Episode
Why Bigger Turbos Are KILLING Your Cummins Tow Rig
- Podcast
- Power Driven Podcast
- Published
- Mar 10, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3230
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
If you have ever second guessed whether you have the right turbo on your truck or just assumed bigger always means better, this episode is going to sort that out with real numbers from real trucks pulling real weight. Todd, Will, and Myer just got back from hauling to a race in Phoenix and brought the data to prove what properly sized turbochargers actually do out on the road. The guys recap the full tow to the NHRDA event, covering how Willard, their VP44 powered second gen, hauled over 22,000 pounds while running the 60-64 turbo with almost no smoke, no heat issues, and solid boost numbers from Cedar City all the way down to Phoenix. On the other side of that convoy, Myer was pulling 31,000 pounds in his 6.7 common rail tow truck running the Aggressor 480 in a compound setup, holding 30 pounds of boost against 27 pounds of drive pressure the entire way. That kind of boost-to-drive ratio does not happen by accident, and they break down exactly why it worked so well including how a ported cylinder head and cam combination keeps heat out of the air charge and off the radiator when you are working hard under a heavy load. From there the conversation moves into waste gate strategy for both single and compound setups, covering screamer gates, hot pipe gates, and what they learned while tuning the junker for burnout contest reliability at 130-plus pounds of boost. They also get into how nitrous changes the entire equation when it comes to getting exhaust volume out of the system fast enough to keep turbos alive. The guys cover the Aggressor 62-9 and 67-9 singles after running them in the Blue Collar class at the event, including back-to-back comparisons on fuel only and with nitrous. There is a real conversation here about spool characteristics, turbine sizing, and why the…