Beat by a Duramax!

[BIG BOB]

Originally posted by Prairie Dog

Bob, what do you think of the Nelson muff? Is it quiet on the highway?

It has more noise at low speeds, but not annoying. At freeway speeds it isn't any louder that the stock muffler.

 

[CSilkowski]

Throw in a hill or a load

Throw in a hill or a load and Bye Bye Dura max







Not true. The other day I was cruising up a 7% grade at 90mph neck and neck with a Duramax when he walked away from me like I was stand'in still. :{



Those duramax's can produce some incredible hp. Still would trade my cummins for anything.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Originally posted by BIG BOB

It has more noise at low speeds, but not annoying. At freeway speeds it isn't any louder that the stock muffler.

Mine is noisier at highway speeds. I should look into this muffler. I guess I should come to Dyno Day so I can check it out



Vaughn

 

[robertyoke]

just yesterday I outran a d-max from 0 to 70 with box on 4/4. run him twice first time buy 2-3 truck lengths the second time only 1 truck length.

he did show me that I was number one!

 

[BIG BOB]

Originally posted by Vaughn MacKenzie

Mine is noisier at highway speeds. I should look into this muffler. I guess I should come to Dyno Day so I can check it out



Vaughn

Vaughn,

I counting on meeting you at Vantage at 10:30 Friday morning for the Bombvoy!



I think you will like the sound of this muffler.

 

[manganos]

Not really on topic but I was heading SOUTH on 95 and had a early 90's Acura Integra (orange in color if that tells you anything) with its big exhaust and 5" tach on the dash playing around from 60MPH. He took off and I pulled up to him and let off at 80MPH. He slowed down to 50MPH and so did I he tried it again and I let off after pulling 3 truck lengths on him. The funny thing was that we were being followed by a black Mercedes Bendz and the he was laughing when he went buy us holding up a camcorder. I'm sure that will make it onto the net soon

 

[DPelletier]

So let's see,

so far we have compared:

- the drag racing capability of a new SRW DM to a 305/555 DRW Dodge truck with a 60gall aux. tank and canopy

- the handling of a new DM to a '96 2500 Dodge

- the towing power of a new DM with a Banks six gun to a modified '98 12valve.



Hello? is anybody out there?



There is nothing that can touch the towing performance of a new Dodge. stock vs. stock. Is the DM faster empty? Maybe, but who cares? I sure don't or I wouldn't have bought a 6spd. The GM is OK if you like cars better than trucks, don't plan on keeping it for over 100,000 miles and the new styling doesn't make you lose your cookies every time you see it. The vaunted Allison has the most failures per 1000 units, is mushy and defuels in OD. The GM ZF is inferior to the NV-5600. And although there haven't been widespread aluminum head failures, I also have a friend who works in the service dept. of the local GM dealer and they have had several DM's in with head failures. He wouldn't have told me if it weren't true, because it was painful for him to admit it as I am always "giving him the gears" about where he works and he's a died-in-the-wool chevy guy c/w '67 camaro convert.



I don't know about the rest of you, but my 3500 DRW truck drives and handles great. I drove a new GM and Ford just to make sure before I bought my truck. I'm not a blindly loyal Dodge guy, in fact, I used to drive GM cars (Oldsmobile Club of America) and Ford trucks. After doing the test drive thing and researching the heck out of it, I was convinced that the Dodge/Cummins pick-up is the best of the three. No regrets here.



Dave

 

[LDPetersen]

I love the CTD for pulling the big loads. And the long life of the engine. It is a "real truck" , sold my last one at 300k have 155k on this one. If i want to race again I would go back to motorcycles and cuda's and camaros. Just my opinion.

 

[Jeremiah]

Originally posted by DPelletier

So let's see,

so far we have compared:

- the drag racing capability of a new SRW DM to a 305/555 DRW Dodge truck with a 60gall aux. tank and canopy

- the handling of a new DM to a '96 2500 Dodge

- the towing power of a new DM with a Banks six gun to a modified '98 12valve.



Hello? is anybody out there?



There is nothing that can touch the towing performance of a new Dodge. stock vs. stock. Is the DM faster empty? Maybe, but who cares? I sure don't or I wouldn't have bought a 6spd. The GM is OK if you like cars better than trucks, don't plan on keeping it for over 100,000 miles and the new styling doesn't make you lose your cookies every time you see it. The vaunted Allison has the most failures per 1000 units, is mushy and defuels in OD. The GM ZF is inferior to the NV-5600. And although there haven't been widespread aluminum head failures, I also have a friend who works in the service dept. of the local GM dealer and they have had several DM's in with head failures. He wouldn't have told me if it weren't true, because it was painful for him to admit it as I am always "giving him the gears" about where he works and he's a died-in-the-wool chevy guy c/w '67 camaro convert.



I don't know about the rest of you, but my 3500 DRW truck drives and handles great. I drove a new GM and Ford just to make sure before I bought my truck. I'm not a blindly loyal Dodge guy, in fact, I used to drive GM cars (Oldsmobile Club of America) and Ford trucks. After doing the test drive thing and researching the heck out of it, I was convinced that the Dodge/Cummins pick-up is the best of the three. No regrets here.



