For most, taking a brand-new diesel truck off the lot and placing aftermarket products in it is a tough one to swallow. With this build on my 2012 Cummins, I decided to start small and be emissions-compliant. Why? While most people want to get rid of their DPF and EGR, my goal is to build a truck that still has good power and not have to worry about the EPA’s regulations.
First I needed a tuner to add some fuel, so I turned to Bully Dog for its GT tuner. It is very similar to the H&S Mini Maxx, but it doesn’t allow you to delete your DPF for race applications. Once I plugged in the GT tuner I noticed great power along with improvement in shifting from Bully Dog’s tranny tune that comes with it.
Next I decided to try out Snow Performance ‘s MPG/MAX injection kit.
The best part about water to methanol is that it adds safe, reliable horsepower with cooler EGT’s. The idea behind water to methanol on my truck was that I left the DPF on and was still able to add horsepower with Bully Dog’s tuner. I was also building a little more heat than I wanted, so not only did I cool the EGT’s down, but I was able to gain 70hp with a 50/50 blend.
The MAX-MPG kit uses a two-injector system that is followed by a new injection management controller. That allows for a small, steady spray of water/methanol to be injected for more of a cruising application that improves fuel economy. The second injector is set up to spray more fluid to make added power and to cool the EGT’s down for long pulls. At 8 to19 psi, the first injector is set to spray a small, steady spray and at 24 on, the second injector is spraying a larger amount.
For installation I went to Powerlabs Diesel in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to set up the Snow Performance Kit.
Powerlabs VP Brent Willsey was very familiar with this kit; he had installed many of these at his shop. When I first came to him and told him what I was doing for my truck, he was excited to see the results with the DPF and EGR still on. Installation was very easy; the kit comes with good directions. One thing I had difficulties with was the location of the water tank with my Truck Boss Sled deck. But I was able to work around this by heading to our local Home Depot to solve the problem.
The results were very promising and 12,000 miles later, after chasing all the Western snow shows, I have a truck that is close to 500hp that doesn’t feel so restricted. Not only do I have a better bottom end, I also saw a slight increase in fuel mileage. It’s all about being compliant these days and with Bully Dog and Snow Performance it’s possible.
Sources
Bully Dog
877-285-5936
www.bullydog.com
Powerlabs Diesel
208-680-2677
www.powerlabsdiesel.com
Snow Performance
866-365-2762
www.snowperformance.net