Power Driven Podcast

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 gates

Whether a diesel needs a blow off valve

How air kills work on race trucks

Compressed air supercharging on a diesel

A correction on how nitrous affects cylinder temperatures

If 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.com

Colt 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