it the hard way like these guys did, Power Driven Diesel has the parts and the know how to help.Shop Power Driven Diesel: https://www.powerdriven.com

Todd, Will, and Myer sit down to build the ultimate 1000 horsepower Cummins street truck from the ground up, part by part. Five hundred horsepower used to be the number that turned heads. Now the bar has moved, and this episode lays out exactly what it takes to build a diesel truck that lives at four digits and still drives home every night.The guys pick a 2006 third gen Dodge with a 5.9 Cummins as the starting platform and spend real time weighing that against stepping up to a 6.7 Cummins, covering spool, towing manners, and how each block handles the power level. If you're deciding between a 5.9 and a 6.7 for your own diesel truck build, this breakdown will save you a lot of guessing.From there the conversation moves into turbos, comparing the factory 8351CW against aftermarket compound setups built around an S466, S467, and a 98 millimeter atmosphere charger. They talk through single turbo versus compound turbo tradeoffs, when a wastegate actually matters at this power level, and how compressor and turbine sizing changes spool and peak power on the dyno.They cover the bottom end and cylinder head next, going over street fighter connecting rods, 14 millimeter main studs, and the ongoing debate between H, P, and V bearings for a truck that sees real street miles. On top of the block, they break down cylinder head stages, valve springs, pushrods, and when a bigger intercooler actually becomes necessary as boost climbs.Fueling gets plenty of attention too, with a look at CP3 pumps, single versus dual injector setups in 12 and 14 millimeter sizes, lift pump options like Air Dog and Fleece, and why upgrading your rail pressure sensor and relief valve matters once you push past factory pressure.If you're serious about building a reliable 1000 horsepower diesel truck, hit subscribe on YouTube and follow the Power Driven Podcast on your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode.Shop everything mentioned in this episode at PowerDriven.com.All month long you can save 10% off everything at Power Driven, 15% off PDD Fueling, 10% off Airdog, and 10% off OptiTorque.Every purchase this month also gets you five entries to September's giveaway: a compound turbo kit, a Colt Cams cam combo that includes a PDD cylinder head, an Aggressor turbo, a fuel package, and an Airdog fuel system.Shop Power Driven Diesel: https://www.powerdriven.com

You want to build a fast diesel and you don't want to blow it up in the process. This episode is the one you need before you ever touch a tune. Todd, Will, and Myer sit down and go through every real reason a high performance diesel engine dies, and it's rarely what you'd expect from reading the forums.They start by busting the EGT myth. Guys have been scared of exhaust gas temperature for decades, but heat alone almost never kills a build. What actually wrecks pistons is improper piston wall clearance, something the diesel performance world has gotten wrong for years. They break down cast versus forged pistons, correct ring gap on 12 valve and 24 valve Cummins engines, and why a factory rod that survives a worn out truck making 600 horsepower will bend the moment you put real power to a fresh, tight engine.From there they get into nitrous and timing. Todd and Will walk through why running too much timing with a big nitrous shot on a common rail is a fast way to send cylinder pressure through the roof, why sled pulling with water injection wants more timing than drag racing with nitrous, and how a lot of the old "nitrous blew it up" stories were actually piston clearance problems the whole time.Tulip valves get their own deep dive. This is one of the biggest issues quietly taking out modern high performance heads, and the guys explain how cylinder pressure pushes the valve up, kills your lash, wipes cams, and why Power Driven is working with a manufacturer on Inconel valves built specifically for common rail engines.They also cover rod bolt failures from over revving on the dyno, why disconnecting lockup or overdrive at high RPM without load will scatter an engine every time, and why running without an exhaust brake can quietly kill factory rods on a long mountain coast down. They close out talking through where to set your RPM window on a build so you're not fighting factory block and head limitations before you even lay into the throttle.If you're turning up a diesel or building a race truck, hit subscribe on YouTube and follow along on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss the next one.September is a big one. Power Driven is running 10% off everything storewide, 15% off PDD Fueling, and 10% off both Airdog and OptiTorque.On top of that there are five giveaways running including a compound turbo kit, a Colt Cams cam combo with a PDD cylinder head, an Aggressor turbo, a full fuel package, and an Airdog fuel system. Get all of it at PowerDriven.com before the sale ends.Shop Power Driven Diesel: https://www.powerdriven.com