A promising, 1,300hp Blue Oval that’s pushing the 6.7L Power Stroke platform to new heights.
If you were wondering when the 6.7L Power Stroke was going to arrive on the scene in one of diesel drag racing’s fastest categories, this is it. Built to compete in the 5.90 Index class, Ryan Reiser’s ’12 F-250 is blazing a path that few have attempted. Combining his mechanical engineering degree and product development role at S&S Diesel Motorsport with his father, Robbie’s impressive circle track and NASCAR background, Ryan has pieced together the quickest 6.7L Power Stroke powered Super Duty in the country. It’s a homegrown race program that features a unique blend of cutting-edge tech, proven parts, and simplicity—and there’s no denying that Ryan’s 1,300hp, number-running Ford is setting an important precedent for anyone looking to put a Blue Oval in the winner’s circle.
This is something you don’t see a lot of in the upper tiers of ODSS drag racing: a 6.7L Power Stroke. And while it may be surprising to some, very little inside Ryan Reiser’s engine is considered exotic or over the top. It was simply ‘built right.’ Gleaning a bit of main bearing, rod bearing, and ring tolerance wisdom from his connections at nearby Roush Yates Engines (and subsequently treating all bearings to dry film lubricant by way of Calico Coatings), Ryan assembled the engine himself. A factory crankshaft, secured via ARP main studs, swings a set of Carrillo rods that are topped off with fly-cut and thermal coated factory pistons. A Stage 3 camshaft from the late Midwest Diesel & Auto and an H&S Motorsports billet oil pump regulator also made to cut.Serving a Product Development and Electronic Controls role within industry juggernaut S&S Diesel Motorsport, it stands to reason why S&S got the call on the fuel side of the equation. In fact, Ryan’s engine proved the perfect test mule for the company’s DCR high-pressure fuel pump in a racing application. The DCR unit sits beneath the belt-driven 10mm CP3 shown here, in place of the factory CP4.2. The DCR/CP3 duo, which combines to produce 30,000 psi worth of rail pressure, supports a set of S&S 200-percent over injectors—very big units in the world of piezo injectors. “We have lots of fuel,” Ryan told us. “We aren’t using them to their fullest potential yet.”Rewind the clock several years (even before this photo of him competing in the 6.70 Index class was taken) and Ryan was ready to make his first passes down the track. Unfortunately, not even 60-feet into its first trip through the eighth-mile, the CP4.2 pump exploded, contaminating the entire fuel system and eventually locking up on the return road. You could say that was the moment when Ryan decided to find a permanent replacement for the notorious Bosch CP4.2. And as fate would have it, while working for Stanadyne (parent company of Pure Power Technologies) he actually discovered that the DCR pump would fit the 6.7L Power Stroke. The rest is history, as S&S’s CP4 to DCR pump conversion has quickly become the ultimate aftermarket solution for the problematic CP4.2 on ’11-present Super Duty’s.Partnering with Kill Devil Diesel, Ryan received one of the first sets of the company’s O-ringed and CNC ported cylinder heads. The high-flow, factory-based cast-aluminum heads anchor to the block by way of ARP head studs, and the Midwest Diesel & Auto HD valve springs and pushrods allow the engine to remain both durable and efficient at the 5,000 rpm Ryan pushes it to. The Kill Devil heads are also a big reason why, given the amount of fuel that’s on tap, the engine only sees 60 psi of boost heading down the track.Although Ryan believes his Precision turbo was a better fit for the truck when it was competing in 6.70 Index (yeah, he ran that class, too), it’s still getting the job done with an additional 400 hp being thrown at it. The ball-bearing charger makes use of a 76mm CEA compressor wheel, a high-flow 85mm turbine wheel, and utilizes the biggest T4 exhaust housing Precision offers (1.28 A/R). It routes 60-65 psi of boost through an air-to-water barrel intercooler from C&R Racing. Drive pressure checks in at roughly 100-psi, but Ryan has yet to fine-tune the dual external TurboSmart wastegates he has at his disposal.Now on to the real