It is sometimes funny how things work. Technology that was developed decades ago to solve problems becomes outdated as new advances are made. Then later, that “old technology” comes back into play and like a firestorm blazes through the industry becoming the hottest new trend. Case in point, this supercharged Cummins.
This is the case here. It is all about a supercharged Cummins engine. Originally designed for the Detroit Diesel engines, blowers (roots type) were designed to provide the needed air flow in the lower rpm range where the turbocharger wasn’t performing. Then the turbocharger would come on and supply the additional air up top.
As turbocharger aerodynamics improved, using a compound setup like this wasn’t needed and to reduce cost and complexity, the supercharger was dropped. Flash forward a few decades and the guys at J&R Racing just lit a match (per say) with their supercharged Cummins engine built by Extreme Engine Development. They aren’t the first group to go back to a supercharger, but their impressive videos and network of friends are certainly taking note.
We have started to see more and more trucks with superchargers sitting on top. Not all of them are solely relying on the supercharger like J&R Racing is. Some are still running compounds like this latest one being shown off by the guys at White Knuckles Garage. The original setup was designed by Crazy Carl’s Turbochargers and is actually running a set of compounds semi feed by the supercharger.
The supercharged Cummins’ huffer is believed to use a supercharger off of a ’03-’04 Ford SVT Cobra (Whipple 3.3-liter) that is mounted on a custom plenum. The compounds are from Stainless Diesel and are comprised of a 63/14 high-pressure charger being fed by a BorgWarner S400 with an 80mm compressor wheel.
The outlet of the supercharger is directed into a “Y” that feeds the low-pressure charger. The other end of the “Y” is the air filter with a butterfly valve. According to White Knuckles Garage owner, Stephen O’Neal, the butterfly valve opens as the compounds begin to build boost. As the butterfly valve opens, the supercharger’s load reduces, thus reducing the amount of drag on the crank. According to O’Neal, the setup idles at three to four pounds of boost and maxes at 80 psi.
The overall performance of the system is a bit limited based on the available fuel.
For fuel, the 24-valve engine is running a hot rod VP44 pump that isn’t capable of maxing out the air flow available. O’Neal mentioned that his best fuel-only number was 600 horsepower. While he has sprayed the truck before, the dyno results have been all of the place.
O’Neal purchased this setup a little over a year. Initially, they ran into a number of different problems and decided to remove the setup until he had time to really work on it and dial everything in. Flash forward to a few days ago, and they decided they needed to put the system back on for the upcoming ATS dyno event.
The truck not only has this setup back on, but the nitrous is hooked up as well as the water/methanol system. When we mentioned that it was too bad he didn’t have straight methanol for the dyno, O’Neal snickered and said he does. So, that means he has more fuel on board, and even more air with the spray. So, he will be rolling the truck on the dyno this weekend. If you are in the area, make sure you check it out.
Updated (3/14/2015):
We just heard back from O’Neal. There was a ton of excitement and interest in the truck during the dyno event. As expected, the truck didn’t lay down a wow number, but certainly was one of the more heavily watched and recorded dynos of the weekend. “The truck only put down 559.00 horsepower and I think 1,150 or so torque. We have an appointment with a local dyno in two weeks to try and fine-tune it and try some different fueling. I do plan on putting a much bigger pump on this truck for our local dyno day in June. We might be able to actually throw enough fuel at it to end this tired VP engine, we will see,” said O’Neal when we spoke to him about the weekend.
If you are interested in hearing this thing run in person, White Knuckles Garage is hosting a dyno day meet and greet on June 6 at 9:00 a.m. Below are the event details:
Location:
- Horsepower Ranch
- 4655 Volk Road
- Hanna, In 46340