If you're looking to squeeze some serious horsepower out of your old Dodge, picking up a 5.9 magnum turbo kit is probably the fastest way to turn that reliable workhorse into a real street sleeper. The 5.9 Magnum—or the 360, as most of us old-school guys still call it—is a bit of a legend when it comes to durability. It's a beefy, cast-iron block that was built to haul trailers and survive years of abuse. However, let's be honest: in its stock form, it's a little bit of a dog. It's got plenty of torque for pulling a boat, but it runs out of breath pretty quickly when you're trying to move fast. Adding a turbocharger changes that dynamic entirely.
The beauty of the 5.9 Magnum is that it actually handles boost surprisingly well for an engine designed in the 90s. Because it has a relatively low compression ratio from the factory, you can feed it a decent amount of air without immediately blowing the heads off the block. If you've been scrolling through forums or watching videos of boosted Rams and Dakotas, you know that the potential is there. But before you go out and buy the first kit you see, there are a few things you really need to wrap your head around.
Why Go Turbo Instead of Supercharged?
This is the age-old debate in the Mopar community. A lot of guys lean toward superchargers because they're "easier" to bolt on, but a 5.9 magnum turbo kit offers a level of efficiency and top-end power that a blower just can't match. When you're running a turbo, you're using "free" energy from the exhaust gases to spin that compressor. You don't have a massive belt dragging on the crankshaft, which means more of that power actually makes it to the rear wheels.
Plus, there's just something about the sound. The whistle of the spool and the hiss of the blow-off valve transform a truck that sounds like a farm vehicle into something that commands respect at a red light. Turbo kits also give you way more flexibility. With a simple boost controller, you can swap between a "daily driver" setting and a "track day" setting in about two seconds. You can't really do that with a pulley-driven supercharger without getting your hands dirty.
What Usually Comes in the Kit?
When you start shopping for a 5.9 magnum turbo kit, you'll notice that the contents can vary wildly. Some kits are "hot side" only, meaning they give you the exhaust manifolds, the turbo, and the wastegate, but leave the rest up to you. A full kit, which is what most people should probably look for, will usually include:
- The Turbocharger: Usually a 60mm to 72mm unit depending on how aggressive you want to be.
- Exhaust Manifolds: These are often "log style" manifolds designed to flip forward so the turbo can sit in the front of the engine bay.
- The Intercooler: This is crucial for keeping those intake temps down so you don't melt a piston.
- Wastegate and Blow-off Valve: These manage the pressure so your engine doesn't go "kaboom."
- Downpipe and Hot-side Piping: To get the exhaust out and the boosted air in.
The tricky part with these trucks is space. If you're running a 2WD Dodge Ram, you have tons of room. If you're trying to shove a 5.9 magnum turbo kit into a 4WD Dakota or a Durango, things are going to get tight. You might have to get creative with moving the battery or clearancing the inner fenders, but that's just part of the fun of custom forced induction.
The "Hidden" Costs of Going Fast
I see this all the time: someone buys a turbo kit, bolts it on, and then wonders why their truck won't start or why the transmission turned into a pile of glitter on the first test drive. A 5.9 magnum turbo kit is just one piece of the puzzle. You can't just shove 10 psi of boost into a stock engine and expect it to be happy without some supporting mods.
First off, you've got to talk about fueling. The stock injectors on a 5.9 Magnum are barely enough for the factory 245 horsepower. If you're aiming for 400 or 500 hp, you're going to need much larger injectors and a high-flow fuel pump. Then there's the ECU. These old Mopar computers (JTEC) aren't the easiest things to tune. You'll either need a specialized tuner who knows these old systems or, better yet, a standalone engine management system like a Holley EFI or a MegaSquirt.
And we can't forget the transmission. If you're running the stock 46RE automatic, be careful. Those transmissions weren't exactly overbuilt. They're fine for stock power, but once you start doubling the torque output with a 5.9 magnum turbo kit, that 46RE is going to start slipping. Budgeting for a valve body upgrade or a full performance rebuild is pretty much mandatory if you want the truck to stay on the road for more than a week.
Installation: DIY or Pro?
If you're handy with a wrench and know how to weld a little bit, installing a 5.9 magnum turbo kit is a great weekend project—or more likely, a three-weekend project. The hardest part is usually the plumbing. Routing the oil feed and return lines for the turbo is a bit of a chore because you have to tap into the oil pan. If that return line isn't positioned right, the oil will back up and you'll start seeing blue smoke out of the tailpipe.
The exhaust side can also be a bit of a headache. Most kits require you to delete or heavily modify your existing exhaust system. If you live in an area with strict emissions testing, this might be where you run into some legal hurdles. But for those of us in "relaxed" states, it's just a matter of making sure everything is tucked up high enough so you don't rip the downpipe off on a speed bump.
What Kind of Power Can You Expect?
This is the question everyone asks. If you take a healthy 5.9 Magnum and bolt on a well-sorted 5.9 magnum turbo kit running about 7 or 8 psi of boost, you can realistically expect to see somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 to 400 rear-wheel horsepower. That might not sound like "supercar" numbers today, but remember, these engines make massive amounts of torque. A boosted 360 will pull like a freight train from 2,500 RPM all the way to the redline.
If you decide to go crazy—forged pistons, better rods, and maybe some aftermarket cylinder heads—the sky is the limit. There are guys out there pushing 700+ horsepower on these blocks. At that point, though, you're not really just "bolting on a kit" anymore; you're building a dedicated race engine. For most of us, that 400-hp mark is the sweet spot where the truck is still reliable enough to drive to work but fast enough to embarrass some much newer sports cars.
Final Thoughts on the Build
At the end of the day, installing a 5.9 magnum turbo kit is one of the most rewarding things you can do for an old Dodge. It breathes new life into a platform that many people have written off as "obsolete." Sure, it's going to take some time, a bit of frustration, and probably more money than you originally planned, but that first time you hear the turbo spool up and feel the truck actually pull you back into the seat? It's worth every penny.
Just remember to take your time with the tune. Don't get greedy with the boost right out of the gate. Start low, make sure your air-fuel ratios are safe, and gradually work your way up. These engines are tough, but they aren't invincible. Treat the build with a bit of respect, and that 5.9 Magnum will give you plenty of smiles for miles to come. Whether you're building a street truck, a drag racer, or just a cool daily, a turbo is the way to go.