Oversize Load: The 3,000-HP Sled Killer

Brad Deeter’s 3,000 hp, 3,500 lb-ft. Cummins-Powered Sled Killer

The sport of Super Stock diesel truck pulling has advanced by leaps and bounds in the past few years. While many big changes were initially kept hidden, items like enormous triple turbochargers or aluminum blocks are pretty hard to keep under wraps.

We had the good fortune of running into Brad Deeter, who’s incorporated the latest and greatest into his pulling truck called Oversize Load. With an aluminum Cummins that cranks out more than 3,000 horsepower and 3,500 lb-ft. of torque, we were itching to see what it took to build a competitive rig in pulling’s top class.

The amazing 3,000 horsepower, 3,500 lb-ft. Cummins appears to be more turbocharger than engine at first glance. Nearly every piece on the Super Stock class-pulling engine is a custom or one-off part.

A solid foundation is crucial to keeping an engine like this alive, so Brad chose to run with an ultra-strong short block from Scheid Diesel. The aluminum block Cummins is filled with a 6.7L crankshaft, R&R connecting rods, Arias pistons, and a custom Scheid Diesel roller camshaft.

A high flowing cylinder head is mandatory when it comes to power levels above 2,000 horsepower, and here Brad was pretty tight-lipped. What he would tell us is that both the head and block are fire-ringed, and the engine runs a custom Scheid Diesel valvetrain capable of withstanding the abuse of 6,000rpm pulling.

Billet Cummins

The power of the monster Cummins-based engine is enough to twist any stock frame in half, so Brad had a full round tube chassis built by Engler Machine & Tool. The body is also a non-OEM item, as a one-piece GTS fiberglass ’12-up Ram body was mounted on the chassis with a custom tilt frame. The rest of the drivetrain is equally impressive, as an SQHD out of a semi resides out back, with an ultra-strong Rockwell 106 axle up front. Instead of a transmission, a single-speed reverser from ProFab sends power back to a Profab Machine dropbox, which transfers power to all four wheels. The front suspension is a four coil-over ladder bar design, while the rear is completely solid, so as not to squat under the weight of a 40,000-lb. sled.

Subscribe Our Weekly Newsletter

“An aluminum Cummins that cranks out more than 3,000 horsepower and 3,500 lb-ft. of torque”

While the fabrication and attention to detail on the chassis is impressive, the crowning jewel of the truck is the wild 3,000 horsepower powerplant built by Scheid Diesel. Although it’s Cummins-based, there’s very little in the engine that’s an actual OEM part. The block for instance, is an aluminum version of the 5.9L, which is stronger, and lighter by more than 100 pounds. The block also houses the only OEM part on the truck, a factory 6.7L Cummins crankshaft. From there, the short block is all custom, with R&R connecting rods, dropped compression Arias forged pistons, and custom studs and bolts spec’d by Scheid throughout the bottom end.

The turbo system is quite impressive, and starts out with a Steed Speed manifold, that uses a straight exit and a T6 flange to mount a Holset HC5 turbocharger.

All of the triple Holset turbos on Brad’s engine are modified, and are more than 100mm in inducer diameter. An interesting fact is that Brad doesn’t run an exhaust wastegate, instead he controls boost through a wastegate on the intake side, between the turbocharger stages.

Front and center are the massive twin 100+mm Holset turbos, which allow the 3K power levels. Interestingly enough, Brad actually picked up a few horsepower with the Chaos Fabrication air filters on the dyno, so he left them in place when it came time to hit the track.

Air Duties

Airflow throughout the 6.4L engine has also been drastically improved, with a host of aftermarket parts. Instead of a normal flat-tappet cam, a roller cam takes its place, and bumps a completely custom rocker and valvetrain setup built by Scheid Diesel for 6,000-rpm operation. The head itself is also a “non-Cummins” piece from Scheid, but valve sizes and flow numbers were kept under wraps. What Brad did tell us was that it has been heavily CNC ported, fire-ringed, and fitted with oversize ARP 625 hardware to help control insane cylinder pressures.

