Mean and Clean: This DPF-Equipped 897-HP Ram Redefines Diesel Performance

This 897-hp DPF-Equipped Ram isn’t Your Average Clean Diesel

With the popularity of diesel performance, it’s no surprise the public has taken note of the smoke spewing from the tailpipes of most tuned-up trucks. Clint Cannon, the owner of ATS Diesel in Arvada, Colorado, decided to take a different route than most by building an 897-hp DPF-equipped street truck. Instead of simply throwing gobs of fuel at the engine, the ’03 Dodge Ram you see on these pages was designed to have well-rounded performance, with quick spooling turbos and airﬂow enhancements that would complement the carefully added fuel. The result was a truck so clean that could make nearly three times the power of a stock Dodge, all while retaining its pertinent emissions devices. Wonder how he did it? We did too, so we asked!

The engine that powers ATS’ clean Ram is a mixture of the best 6.7L and 5.9L parts that Cummins had to offer. Using custom tuning via EFILive, ATS was able to max out the DPF-friendly combination at a whopping 897 horsepower and 1,749 lb-ft of torque.

The smaller of the two turbos is a 57mm Aurora 3000 turbo. While this turbo might seem tiny for the application, it’s a big reason why the diesel engine is able to run clean, as well as make a whopping 1,749 lb-ft. to the tires.

Fuel system upgrades are a big key in creating the type of power that the Dodge can produce. A set of Dynomite Diesel Performance 90-hp injectors are fed by ATS’ own Twin Cp3 kit, which in turn is supplied fuel from a 150-gph FASS Titanium lift pump.

The ATS team started with an ’03 Dodge, but the frame and body were about the only thing that was left stock. With modiﬁed diesels, overcoming low- end smoke is one of the biggest hurdles to clean performance. With that in mind, ATS replaced the factory 5.9L Cummins engine with a 6.7L Cummins, as increasing displacement is a good way to cut low-end smoke. They didn’t stop there however, as the engine was completely rebuilt with an Industrial Injection block girdle, Carrillo connecting rods, and an ATS ﬁre-ring kit with ARP 625 head studs. The 24-valve head was also given the full treatment by Mile High Performance, and was ported and polished, ﬁtted with oversize intake and exhaust valves, custom valve springs, and a Hellmann Performance side-draft intake.

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Exhaust gases are expelled through a highly efficient ATS Pulse Flow manifold with a 45mm Turbosmart wastegate. This piece directs exhaust into the tur- bochargers, and is available in ATS’ Aurora 3000/5000 compound turbo kit.

The larger turbo in ATS’ twin kit is a 71mm Aurora 5000, which when compounded with the smaller turbo produces 66 psi of boost, and keeps exhaust gas temperatures at a mild 1,350 degrees.

In addition to the custom long block, the fuel and air systems on the Cummins also needed to be dialed in for low smoke, which meant an ultra-responsive turbo setup, and a highly tunable fuel system. The start of the combination would be ATS Diesel’s Aurora 3000/5000 turbo kit, which features 57mm and 71mm turbochargers. The 57mm is probably the smallest turbo you’ll ever see on a 6.7L, but with boost just off idle, it’s perfect for a low smoke combination. Up top, the 71mm takes over, so that the engine can actually put down some power. The fuel system was also carefully designed, and features mild 90-hp Dynomite Diesel Performance injectors, which are fed with lots of fuel from an ATS Twin CP3 kit and a 150 gph FASS Titanium fuel system. Even with all the parts in order, there was still a lot of work to get the truck’s programming in order. ATS reported that more than 30 hours of dyno testing with an opacity meter went into tuning the truck, using custom EFILive tunes and 5.9L injectors through an ’06 engine harness.

THE ATS TEAM STARTED WITH AN ’03 DODGE, BUT THE FRAME AND BODY WERE ABOUT THE ONLY THING THAT WAS LEFT STOCK. WITH MODIFIED DIESELS, OVERCOMING LOW-END SMOKE IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST HURDLES TO CLEAN PERFORMANCE.

A Hellmann Performance intake replaces the factory Cummins intake shelf, and allows for improved turbo spool-up, due to an im- proved airflow path.

A stock wheel and tire combination wasn’t in the cards for such an impressive truck. The Ram rolls on four 35×12.50R20 Nitto Terra Grapplers that are mounted on 20-inch BMF Novakane wheels.

A 5-inch exhaust system with high-flow DPF was installed on the ’03 Dodge, exiting just behind the rear tire. Note the lack of any soot on the tailpipe itself, or the body of the truck.

The transmission that backs the clean Cummins was also built by ATS, and in a surprising twist, isn’t a Dodge product Rather than go with a 48RE unit, ATS installed one of its competition 4R100 transmissions. The Ford product was adapted to the Cummins and upgraded with ATS billet input, intermediate, and output shafts. ATS’ upgraded planetary gears and housing, clutch drum, ﬂexplate, and an 1,800-rpm stall 5 Star converter. Just like the engine, the transmission also received custom tuning via a PCS stand-alone controller.

Fabtech supplied the 3- inch lift that clears the rolling stock, as well as the traction bars that keep the Dodge glued to the road under hard acceleration.

A higher-flowing intercooler (also from ATS) compliments the compound turbo kit, and helps achieve the dense intake charge needed for low-smoke operation.

With such an impressive drivetrain resume, Clint and the ATS crew couldn’t leave the rest of the truck alone either, so they whipped up a stance that would be appropriate for the wild powertrain. A 3- inch Fabtech lift with traction bars was installed, and 20×10-inch BMF Novakanes with 35×12.50R20 Nitto Terra Grapplers round out the rolling package. Even the interior was upgraded with a PCS datalogger and SRT10 interior. The ﬁnal touch came in the form of a full wrap from Apiva in Denver, Colorado.

With diesel performance under more of a microscope than it’s ever been, it’s refreshing to see a truck that can make gobs of horsepower, yet do so cleanly. ATS also reports that the DPF system that’s installed on the truck is easily removable and cleanable, which makes for a nice upgrade as compared to the OEM products. We don’t know what the future holds, but 897 hp of clean diesel is a pretty good vision for us. DW