It has been almost a year since we started this series, discussing how to make 500, 750 and 1,000 horsepower with various factory engines. The more we talk to people, the more ways we find in getting to various horsepower levels. It is amazing that a diesel can reach "X" horsepower 10 different ways. A gasoline can reach "X" horsepower a couple different ways and then there are quite a few different components that work within that recipe. For a diesel, it isn't just a matter of switching to a different component that makes the difference; it could be going in a completely different direction.
Never is this more true than with the 24-valve 5.9l Cummins built between 1998.5 to 2002. In 1998.5 when Cummins switched from the 12-valve to the 24-valve, it redesigned the head, replaced the p-pump with a VP44 (electronically controlled) and made a few other minor changes. This marked Cummins' first voyage into the electronic diesel engine in the light duty truck market.