Blog

"Nothing says "bang for the buck" like the '94 to '98 12-valve Cummins. Gaining horsepower can cost next to nothing, and even if the project takes a turn toward the extreme, big power can still be had without breaking the bank.

Recently, we hooked up with Russ Kennel of Maximum Diesels in San Jacinto, California. He's a diesel shop owner who's becoming more and more involved in the old-school diesel aftermarket-mainly due to how fun and affordable it is. When we bumped into him, he'd transformed a $3,000 '94 Dodge Ram 2500 into a 12-second quarter-mile performer-and had done so on a very tight budget. But he wanted more.

With plenty of fuel on tap, Kennel recently upgraded to a set of twin turbos. By retaining his quick-spooling Tech 64 unit from Diesel Power Source and using it as the high-pressure charger, Kennel threw an S480 (also from Diesel Power Source) into the mix. Still within budget, the addition of the low-pressure charger and new plumbing propelled his standard cab Dodge into the 11s in the quarter-mile, and the truck picked up 145 hp on the dyno.

Is the 12-valve still the king of cheap diesel power? You betcha! Follow along as we give you Kennel's power recipe, dyno results, and elapsed time improvement from adding twins."

See our products at: 12 valve Cummins