PDI Big Boss Turbos
Selected Vehicle:
About PDI Turbo
Performance Diesel Inc. (PDI) Big Boss Turbos and Turbo Kits represent the pinnacle in American-made big rig performance products. PDI has taken its quality and industry-leading expertise and designed turbo solutions for many of the most popular big rig trucks on the road today. PDI offers a lineup of performance and stock replacement turbos for Detroit, CAT, and Cummins engines in a variety of configurations to meet every need. Big Boss Turbo products are built to withstand the toughest heat cycle conditions, adding reliability with performance and efficiency.
The PDI Big Boss turbo line includes options for leading brands. PDI Turbochargers across the board share a close resemblance; however, while turbos for CAT, Detroit, and Cummins may look similar, their functionality is tied to the vehicle that they were designed for. It is important to make sure that the PDI turbo that you purchase is the right one for your vehicle.
Turbos have been an important part of a diesel engine’s ability to perform for the past seventy years. While the engines in use today aren’t quite that old, the majority of those from CAT, and some from Detroit and Cummins, are engines that have been around for twenty-plus years. Having a good working turbocharger with these older engines is a must. It is possible in some cases to get a factory turbo, but if you are really interested in improving the performance of your diesel engine, then an aftermarket turbo, like those from PDI, is the way to go.
Aftermarket turbos are designed to help channel more air into the engine than OEM turbos. PDI turbos are specifically designed to help your engine get the maximum boost, horsepower, and torque possible for your specific application. Additionally, they are designed to work well with other aftermarket parts such as PDI exhaust manifolds, and PDI Big Boss sells some of these compatible items in kits.
What does VGT mean?
The letters VGT stand for Variable Geometry Turbo. Certain engines by Cummins and Paccar use variable geometry turbos to help the engine have a more consistent level of boost through the different levels of RPMs. It is called a variable geometry turbo because there are parts with the housing that move depending on the number of RPMs, and the exhaust that is entering the housing to allow more or less exhaust to travel through the turbo. This is different from a fixed geometry turbo which is built to function either in low, medium, or high RPMs.
Another difference is that on a fixed geometry turbo the size of the A/R Ratio indicates which level of boost it will be good for. Smaller A/R ratios indicate a quicker boost, but less power at higher RPMs, and a higher A/R Ratio indicates slower spooling, but more consistent power at higher RPMs. Which is right for you depends entirely on the application that you wish to use it for.
PDI Turbo Options
CAT Acert Single Turbo Conversion Kits
CAT C13 and C15 ACERT models came from the factory with a twin-turbo configuration that used high-pressure and low-pressure turbos. It is possible to reconfigure these engines to use a single turbo with the proper aftermarket performance parts. These kits have the majority of all the parts necessary to convert the CAT C15 ACERT to a single PDI turbo.
Detroit Series 60 Turbos for Stock or Performance Horsepower Levels
PDI Big Boss has two options for Detroit Series 60 engine turbos.
Big Boss Performance Turbos for Caterpillar 3406A, 3406B, 3406C, 3406E C-15, and C16
One of the nicest things about the CAT 3406 engine is that it stayed relatively the same throughout its long history as a leading engine for on-road applications. The turbo stayed relatively the same as well. So if you have a 3406 CAT engine, no matter the model, this PDI turbo should work for your engine. It also works for C-15 (Pre-ACERT technology), and single-turbo C16 engines.
CAT C7, 3126 and C12 Stage 1 Big Boss Turbos
The CAT 3126 series is another leading engine series by CAT that has gone through many iterations over the years. The 3126 is a 7.2L engine and the C7, which is also a 7.2L engine, was its replacement. What is the difference? The C7 uses multiple, traditional wastegate turbos. This is different from the C15 ACERT which used two different kinds of turbos. The C7 and its later iterations including the C12 use multiple of the same kind of turbo, making it a true twin-turbo configuration. Kits can be used to change the C7 to a single PDI turbo.
CAT 3406E / C15 and Cummins ISX15 / X15 Compound Twin Turbo Kits
Twin-turbo arrays, if properly gated, can help overcome the main problem that single turbos have, namely, you have to pick between a good boost at low rpms or high rpms. With twin turbos, it is possible to set them up so that you have one helping you in the low rpms and the other for high, so no matter which mode you drive in you have the boost that you need. PDI has two kits available for twin turbo modification. One is for CAT 3406E and C15 engines, and the other is for Cummins ISX15 and X15 engines.
-
CAT compound turbo kit (coming soon)
New and Remanufactured Cummins VGT Turbos with Actuators
We have new VGT turbos for Cummins ISX15 and X15 engine models manufactured from 2010-2022 with new, genuine Holset actuators.
CAT C15 ACERT Low and High-Pressure Turbos
CAT C15 ACERT engines require two different types of turbos to work properly: a high-pressure turbo and a low-pressure turbo. The two turbos for the CAT C15 ACERT are different sizes and spool at different speeds. The low-pressure turbo is much larger than the high-pressure turbo and has a much slower spool period. These will not work for a C7 or C12 twin turbo setup because those use two of the same kind of PDI Big Boss turbo, instead of two different kinds of turbos like the C15 ACERT.
Cummins N14 Turbo with Ceramic Coated Exhaust Manifold Combos
The N14 was a great engine in its time, and many people still enjoy using it today. However, even back when they were being manufactured they came with stock parts that restricted the airflow and didn’t give the engine the ability to achieve its full performance capacity. PDI has put together a kit to help maximize exhaust air flow, reduce turbo lag time, and cool exhaust temperatures. If you want to maximize your N14 engine’s performance then we recommend this kit from PDI.
More Big Boss Performance Turbo and Exhaust Manifold Combos
PDI Big Boss has created aftermarket turbo and manifold combo kits to help Cummins ISX, CAT, and Detroit series 60 have better airflow, boost, and overall performance.
Customer Reviews
