2006 Dodge Ram 2500 - Never Satisfied

When it comes to later-model Dodge Ram pickups, you may be quite surprised by the things you find lurking under the hood. Case in point is Jacob S.’s 2006 Ram. In Southern California, seeing fullsize trucks with Baja fenders isn’t that uncommon, so Jacob’s ride is often mistaken as a clean desert truck. However, that opinion is instantly dispelled when Jacob drops the hammer and his Dodge quickly vanishes out of sight, thanks to 850 hp. What’s even better is the truck has no problem backing up its power numbers at the dragstrip, running 7.40s at 93 mph (eighth-zile) and trouncing many a muscle car in the process.

While the on-track stats are impressive, understand this speed didn’t happen overnight. Jacob has been constantly upgrading and modifying his truck to be faster and faster as time has progressed, going through multiple turbo combinations, upgrading the head studs from ARP 425 to 625s, and constantly trying new tunes to refine the combination. But that’s not where the quest for higher performance tarted. It started even before Jacob bought the truck.

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You see, Jacob did his research and knew right off the bat that he wanted a

5.9L that was EFILive compatible, which meant finding an 2006 model. He also

found one with low miles that hadn’t been previously hot-rodded. All that

stock-ness changed right away, though, as the truck was outfitted with a bigger

turbo, injectors, and hot programming.

The 48RE transmission was also upgraded with billet input, intermediate, and output shafts, along with a Goerend valvebody and upgraded flexplate. The entire setup was built by Mike Lovrich of Inglewood Transmission.

The Ram’s latest horsepower setup is both simple and powerful. A set of

100-percent-over F1 Diesel nozzles has been fitted to the Bosch injectors,

which are supported by an AirDog 200-gph lift pump and a PPE Dual Fueler

CP3 kit. All the fuel in the world isn’t going to do any good without airflow, so

Jacob went big on the turbo setup as well. A box-stock S475 BorgWarner turbo

was mounted with a T4 manifold from Stainless Diesel and cranks out 55 psi

to the Cummins engine. Other than a piping kit Jacob and his buddy Mike

Funchellio from Advanced Diesel and Auto built, the rest of the airflow path

(intake, grid heater, intercooler) is factory. The last piece of the puzzle was

engine reliability, and there Jacob again made smart and simple modifications, SATISFIED running pushrods and valvesprings from Hamilton

Cams and a resurfaced head with billet freeze plugs and

ARP 625 studs that was built and installed by Big Power

Diesel out of Palmdale, California.

The final piece of the puzzle for Jacob’s build came with the bodywork and suspension needed to play in the nearby Southern California sand dunes. The all-important front suspension and steering received numerous upgrades from Thuren Fabrication and Icon Vehicle Dynamics. The suspension received an Icon coil and spacer as well as a track bar, and Thuren supplied parts for the Heim joint steering and sway bar. The body was not overlooked, either, as Desert Depot installed a set of Fiberwerx fenders and an SRT-10 hood, before spraying the whole truck a bright silver hue.

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“In Southern California, seeing fullsize trucks with Baja fenders isn’t that uncommon, so Jacob’s ride is often mistaken as a clean desert truck.”

With his truck boasting a unique look and power aplenty, you’d think Jacob

would be happy with how his ride turned out -- and he is. However, he just

wants more. It turns out that 7.40s aren’t good enough, and he has future

plans of more tuning, weight reduction, and some dragstrip-only tires to get

the truck into the 10-second zone in the quarter-mile. On the street, however,

it will retain its polished look, 35-inch tires, and desert sleeper status, so if you’re cruising a freeway in Southern California, you’d better watch out.