Sick Summer 2026 Insanity Recap | Dustin West

Chris and Anthony have a specific topic they want to discuss today. Lately, the boys have been fielding a lot of calls and questions regarding how sluggish and underpowered a lot of these big cab & chassis Cummins, Power Stroke, and Duramax trucks are. Many of these owners are purchasing these trucks for towing and hot-shotting larger loads long distances and notice just how much less they have in terms of power, acceleration, and more compared to the regular medium-duty diesel pickup trucks. The guys discuss exactly what they have seen in terms of what these stock cab & chassis trucks drive like and discuss exactly what they've seen others doing to them to solve the issue. 

Chris and Anthony have on Dylan Stewart, Production Manager for Stealth Turbos. They sat down to discuss how much has changed in the Stealth Turbo department in the 8+ years that Dylan has been involved at Calibrated Power. From offering only a 67MM LB7 turbocharger with the Stealth Turbo inception, to having 3 turbos available when Dylan stepped in, to now Stealth Turbos offering 25+ different turbocharger options. From how different the department is, to the development of new products, and more. We talk all thing turbos! 

This week on the Diesel Performance Podcast, we're talking LB7s, big power, and this year's Sick the Mag's Michigan Miles! Jake Maher, shop tech at Calibrated Power, joins us to talk about his experience driving his LB7 and what it takes to put one of these trucks through the abuse. We're also joined by David from Cold Front Diesel to talk about his truck as well(LB7) and their experience at this year's Michigan Miles. Two LB7s, two builds, and plenty of wild things to talk about.   

In this episode, we sit down with Natalia and Dustin to talk about the upcoming WCFab Open House on October 3rd in DeKalb, IL. The crew is going massive this year! We get into what's new this year, the $11,000+ Dyno Competition, Show & Shine, raffles, vendors, the Mullet Competition, and what you can expect when the diesel community rolls into WCFab. We also talk about the bigger mission behind the event and how it helps support the WCFab Scholarship Fund and students pursuing careers in the trades. October 3rd. DeKalb, IL! See you there!  

Chris and Anthony are joined by Nick Priegnitz, founder of Duramaxtuner and Calibrated Power, to discuss what he's been up to specifically with the LB7 (2001-2004 Duramax) platform. The boys over at Calibrated Power have dropped a new LB7 Stealth STR and in the process Nick thought, it would be a good idea to take my two decades worth of tuning knowledge in the vastly evolving world of diesel trucks. With the amount of possible calibrations on the L5P platform (2017-2026), the way you attack building a perfect tune is very different than back in the day with the immense amount of parameters to modify. He sat down to talk with the boys about his tuning advancements on a platform he already pushed to a different level, but if you know Nick like we do, if there is any room to get more out of truck, he is going to push for it. We also discussed turbo development and many more topics.  

Anthony and Justin have Riley and Lacey on talking about the fast growing, amazing events for diesel trucks and any auto enthusiast, the 2026 Hub City Diesel Truck Challenge, on this week's episode! We talked about what makes this event one of the premier diesel competitions, how it has grown over the years, and what attendees and competitors can expect this year. We discuss the different events, the trucks and builds that show up, the behind-the-scenes work that goes into putting on a competition of this size, and what it takes to bring the diesel community together for an unforgettable weekend. Whether you're a competitor, a spectator, or just a diesel enthusiast looking for your next event to attend, this episode gives you an inside look at what makes the Hub City Diesel Truck Challenge special. Sled pulls, dirt drags, show n shine, fan dyno, and a burnout road! You don't want to miss this event at the Richland County Firgrounds in Richland Center, Wisconsin October 9th and 10th. We are stoked to get out there and witness some of the wildest trucks.  Click the link to learn more about the event: https://hubcitydirtdrags.com/

Anthony and Chris have two of our favorite guys on, David and Caden fron Cold Front Diesel. You may remember them breaking records emissions-compliant LML that threw down 706 horsepower and 1,200 FT-LBS of torque. To go completely the other way, the Cold Front boys bought a "winter beater" aka a former plow truck, and these boys are from Northern Michigan, so you do the math. From there the 290,000 mile truck was just too reliable, so they decided to make it a drag and drive truck. This truck was built from many different used parts to the point the boys named it Project Hand Me Down. Our crew talked to them utilizing it for Sick Summer 2026 and the upcoming Sick Michigan coming up this month (August). From breaking the truck doing burnouts to running their diesel shop up north, we talked about it all!

This week the boys wanted to discuss how much the industry has pushed diesel truck modifications to a different level. Turbo technology has drastically chaged for the good. Today's chargers are handling more power than ever while delivering better reliability and durability than what was possible just a few years ago.  Anthony and Chris discuss how much advancement we've seen, a few fallacies (smaller wheel is bad, bigger is better), and roll into Nick Priegnitz discussing the stock turbo charger of the L5P versus an L5P Stealth STR comparing power, spool, and more!

Anthony and Chris got to thinking after the AMSOIL UCC event, you see these beast trucks competing, but no one talks about what they used to get them there. Diesel trucks modified and created to be towing machines. The boys wanted to discuss building a reliable, bad ass tow rig. Wheter you are towing boats, campers, your race car or truck, the boys put together mods they think make an ultimate tow rig. Enjoy!

Dustin West dropped into the studio to discuss him and Ryan Wehrli of WCFab's week at the Sick Summer 2026. 800 miles of street driving to throw down over a week at 5 different days of drag racing. He recaps the ups, downs, and everything in between! If you're into diesel racing and the stories that come with them, you won't want to miss this episode.