2006 Dodge Ram Cummins - Bullet Train
Brad Ekstam woke one morning in the summer of 1999 feeling something was missing from his life. He wasn't exactly sure at that moment what was missing, only that he would have to find something extraordinary to fill the void. Something like building a 200mph 1-ton pickup truck just might do the trick.
Brad is founder and president of Diesel Performance Products (DPP), manufacturer of the FASS fuel system, which would be enough for most people. But Brad is a bit more driven than the average man and makes a Red Bull energy drink look like an Ambien CR. So when he delivered an '06 Dodge Ram to MCS Midwest Performance Diesel in Gray Summit, Missouri (with 14 miles on the odometer) to turn it into a race truck, people just thought it was Brad being Brad.
Brad's goal was to have a 1-ton pickup truck that would be capable of more than 180 mph. Small details remained, such as how MCS would make it go that fast, where the truck would be able to use all of that speed, and how long it would take to finish the buildup. Of course Brad wasn't going to let that slow him down.
Bye-Bye Warranty
MCS tore the brand new truck down to the frame in a couple of days. Most of the Cummins' engine parts were sent to Enterprise Engine Performance where pistons were fly-cut to accommodate larger valves by ATS and a new camshaft from Enterprise. We asked Brad to share the specs on those parts, but in this rare instance, he's not talking. While the engine was apart, the rotating assembly was balanced to endure 5,000 rpm and upward of 1,200 hp for extended periods of time.
To feed the 5.9L-powered beast, Brad called on a 200-gph FASS system, larger injectors, dual CP3 injection pumps, and compound turbos from Industrial Injection. A Nitrous Express system was also fitted, but at this point, the engine builds enough power to go beyond the tires' traction capabilities. ATS was called on for a transmission that could take this level of abuse, and a Gear Vendors overdrive was added to give the Dodge a second Overdrive gear.
Building a Brick Into a bullet Train
With the Ram's rather pedestrian aerodynamic qualities, keeping it on the ground at high speeds could have been an issue. KORE Performance supplied a complete suspension system that dropped the ride height 2 inches in the front and 4 inches in the rear. Other touches included a full rollcage, instrumentation, four race seats, and orange and white cosmetics for highlights.
Speed Rated Tires
Brad's American Racing 22-inch forged-aluminum Vengeance wheels were wrapped with 305/40R22 Toyo Proxes S/T tires rated at 149 mph and 2,601 pounds a piece. During competition, Brad swaps on a set of Pirelli Scorpion Zero Asimmetrico 305/45R22 tires that are rated at 168 mph and 2,915 pounds. What he really needs though is a set of Dodge Ram SRT-10 production Pirelli Scorpion Zero tires that are rated at 186 mph.
133MPH Passenger Seat
Brad called the author this past summer to con him into joining Brad on a Cannonball Rally-type event in Northern Nevada. The author had never heard of such an event, and told Brad "you're crazy." A redundant comment in retrospect. Brad had mentioned that Bonneville was his long-term plan for the truck, but he wanted to shake the diesel down at the Silver State Classic open road rally first.
The Silver State Classic is a 90-mile run down Nevada's Highway 318, and is actually sanctioned by the Nevada State Department of Transportation. Highway Patrol personnel shut down the road for the entire day of racing. The 318 is a beautifully scenic stretch of road that is conducive to running wide-open. However, there are some big sweeping bends that can be scary when you're sitting in the outboard seat of a Dodge Ram 4x4 doing better than 120 mph.
The truck was scoured at tech inspection, and equal time was devoted to assessing the sanity of the occupants. After some math on the tires' speed and weight-rating, Brad's truck passed the requirements for the 125-mph class.
Running in the 125-mph class meant that Brad was shooting for an average speed as close to 125 mph as possible. Most class winners were only a fraction of a second off perfect, or "true" time. Anyone exceeding their speed class by 15 mph would be disqualified, so staying near true time was best.
One-minute intervals separated the start times, and it seemed like an eternity waiting in line trying to keep the iron-lump Cummins up to temperature. With both the driver and navigator's GPS zeroed, we took off and were following our course notes. The author was ready to remind Brad "You're going too fast," or anything else necessary to stop the madness.
We survived through Dead-Man's Curve and everything else, finishing with an average speed of 133 mph. So much for fractions of a second! Surprisingly, the truck averaged almost eight miles to the gallon during our run.
167MPH Top Speed Charge
On Saturday, the High Noon Shoot-Out standing mile was run, and Brad's vehicle was the only 4x4 diesel amongst the three trucks entered. Some transmission issues wouldn't allow Brad to put down full power until he was in Third gear. Full throttle would spin the rear tires at 85 mph. Despite the slow launch, Brad passed through the measured-mile doing 167 mph, good enough for Eighth Place overall.
"I have no doubt we'd be competitive in the 160-mph bracket if we were allowed to run it," said Brad. Most people would find this truck extraordinary, as it stands plenty potent, impeccably detailed, and worth a heck of a lot more than a couple of new ones. Good thing Brad isn't most people.

Photo Gallery: 2006 Dodge Ram Cummins - Diesel Trucks - Diesel Power Magazine



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