Does a Ported Head Improve Your Diesel Engine? Dyno Test Results

We dyno tested a ported head on Mike's truck and were blown away by how much this ported head improved the seemingly maxed out compound turbo system on Mike's truck!
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00:00 Intro
00:14 Test Vehicle
00:24 Will Upgrading a Head Make More Power?
00:37 How Big of a Difference Will It Make?
01:11 Cummins Stock Head Summary
01:28 Power Driven Stage 2 Head Summary
01:55 Horsepower Difference
02:55 Torque Difference
03:45 Boost Difference
04:19 Drive Pressure Difference
06:18 Interstage Boost Difference
08:10 Todds Thoughts About the Truck
08:55 Head Naming Now VS Then!
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[@bentleylittle9626]

Loving this new format. All the information delivered in a concise well spoken effort.

[@pddofficial]

Much appreciated!

[@bcbloc02]

When I had my head off doing fire rings for a blown gasket on my test pig I did a minor amount of port work. Below 2100 rpms I saw no change in boost so the stock head must be filling good below that point above 2100 drive pressure started to go up and boost went down by 3000rpm I had gained 10psi of drive and lost 6psi of boost. The wastegate ports on those borg housings flow terrible. If you port them and put a tapered lead in so exhaust hits the back of the wastegate bore so it has a way to physically change the direction of the flow out the port you can drop 10psi off that drive and improve the interstage by giving more energy to the low pressure turbo. Best part is this is power gained with no penalty!

[@cpfpv6410]

I just bought this cylinder head yesterday… been looking for this video for a long time

[@pddofficial]

Heck yeah!

[@billferris5292]

I'm not normally a fan of that color but it looks awesome on those compound tubes.

[@gadsdenconsulting7126]

It's funny how Gail Banks won't dyno a stock, emissions intact truck against a dyno run with the same truck with his monster ram on it. He claims how fantastic it is, but wont do a dyno on it. I love how you guys just test things and show us what it does. 👍👍

[@Cole_H]

It’s because it doesn’t do anything. Taterbuilt did one with a 67mm turbo and a “pusher” intake elbow. Ran on the dyno, swapped intake elbows ran it again. Picked up 3hp…

[@ryanstuckey8677]

i have seen his products tested. you can install everything he sells for a 2021cummins and it makes no more power than it did stock. the intake temps and egt are slightly lower that is all but you're wallet is 6800$ lighter.

[@freedomfighter5095]

Uuuhhh all that info is published fren. Low IQ smack talkers.

[@HSKFabrications]

Gale is just a salesman that preys on the technically ignorant enthusiasts.

[@gadsdenconsulting7126]

@@ryanstuckey8677 Exactly!! Reading the comments on his posts from this new breed of diesel snobs is hilarious. They act like he's the second coming of Christ and the only name in the game. Then you have Power Driven Diesel. These guys answer my emails and show the results of their product testing. Gail isn't stupid, but he's a salesman through and through.

[@CharlieIIpics]

The head increased the engine VE.... which to the turbo made the engine "bigger". Since that setup was not intended for all out power and was purposefully sized on the smaller size for drivability and towing to begin with, it's even smaller now, hence the worsened boost:drive ratio. It's awesome that it still picked up. If you ran the same head swap back to back test on a truck with say a large single that was running close to or actually above a 1:1 boost:drive to start, you would probably make much more substantial power improvements. Everything says, that compound setup is too small to take advantage of the headwork, and yet it still picked up. That's a good head.

[@Dono.N]

I am very grateful for your data sharing, I too am a motor head and love looking for ways to increase power and efficiency. Sounds like a very worthy upgrade as does compound turbos. Thanks guys.

[@bdjm8595]

Interesting info, thanks for sharing your knowledge !!!

[@conradsinsua7415]

The education was great,fantastic.more of those kind please, because not all are in America, alot of 3 liter 4 cylinders doing compounding aswell with out much knowledge

[@pddofficial]

I should do a turbo math video

[@PullStartStables]

Very much smaller scale, but a few years back I had my Duramax torn down for head studs and a turbo rebuild. I hogged out the stock turbo exhaust housing to allow smoother flow. It makes me glad to know it may have made a positive difference!

[@baconcreek609]

That is a pretty phenomenal increase. Beautiful truck. Great info, thank you for sharing.