magic behind Ryan’s Super Duty: MoTeC control and S&S firmware. In conjunction with a MoTeC M141 stand-alone ECU, the diesel-specific software and all pertinent sensors provide Ryan complete control and comprehensive data logging capability over the 6.7L Power Stroke engine. “I calibrated everything,” he told us. “The truck has served as a great R&D asset to test new firmware features.” The MoTeC C127 monitor shown here serves as the truck’s digital dash.After experiencing one too many false neutrals while tuning the 6R140 TorqShift, Ryan went old school on the transmission and contacted Brian’s Truck Shop for a battle-ready 4R100. What you see here is the first 4R100 automatic ever controlled by MoTeC/S&S firmware—firmware that Ryan helped develop. This diesel-specific firmware is precisely what makes a stand-alone ECU so appealing in the diesel industry. “We work closely with MoTeC to create firmware that continues to push the diesel industry to new limits,” Ryan told us.While there is no trans-brake option for the 4R100, within the MoTeC firmware Ryan has a built-in staging limiter. During staging, he brings the engine up to 3,000 rpm. And after the MoTeC-controlled BTS four-speed leaves in second gear, the billet converter locks roughly 60-feet out (at a predetermined mph) and makes two quick upshifts before the stripe. “It’s such a good trans, I don’t even have to look at what it’s doing on my data logs,” Ryan told us.Safety is paramount for all drag racers, but it takes on a different meaning when a father is tasked with building his son a roll cage. Needless to say, Ryan’s cage is overbuilt in every way—and even features additional reinforcement under his feet. The roll cage is certified to go 8.50 in the quarter-mile. Between the bars, craftsmanship is second-to-none. The fit-and-finish and simplicity within the cab hardly resembles the kind of racing interiors we’re used to seeing in diesel drag racing. “My dad is a heck of a sheet metal guy,” Ryan told us. “And his magic is present all over the truck.”As soon as Ryan returned from the initial trip to purchase the truck, his dad mentioned that the leaf springs had to go—so that’s what happened. “In short order, all we had was a frame sitting there,” Ryan said. Double-adjustable QA1 coilover shocks got the call while Ryan and Robbie drew the front and rear four-link setups on CAD and had the mild steel pieces cut out via waterjet at a shop just down the street. Both the Dana 60 and 10.5-inch are all stock, save for a spool in the rear and both 3.73 ring and pinion units being treated to fresh bearings.Aft of the rear axle, you’ll find a 15-gallon fuel cell—a tank that survives from the original plan of continuing to drive the truck on the street. It’s topped off with dual 165-gph AirDog II-4G systems, one feeding 70-psi to the DCR high-pressure fuel pump and the other supplying 15-psi to the 10mm CP3. Above that, a Nitrous Outlet bottle lies in wait. Despite having two kits at his disposal, Ryan is yet to turn the bottle on at the track—and with the truck having zero issues running 5.90 on fuel he may not need to.Despite the leaf spring and radius arm delete, the missing bed floor, and the bare bones interior, Ryan’s Super Duty is no lightweight. In fact, the all-steel Ford tips the scales at 5,000 pounds on race day. M&H Racemaster slicks, measuring 30×14.0-16 and bolted to powder coated 16×12 Raceline wheels, provide grip at all four corners. However, Ryan’s 1.5-second 60-foot times are on the tamer side of what you typically see in 5.90—which is by design. In bringing the truck out of the gate with a little less steam than others, he’s not completely reliant on track prep in order to run the number. So far, it’s worked, and his worst breakout pass has only been a 5.88.Right off the trailer at the first ODSS race of 2024, Ryan went 5.907 at 120 mph. Not bad for a truck that just went from a 6.70 contender in 2023 to running spot-on in a much quicker class. As Ryan continues to dial the truck in, as well as accumulate seat time, look for him to become even more deadly in diesel’s fastest index racing category. In the meantime, he will continue to showcase what Ford’s 6.7L Power Stroke platform is capable of, and do so in front of the masses.
