TURBOS, NITROUS & A BLOWER?

WAGLER’S GAME-CHANGING 3,000HP DX500

Diesel engines have been around for more than 100 years, but they have made leaps and bounds in the last decade. Sled pullers have nearly doubled in horsepower, dragsters have gone from 8s, to 7s, to 6s in the quarter mile, and street trucks that are 800-1,200 horsepower are now all over the country. So what’s next? You might be looking at it. With a Nitrous Express nitrous system, twin 102mm Precision turbochargers, and a mammoth C rotor PSI screw blower all on top of a 500

cubic-inch Duramax engine, Wagler Competition Products didn’t pull any punches when designing this monster. The crew is aiming at a mind-bending 3,000 horsepower and chassis-bending 6,000 lb-ft of torque, provided the engine doesn’t twist the dyno right off its platform.

When Wagler set about building their new Duramax-based pulling engine, they started with a clean sheet—virtually every idea was on the table. It was this approach that led them to design something different than anything else out there: a modular engine. The block comprises three pieces instead of just one. There is an aluminum center section that makes up the bulk of it, to which all the drives and accessories are bolted. However, the bottom of the engine houses a steel bedplate that’s tied into the center section and secures the bottom rotating assembly via 28 ARP main studs. The final piece to the puzzle is the cylinder “jug,” a removable section of four cylinders and Darton sleeves (one jug per side) that allows a quick repair of a single cylinder without having to send the whole engine off to a machine shop.

RACE ENGINE FROM THE GROUND UP

THE LONGBLOCK

Moving on inside the engine, there’s a “who’s who” of performance companies. The 9/16 ARP head studs and Winberg crank are Top Fuel dragster hardware, the rods are Wagler’s own design, and the 12.5:1 pistons are from Ross Racing. Roller bearings were fitted into the block, which allow the 0.700-inch lift Competition Cams camshaft do its thing in conjunction with Trend Performance pushrods. Other tricks were incorporated into the block itself, including a massive oiling flow upgrade, smaller base-circle cam bearings, and a taller 11.313 deck height. The entire thing is a “dry” engine, which means it runs no coolant and has no coolant passages.

The innovative short block is topped off with a set of Duramax-based aluminum heads from Wagler Competition Products. These heads are also dry, and have been fire-ringed (as has the block) for maximum sealing. A set of Competition Cams valve springs were added to match the camshaft, which bumps a set of 38mm valves out of ductile iron valve seats. The flow is also unparalleled, as its 380cfm intake and 300cfm exhaust numbers are more than double the factory flow rating.

6500CFM OF AIR

While the bottom end of the engine is doing most of the hard work, it’s the top half that gets all the attention. With a massive 210-series screw blower and twin 102mm turbochargers from Precision Turbo and Engine, the DX500’S induction is an example of overkill at its best. At lower engine rpm, the blower starts things off with a huge hit of boost that feeds into the engine through a valve setup of Wagler’s own design. As the turbos come on, the valves will allow more and more air from the turbos into the

THE CREW IS AIMING AT A MINDBENDING 3,000 HORSEPOWER AND CHASSISBENDING 6,000 LB-FT OF TORQUE, PROVIDED THE ENGINE DOESN’T TWIST THE DYNO RIGHT OFF ITS PLATFORM.

engine until peak rpm, where both the turbos and the blower will both be utilized to move enormous amounts of air. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a nitrous oxide injection system to up the power even more, and a custom water-methanol injection system designed to keep the blower’s rotors from overheating and touching the case. One thing’s for sure— there’s nothing out there quite like it.

The question, of course, that everyone asks is: How much power does it make? The short answer is that it should be well over 3,000 horsepower at the crankshaft, along with close to 6,000 lb-ft of torque. A similarly prepped single-turbo engine has already made 2,700 horsepower and 4,000 lb-ft of torque, so we’d say Wagler’s estimates are a bit conservative, if anything. “We will be learning along with everyone else just what this engine is capable of,” admits owner Jeremy Wagler, and he notes that “Its ultimate power number will be anyone’s guess." With a smile, he also adds, “This isn’t an engine that’s just going to sit on an engine stand or in a dyno cell; we’re going to be trying some new things with our company race vehicle as well, and we’ll see you at a pulling track and dragstrip sometime soon.” With its innovation and advanced technology, we’re willing to bet you’ll see a lot more of the

DX500 very soon.

As if a supercharger wasn't enough, the DX500 is also outfitted with twin 102mm turbochargers capable of supporting more than 4,000 horsepower! The turbos will be pushed to their limit in this application, as Wagler is expecting upwards of 70 psi of...

Wagler's innovative intake mounts the supercharger and directs air from the twin turbochargers into the engine. Also visible is the massive mechanical water system that's powered by an engine-driven Waterman pump.

The PSI screw supercharger is a mammoth 210-series capable of flowing enough air for 2,500 horsepower just on its own. The blower is also very efficient, and takes much less power to drive than traditional roots-style superchargers

Another company that Wagler was quick to thank was S&S Motorsport, which he said was a big help with the fuel system. A drive designed by Wagler powers three experimental S&S CP3 pumps, which send fuel to S&S injectors of a “classified size.”

S&S Motorsports is also responsible for tuning the engine via Bosch computer. This allows the engine to rev to an absurd 7,000 rpm, well past what the factory ECM'S operating limits.

After seeing header failures after only a season on pulling applications, Wagler decided to go with this enormous log design that was machined as a single piece.

Both the water and nitrous are injected above the rotors to help keep the blower cool since it's capable of near-20,000rpm rotor speeds.

Superchargers do take some power to drive, so there's a number of large Nitrous Express solenoids that grace the engine in case “a little extra” is needed. The nitrous system is geared to add an additional 500 hp if cranked all the way up.