[@HunterSkiff]

Love these new style of videos! Would be cool to see a similar video with stock vs an aftermarket camshaft

[@nathansnyder3974]

Keep it coming. Didn't have a smart phone when I got started on my 95 man did it cost me you got me on track with what you do. Just wish you were 1 k closer

[@scottrosenburg4243]

Sounds like the smaller head is actually creating the pressure by being a restriction , makes sense but confusing when your trying to create more flow and more pressure

[@TheWoodButcher86]

Time to upgrade the exhaust side now to make up for that added flow.

[@jerm45coltg19]

Great video! Thanks Todd for open and honest with the results! Love the content keep it coming!!

[@pddofficial]

Thanks! Will do!

[@slowaf12v]

Love the info!!!

[@pddofficial]

Thanks for watching!

[@hyrumjessop5568]

Thanks for all this good knowledge and information on turbos and cylinder heads

[@pddofficial]

You bet

[@Thepriest39]

His truck set up is awesome! What an animal.

[@JohnSmith-rl3ti]

Awesome to see numbers from a truck with very similar turbos and seeing the head I have do its thing.

[@pddofficial]

Right on

[@paulcormier7036]

I was waiting for like u done years past dialing in compounds would have been interesting to see different with 64 or 66 on small turbo when it was there 😢 would it have changed low end drivability that much love from Canada been here for years great information

[@brentmcmahon8188]

You guys are great and I watch you guys a lot. I have a 05 Dully 4 door cab 6 speed manual and 4x4 floor shift and it’s stock and this my second new Dodge cummins my first was 250 4x4 250 regular cab long bed. Only thing I have done is a intank lift pump and it does a great job and don’t have all that stuff hanging down and if you don’t have heat they will ice pretty easy.

[@Scott_Buchanan]

Those are some gnarly numbers 😎

[@dbfabworks5320]

Love it!!! Keep it up!!!!

[@pddofficial]

Thank you!!

[@michaelcasella4774]

Absolutely excellent video I buy all my parts from you guys! Great service excellent quality parts! Really like the black air filter! just came in yesterday can’t wait to put it on!

[@pddofficial]

Awesome thanks!

[@whitebanditwagon9309]

I wonder what it would look like just changing the turbine housing to a .91. Help it breath a liitle better.

[@brentmcmahon8188]

My first truck was red and the second my 05 was white and love white so much cooler in summer and doesn’t show dirt unless it’s really dirty .

[@pddofficial]

We have a few guys working here that drive/love white vehicles. It's definitely the color choice for vehicles that rarely see the car wash!

[@TAShannon1]

I build/sell cummins motors for core exchange. I've put together a package that I believe to be the ultimate practical diesel engine. The point is to compete with the new engines of today in terms of power, smoke control and practicality all while maintaining high levels of simplicity and reliability. It uses a 12 valve VE pump, pilot hole stage 1 injector nozzles, 3200 rpm spring, fuel pin, speed of air pistons. In my test bed truck (08 f250 single cab long bed 2wd) I am running nice custom cold air intake, and the 6.4 Intercooler. Timing is set to 18*. Turbo is an interesting 56/67/12 that I have experimented with. The turbo lights instantly and begins to light before 1700rpm. It lights at a lower rpm than any 12 valve I have personally tested I'm getting a whopping 29mpg hwy @65mph. The truck idles like a VP truck, it hardly smokes at all and egt's barely surpass 1100. At the wheels this truck is 321hp and 943ft lbs of torque. Boost will creep up to 35+ psi. I know that I'm not making crazy power but I'm making more than enough power to compete with a brand new truck while being 10X more reliable. The only idea I have left to kick around is whether or not to include a port job on the heads. The increase in power would be nice and all but that's not the goal here. The goal would be to lower egt's even further and possibly increase mpg. I want my guinea pig truck to hit 30mpg hwy more than anything. The whole package is currently priced at $25k for the complete engine with fuel system turbo, and everything. Just the pistons alone are $4k. The idea is to offer a direct competitor to new diesels to where there is virtually no cons compared to a 6.7 powerstroke etc. A lot of the 6.4 and 6.7 fords that I have tested are getting 18-19mpg hwy. For hot shot guys that drive 100-150k miles per year this engine would pay for itself in no time. Should I port my heads? If it has even the slightest negative effect on spool up, I'm not doing it

[@pddofficial]

If you keep swirl in mind on the intake side, similar to our stage 1 towing port, and stay conservative on the exhaust side so you compromise long term reliability from thin port walls, zero downside!

