OBSCENE POWER!
Installing a TST PowerMax CR Computer and PDR Twin Turbo Kit on a '03 Dodge Ram Diesel.
By Lance Clifford

Once we arrived at PDR headquarters, we were greeted by the PDR team. Piers himself showed us around the facility. We got to check out their dyno testing facility, where they were doing some top secret testing on Piers' '04 Dodge Ram that has twin turbos, a cam, and some other goodies. When I saw the dyno numbers that it was pulling, I about soiled myself. Let's just say that if my truck were to produce numbers similar to his truck, I'd probably end up going to jail for reckless driving!

After the tour, the crew at PDR was ready to to tear my truck apart. I pulled it into the large, clean shop, and they began the task of installing the twins. There are a ton of parts in this kit, and it would be quite the task for a shade tree mechanic to attempt - not impossible, but it would certainly take quite a bit of time to figure everything out. Now that I have personally witnessed the installation, I feel fairly comfortable that I could do the job with the help of an assistant.

	Mark begins by removing the battery, battery box, and air intake tubes.
	Next step is to remove the inner fender well, to expose the area where the stock turbo lies, and the new twin turbos will soon rest.
	The stock exhaust manifold is removed, and a new ATS 3 piece manifold must be installed. Mark assembles the manifold on a test head. The pieces must be heated with a torch to go together properly.
	With the battery and intake tubes all removed, it sure opens up the engine compartment a bunch!
	Get to work, Shorty!
	The old ATS 4" down pipe is removed. It will be replaced with a Piers massive 5" down pipe!
	Coolant is drained from the radiator so the heater hoses cab be removed to allow easier installation of the twins.
	Don't steal my tools, EH?!?!?! All the guys in the shop said "Eh" all the time, just like in the movie "Strange Brew". I caught myself saying "Eh" for about two weeks after my Canadian adventure!
	Cutting off the 4" down pipe
	Mark had to remove a factory oil plug to allow the installation of the drain port for the 2nd turbo.
	The new ATS manifold is bolted in, upside down. This is required for the turbos to fit in the engine compartment properly.
	The "smaller" turbo, a PDR massaged HX40 is bolted into place on the exhaust manifold. This turbo typically is found on medium duty trucks. The original turbo on a Dodge diesel is an itty-bitty HX35.
	Mark bolts the connecting flange to the big daddy turbo - an HT3B turbo typically found on semis!
	Mark wedges the insanely massive HT3B turbo into the engine compartment. This turbo is the size of a Geo Metro motor!
	Once the big turbo is bolted into place, it must be properly clocked to get everything to fit.
	Piers checking on the crew to make sure everything is going smoothly.
	Bolting the new 5" down pipe to the HT3B.
	Mark welds the 5" down pipe to my existing 4" exhaust with a 5" to 4" adapter. Piers said I wouldn't gain much, if any power by upgrading to 5", so I decided to save the money and keep what I had.
	It's a tight squeeze with that 5" down pipe!
	While we had the truck on the rack, it was suggested that I upgrade to a Mag-Hytech tranny pan to keep the tranny from deflecting.
	While Mark made the final touches on the twin installation, another guy installed an aftermarket pusher pump I bought a while back. This new pusher pump will help keep the injection pump from running out of fuel pressure at wide open throttle.
	Mark installs the oil lines for both turbos.
	The tranny dipstick had to be relocated due to the HX40's location.
	The oil drain tube for the HT3B is installed in the hole that we removed the plug from.
	The intake tubes are all wedged into the now completely full motor compartment. The intake tube has two 65psi pop-off valves on it. Yes, that's right - 65psi!
	The AFE air filter is installed.
	The battery box, battery, and other miscellaneous stuff is bolted back into place.
	After double checking all the hose clamps and bolts, the inner fender is bolted back into place, semi-concealing the ultra trick hardware inside.
	The coolant, oil, and tranny are all refilled, and the truck is ready to rock!
	With all that hardware shoehorned into the engine compartment, the untrained eye may not even notice there are twin turbos in the engine compartment!

Driving Impressions
The PDR team finished my truck late Friday night. Instead of sticking around for another day to make sure everything was right, we elected to have full confidence in the PDR crew and begin the 1000 mile journey back home. We drove straight through the night, and man, let me tell you, this truck was crazy fast! I was instructed by Piers not to hammer down on the truck until I had the head retorqued again when I got home.

On the ride home, the truck averaged about 18 mpg @ an average of 75mph. Not too shabby, since that is about what it was getting in stock form.

I have had the PDR twins on my truck for several months now, and have not had a single problem. I have logged about 20,000 miles since installing the twins, driving like a maniac and towing heavy loads. The highest boost my XMonitor has logged to date is 56psi. I am so impressed with the PDR twin setup, I am convinced if I ever buy another new truck, I will take it straight to PDR to have twins put on it. Warranty Shmarranty!

In addition to the massive power (I have not dynoed the truck yet, but it is estimated to have approximately 520 - 550hp) the best part of this whole project is being able to run the TST box on setting 4-4 towing whatever you want, and having ice cold EGT temps. On a recent trip over the Grapevine southbound on Interstate 5, I had my 11' Lance cab over with my rig in tow on my 16' trailer. I had the cruise control set at 75mph, and the EGTs never got over 1100* as I blasted past people in the fast lane. I couldn't help but grin. Unloaded, I drive around town on setting 4-4. The truck really isn't streetable cruising down the highway at settings higher than this due to the truck wanting to just build boost and haul a$$. I have on many occasions cranked the TST up to 9-9 (max setting) and beat everything that has come across my path to this date. Interestingly enough, even with the massive amount of air the twins can move, the truck will blow thick black smoke out the exhaust at the highest settings (7-7 and above) at WOT. At about setting 5-5 and below, the black smoke is minimal, unless a large load is placed on the truck (such as towing a heavy load uphill and WOT).

Contact
Dunks Performance - Diesel Performance and Off Road Parts and Accessories.
2600 Main Street suite A
Springfield, OR 97477
Sales and Tech
(541) 726-1006
(541) 543-9050
http://www.dunksperformance.com

Piers Diesel Research - Diesel Performance for Dodge, Ford, Chevy, Volkswagen, and even John Deere.
USA Address:
Piers Diesel Research, Inc.
Unit 7, 413B - 19th Street,PMB 226
Lynden, WA 98264

Canadian Address:
Piers Diesel Research, Inc.
Unit 103 - 18940 - 94th Avenue
Surrey, B.C. Canada V4N 4C5
604-888-4159 Main Number
604-888-0057 Tech Line
604-888-0143 Tech Line
866-888-9396 Sales - Toll Free
http://www.piersdiesel.com