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A few weeks ago, we published an article on Justin Ziegler’s UCC record-breaking 6.7L Cummins engine that made an insane 3,336-hp during the dyno competition. Hitting 3,000 was a first for anyone at the UCC competition, but in other competition, the 3,000-hp ceiling was actually beaten in Fall 2022. Chris Patterson of Unrivaled Diesel made headlines around that time for building the world’s first 3,000-RWHP street-driven diesel pickup.
What started as a ’07 Dodge Ram 3500 daily driver, eventually turned into a powerhouse truck that made a dyno-verified 3,089-hp at the 2021 All Truck Challenge. Obviously, this made Patterson a serious contender for the dyno competition at UCC – but in diesel competition – things don’t always go exactly as planned.
“Honestly, it performed below my expectations, but that’s probably just a fault of mine since I have high goals,” Patterson told us. “We ended up running a 5.7 [in drag racing] at 5,500 lbs. and we chewed up the up transmission doing it. And then on the dyno we applied VHT and that was a bad idea. The roller was real smooth and felt like grease. We made 3,600 lb.-ft. of torque, but I don’t really think we got the opportunity to shine.”
What set Patterson’s dyno performance aside from the other competitors was the five pulls he completed in the 30-minute allotted time frame. While others generally took one or two strong pulls, Patterson kept pushing the truck to its limits to get the best number in hopes of seeing a three at the front.
After the time frame completed, he walked away with a 2,614.7-hp pull, just shy of Derek Rose’s 2,621.1-hp for second place.
“I wasn’t willing to give up, so I kept bringing the nitrous across a longer ramp to bring it in slower,” he says. “But with the dangerous amount of nitrous we were using and the triple turbo coming on so quick, it makes power almost instantaneously and it’s hard to stay on the roller.”
Patterson runs a set of triple turbos that are small compared to the other competitors, but the 83/96 triple ball bearing turbo on the manifold and two Turbo Diesel Inc. Forced Induction 76/87s on the atmosphere work well. Paired with the twin Exergy Performance 14mm CP3 race pumps and Flux Diesel 450% competition hybrid injectors, the setup performs great on the track.
The CP3 pumps are supported by dual 290-gph FASS lift pump systems that allow for 29,000-psi of rail pressure to always be on tap. The Flux injectors were built with a thicker body to prevent cracking and are estimated to support up to 3,500-hp.
The 6.7L engine is built around a Hamilton Competition modified high-test block that has concrete-filled water jackets; both the block and head were machined for fire-rings. The factory crank is anchored in place by a gridlock girdle with 14mm ARP main studs from Bean Machine, while the rest of the rotating assembly comprises of D&J X-beam rods and proprietary stock compression pistons.
The engine also features D&J stage 3 cylinder heads and a billet camshaft.
At the end of the UCC weekend, Patterson was able to earn himself a 4th place finish just barely behind Tony Burkhard with an overall score of 2,459.002 points. We’ll be following him closely to see when he can get his truck above that crazy 3,000-hp ceiling again!
Diesel of the Week is sponsored by AMSOIL. If you have an engine you’d like to highlight in this series, please email Engine Builder Editor Greg Jones at [email protected].