[@magnumsgarage1799]

You guys are awesome

[@matty8272]

This makes me want compounds even more.

[@That0nePerson]

Must take care of it really well. Compounds on stock connecting rods! Hell I just want a 2nd gen swap on my 2019. Cannot beat that sound.

[@bcbloc02]

@@That0nePerson Stock 12v rods good for 2000ft-lbs no problems as long as its not nitrous ft-lbs

[@That0nePerson]

@@bcbloc02 Hey thanks for the info. All I knew was you had to be careful with sudden massive increases in torque and stock rods. Which is why I only want a single 467.7

[@jpop2499]

Thanks for the content. Do you offer Inconel Exhaust valves for towing in this head or others?

[@BentonL]

Port matching thoughts. A lot of metal can be taken out of the exhaust manifold to the head and the manifold to the turbo. Not sure any one else does this or if I am wasting my time. I do this to anything I take apart.

[@V8Lenny]

You make it worse.

[@BentonL]

@@V8Lenny That's what all haterz say. Might be true might not.... However I have a jeep liberty where that's the only thing I did to it and its notably quicker. On everything else i did it to i also did a bunch of other things to them so its hard to say for sure. Eric Weingartner has a channel dedicated to porting. No one has yet done it past the head on these test channels. Neither has Gail banks on His Monster ram, nor his competitors who have the equipment. if I have to do a head gasket I am gonna cut into it.

[@pddofficial]

I could probably do a simple test on the flow bench to see how much difference it makes? That could be fun

[@BentonL]

@@pddofficialI look forward to seeing that test if you do it. Another test I'd like to see you do is swap the monster ram for a stockhorn and no other changes. Is an aftermarket air horn just bling horn with some accessory ports? He did after all do that with diff covers maybe it's your turn to give him some ribbing... I am sure you won't cuz he's too tied up with the government. Either way singing Port matching test would be interesting. However that is a lot of work I know cuz I've done it countless times.

[@griffinbeer]

Id be interested to see how this effects a bone stock pickup with tuning. Are the gains a linear ratio based on hp and torque or does more boost make the gains logarithmic?

[@wolfgarratslammer]

ty for the video...think your compound setup will fit on my 2008 12v fummins?

[@pddofficial]

No it will need to be modified

[@TmanGT281]

How would the power output be affected if the combination was properly wastegated on each stage ?

[@PlaneSaddles]

Future content idea. At what power level does this ported head make a noticeable difference?

[@pddofficial]

Great idea, we'd bet there would be a measurable difference on the dyno even with a stock 160 HP truck. It might be small, but until we do a test a make a video, anyone's guess is just a guess!

[@Jim_Lawrence]

That 62 is processing more air by being driven harder. Hense lower interstage.

[@billferris5292]

Great video, is there anything like this offerred for vp trucks?

[@pddofficial]

Working on those ports right now. Should have vp ported heads shortly

[@burrito4x4]

I'd say waistgate on the little turbo to take stress off of it and let the 76 do more work up top

[@Gsabasap]

Would like to see a ported 24v head

[@pddofficial]

On the way!!

[@carmentate37]

This is great information, but what about EGTs? That is very important to me. What were the EGTs and did they go up or down with the Stage 2 heads?

[@pddofficial]

At the time of this testing, we weren't religious about running the EGT monitor on the data logging channels nor were we watching starting EGT to make for fair comparisons so that is data we can't easily produce from this specific test. We have conducted other in-house ported head testing and when those videos come out, we'll have all the data on-hand ready to be analyzed and compared. We had a single turbo 12v a while back that lost about 50 EGT after a towing ported head at the 425 HP level. For the best comparison it would be fun to test/validate a 4" exhaust before/after along with a cylinder head swap.

[@carmentate37]

@@pddofficial Yes that would be very valuable data! I'm looking forward to the next tests to see what can happen with the EGTs! Keep up the good work.

[@tacticalhandyman710]

Is there any way to maximize lower end power? My truck starts hopping around 1200 rpm in 3rd which is about 30 mph. I'm always shifting between screaming second and hopping 3rd or I'm speeding around town. 95 ram 2500 12v 5 speed with the p-pump 90 horse injectors.