“6,000-rpm operation”

Airflow leaving the massive air-to-water intercooler is just slightly above ambient, thanks to the huge four-core design. The intercooler is mounted ahead of the engine (to put as much weight as possible towards the front of the truck.)

As much work as possible was performed in order to smooth the airflow path into the engine. An individual runner intake ensures that air distribution is equal among cylinders, which is important at 140 psi of boost pressure!

A custom front cover is used to drive a number of accessories off of the front of the engine, including the dry sump oil pump and DSR lift pump.

The heart of the engine’s injection system is the wild 16mm injection pump. Built by Scheid Diesel, the larger plungers massive amounts of fuel at a greater rate, leading to both better efficiency and more power.

The enormous 5-hole injectors aren’t Cummins-based; they’re custom triple feed designs from Scheid. The lines are stainless steel, and are 0.120 inches in diameter.

Oiling for the 6.4L Cummins is provided by a multi-stage dry sump system from R&R that uses an external tank, and protects the engine on its sustained 6,000 rpm passes.

Water injection is crucial to EGT control at 3,000 hp, and Brad’s rig uses a crazy 800 psi, 9 nozzle main system. Once EGT’s get past 1,500 degrees, an additional four nozzles are activated to limit temperature to 1,650.

Although a lot of work went into getting the engine to survive at massive power levels, the elephants in the room are the massive triple turbos that hang off the side of the engine. Based off of Holset HC5 models, the modified turbos feature wheels that are “more than 100mm in size” along with modified exhaust housings to help with spooling and drive pressure. A giant four-core air-to-water intercooler from Precision Turbo and Engine keeps everything cool, which is quite a feat considering the 140 psi boost pressures.

“The modified turbos feature wheels that are more than 100mm in size””

Fueling

Just like the turbo system, the fuel system on the Scheid engine is completely over the top. While a factory Cummins fuel system is capable of about 50gph (gallons per hour) of fuel, the DSR engine-driven lift pump can crank out nearly 600gph. The injection pump is also the latest hardware with giant 16mm plungers, a custom cam and advanced coatings. The pump provides so much fuel that Brad only runs it at about 80-percent capacity in order to make peak power. The injectors are also far from stock, as custom body triple feed units from Scheid Diesel send copious amounts of diesel into the engine.

Massive amounts of triangulation are used to keep the round tube chassis from flexing. This extends to the ladder bar front suspension as well, which soaks up any humps or bumps as the truck accelerates down track.

A 3,000 horsepower engine can be hard to harness, so a massive 4-disc clutch from Crower is used to transmit the Cummins’ power to the drivetrain. A Browell belhousing mounts the engine to the Profab reverser. Also visible is the 18 channel Corsa data logger that keeps an eye on the engine’s vitals.

A Profab Machine dropbox is used instead of a transfer case. Not only is it stronger, but it also allows for quick gearing changes for varying track conditions.

Early Success

With a dyno-proven 3,000 horsepower when all was said and done, Brad couldn’t wait to get behind the center seat of his puller and make some laps. Even though the truck has just recently been assembled, he’s already chalked up a number of top-three finishes, with an impressive Second place pull at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville Kentucky. With the help of his wife Allison, crew chief Chad Williams, and Deeter Farms Construction, we can’t wait to see what Brad does for the rest of the 2016 season! DW

The rear axle is based loosely on a semi truck SQHD axle, but is full of custom parts. A sheetmetal housing from ProFab houses an aluminum TRB Machine carrier with 6.20 gears, a spool, and ProFab axles. U-joints are monster 1550-series pieces.

The effort required to steer a 3,000-hp puller down a track is enormous, so an electrically activated hydraulic steering system is used to keep the Ram under control.

Power meets the dirt through four 34×18.50×15 Nichols Pulling Edge tires especially designed for sled pulling. Mounted on ultra wide Real Racing wheels (15×20 front, 15×22 rear), the grip provided by the huge rubber is enormous.

Up next

Red Rush: 12V Cummins Restoration

Author

Pinaki Bhattacharya

Tags

Share article