Wicked Wednesday: 1998 Dodge Ram 5.9L Diesel Features a Compound Turbo Setup That Generates 100 Pounds of Boost!

This 1998 Dodge Ram diesel makes 1,100 horsepower, 1,800 foot-pounds of torque and a hell of a lot of smoke in the Hoonigan burnyard.

A lot of folks buy pickup trucks so they can tow something like a Jet Ski or an ATV. But what if you want to tow something bigger? For example, something like a Boeing 747 or a locomotive. Well, this 1998 Dodge Ram 5.9L diesel should do the trick. After all it does produce a rather ridiculous 1,800 foot-pounds of torque. But just because it has all that twist it doesn’t mean it is destined to a life of tow duty. This truck was built to shred tires more than it was to tow anything. Except maybe a trailer full of spare tires.

This week’s “Wicked Wednesday” is all about this 1998 Dodge Ram 5.9L diesel. It is owned by Dakota Sargent, who is the owner of Fullhook Performance. Sargent recently took his truck for a little trip over to the Hoonigan burnyard. And you know what that means. A video of the tire shredding mayhem was recently uploaded to the Hoonigan YouTube channel.

Innocent Start

When Sargent acquired the Dodge Ram it was bone stock. And then he went to work. He built the engine in his shop. It is a p pump 24 valve Cummins. It has mechanical fuel injection from a 12 valve. But the real eye opener is that this thing is boosted to the moon. It is running 100 pounds of boost through a compound turbo setup. That is not a typo, it makes ONE HUNDRED pounds of boost. It currently makes 1,100 horsepower with the help of 150 shot of nitrous. Without the spray it is making about 940 horsepower. Of course, making that kind of power is not easy. Sargent admits that he blew up the truck a few times in the course of chasing this level of power.

On The Inside

You will notice when looking inside the truck a couple of obvious features. First, is that huge nitrous bottle between the seats. Second, you will see this truck has a 5-speed manual transmission. It was originally an automatic but after blowing a few of those up Sargent built this manual transmission himself. Other than that, it is pretty much standard 1998 Dodge Ram in there. Even the air conditioning still works.

Showtime

Enough talk. Time to ruin a set of tires. Sargent fires up the Ram and seconds later tires are producing plumes of white smoke as black smoke streams out of the exhaust. If you are an environmentalist, you may want to look away. But you won’t have to look away for too long. After about a minute of noise and smoke the truck decides it has had enough. Oil, coolant, steam and just about everything else you could imagine begins to come pouring out of the truck. The party is over.

Video

Just because it didn’t last very long doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great show. Hit the video below and watch this 1998 Dodge Ram 5.9L diesel do its thing. Sargent will get it running again, we are sure. This is an epic build and one that you don’t want to miss.

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Joe Kucinski

Joe has been obsessed with cars since he got his very first Matchbox toy in the 1970s. In 2003, he found a new obsession in track days that led to obtaining his SCCA competition license in 2015. In 2019, he became a certified driving instructor for the National Auto Sport Association. His love for all things four wheels has never wavered, whether it's driving some of the best cars in the world on the racetrack, tackling 2,000-mile road trips in 2-seat sports cars or being winched off the side of a mountaintop in a Jeep. Writing for the suite of Internet Brands Auto Communities sites, including Rennlist.com, Ford Truck Enthusiasts, 6 Speed and more allows him to share that knowledge and passion with others.