[@pddofficial]

Those NV4500 trucks are a little tougher to drive smooth when combined with 3.55 rearend gear ratio and 35" tall tires. Seems like the 4.10 gear ratio works better with the taller tires. That said, compound turbos do so much for driveability, a set of compounds would really change the way the truck behaves. Keep in mind, even at 1200 RPM, compounds are still force feeding more air into the engine and a leaner burn produces more power with the same quantity of fuel meaning you'll have more torque to prevent the surge/bucking/hopping.

[@joevaagen6170]

I'm surprised your surprised because if you think about how much air is able to flow into the cylinder AND the air flow is better into the cylinder so more air equals more boost equals "more powa baby"

[@pddofficial]

It's just counter-intuitive at first glance for drive pressure to increase when exhaust flow potential in the head has increased. Almost the like putting a 4" exhaust on a truck and drive goes up.... however... because drive is measured between the head and the turbos, and we have increased overall airflow and power.... it makes perfect sense that drive pressure has increased.

[@brentmcmahon8188]

And my big dream is a second swap with 64MM turbo Ian not looking to get a lot of horse power and being 69 years old retired car hauler for GM or I should say we had a contract with GM ?

[@joshfraley9451]

What does it take for a fuel system to go to that high 800 mark with a 12v? I watched the video with your red truck that you tow with and that sounded awesome, but I already have a few 12 valves and that 800 range would be plenty good for what I'm looking to do... is that a smokey combo? ...and where do you want to start putting rods in the 12 valves?

[@pddofficial]

You will want a 180 or 215 pump to start with with the newer injector nozzle technology you can make them run extreamly clean. 800 is where we would be considering rods your biggest issue will be butting rings if the tolerances are not opened enough.

[@joshfraley9451]

@@pddofficial awesome! How much do you open the rings up? Are the 235 pumps good enough for that, or do those pumps have a cam tailored towards lower speed power?

[@Bob20206]

They made a video over the engine they put together for their 800HP truck giveaway some years ago. I can’t remember if clearances were specified, but here is a link if you’re interested. kzbin.info/www/bejne/foqopIynrbasjKcsi=arGgz54Agarl5jxa

[@hallasnackbar1865]

What ar exhaust housing are on his turbos?

[@pddofficial]

.70 and a 1.25

[@bm_viktor875]

U do get less boost becuas it feeds more air in to the cylinders

[@TheProchargedmopar]

👍💪

[@Mainhart_6.7]

What’s the fuel setup on that truck? Stock pump?

[@pddofficial]

A 215 maxed and balanced pump with Dynomite stage 4 injectors.

[@joeinmi8671]

I want to know what type of transmission handles all of that?

[@pddofficial]

It was one of our 850hp transmissions

[@joeinmi8671]

@@pddofficial 47 rh?

[@Scott_Buchanan]

@@joeinmi8671probably so

[@willrb1997]

I'm going to guess drive pressure down 10psi , boost down 13psi and egt down 100*

[@A2J_Tim]

just change the turbine a/r housing to a 1.15 on the high pressure turbo

[@pddofficial]

It would be fun to change the turbine housings only to see the data

[@lukedougherty7078]

6.0 compound content?!!!! You guys know all this shit time to delve into uncharted territory

[@pddofficial]

It’s coming, had to make some changes but we are still actively working on it.

[@kentuckyboy.92]

0:39 Why did you talk during the pull? You ruined it. I wanted to hear it.. not you. 😂😂

[@pddofficial]

My bad!

[@Karttikrazey]

We had a guy that said he got your “ porter manifold “ and your new turbonator. For the 5.9 that didn’t even make boost 😂😂😂 so we had to redo everything cause yall horrible ass wiring skills and just cause your an engineer doesn’t mean you know how to make power 🤡

[@pddofficial]

Wrong company we do not make anything called the turbonator!!!!!!!!

[@johndcramblit3045]

You didn't say anything about porting the intake manifold, did you port that too? Gas cylinder heads can make a ton more power if you heart shape the combustion chambers & port the valve pockets & polish them too, can you make more power with a diesel by doing that stuff to them?

[@bcbloc02]

Combustion chamber is in the piston on a diesel not in the head . You can unshroud the valves on the head side but that is about it as far as chamber work.

[@pddofficial]

The cylinder head is flat, no chamber to port. But we do de-shroud the valves to help with low lift flow and improve swirl on the intake ports.