Dave

Hooray for the Canadian! That's tellin' 'em, Mr. Pelletier, you really got to the bottom line! My sentiments exactly. Now if these other gigilos will just go away ... Naw, I'm just kidding. You can stay but listen to your elders. Not everything wrapped up pretty is the best present under the tree! I'll take my CTD in a heartbeat!

 

[RobbieH]

I might be more "blindly loyal" than most, but I still like my Dodge better. I must say though I don't make these comments without having experience with both.



Here is the Chevy setup I've towed with a total of 3,000 miles:



#ad




It is a 2002 Chevy Duramax Allison 2500 4x2 SWB. The Jeep and trailer combined weigh around 7,000 lbs. The back of the truck has camping and vacation gear for 3 in it, including coolers, etc.



The truck tows good. Compared to a gas rig, no comparison. The Allison shifts the way I shift a manual. I like the truck as far as being a useful tow rig. It doesn't have the low-end grunt of a Cummins. The interior is big in the back seat. The front seat is cramped IMHO because of the full console and the speaker protrusion in the door panels. I averaged anywhere from 10 mpg pushing it, to 12 mpg running 60 mph.



Here is what I bought after using that truck twice:



#ad




Same Jeep, same story. I've towed I guess around the same with it so far. It is a 2003 Dodge LWB QC HO 4x2 NV5600.



The manual is not as convenient as the Allison, but I prefer a stick for towing. I wouldn't say the actual towing performance is that much better, but I buy for longevity more than convenience. The rear seat is smaller, but considering my daughter is 5 she doesn't complain. I love having a long bed instead of the short bed. The Cummins has a lot more low end grunt than the DM. I have averaged anywhere from 12 mpg when it was new (towing) to as much as 15. 4 mpg towing.



I talked to my dad just Sunday. He said about the best he's seen in his DM is 18 mpg empty. I consistently average over 20 mpg emtpy now that it is starting to get broken in (17,600 miles so far).



Another big consideration for me was price. Dad paid $38,800 for his Chevy, I got my Dodge for $26,135, and it has quite a few extras like the Infinity stereo, power everything, etc.



I've heard people say "I wish I could get the Cummins in a Chevy" but I truly like the interior of my Dodge better than I do the Chevy, especially when I'm on a trip that requires being behind the wheel for 13+ hours at a stretch.

 

[EBramwell]

I had an encounter with a Duramax. He was in a single cab 1 ton, two wheel drive, flatbed dually with an allison, he had been egging me on to race him for about a mile. I finally got next to him at a stop light side by side, now remember I'm driving a 2003 1 ton, 4x4, crew cab, dually, with 4. 10 gears, and a six speed. Well when the light turned green we took off and stayed side by side, I was at red line through every gear! when I hit fourth gear I started to pull away from him, after fifth gear I stayed ahead of him and smoked him! Did I mention that we where on a hill? That's right the light was at the bottom of a hill with a 30 degree incline for half a mile.

I did not buy my truck to race, or for speed, I bought it to pull, and I usually don't partake in such invites, but this guy was an arrogant fellow and I'm really happy that I beat him. Actually I was shocked that the truck did so well!

 

[TFerring]

Hell beat by a Duramax I couldn't even get one to play last night on my way home. He pulled up alongside of me and I keep goosing the throttle messing with him and he wouldn't play. So after about 3 or 4 miles of this I pulled away from him..... Out of nowhere he took a run at me and blew past me... I think he was scared to match up against a 600 CTD!!!!!

 

[Chris N5CWM]

I've beat several stock and chipped DMax trucks. The most memorable one was a brand-new, still clean underneath, paper temporary tag on the back bumper. I left him by 7 lenghts at least and it was an uphill, light at the bottom standing start run. He got a length on me thru 1st gear but then it was over. I'm still wondering if he took it back to the dealer and told them a Dodge blew his doors off and he wants his money back.



The least memorable, my first loss, was the other day. New GMC 2500HD DMax, 4x4, with oversize tires and a little bit of lift. He kept messing with me but the traffic was too heavy. When I finally had a chance, I went for it. With my Edge box on 3/3, I couldn't pull away from him. He was all over my rear bumper! Then he tried to pass me and would have done so if it were not for oncoming traffic. Well I finally found a highly modifed, chipped DMax. Yes those things are STRONG when they're bombed.

 

[Camp]

This is funny to read for me. I will be picking up my new 600 this afternoon. I was a duramax owner but, didn't get rid of it for power reasons. I needed a bigger truck for the load I am stepping up to and got a much better deal on the Dodge. Truthfully, my duramax outpulled all of my Dodge buddies pulling through the mountains so, I am not really sure why everyone thinks that they can't pull hills. We usually pull 7K-10K lbs. each and usually are right at the same load, just depends on the trip. The Duramax was always the first to the top of the pass. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to be getting my new truck and can't wait but, I think there is a lot of bias in these stories of Duramax's not having any pulling power. I have also pulled with a Cummins before so, I have a good comparison.



My D-max was a 3/4 ton reg. cab long bed 4x4. My new truck is a 1 ton crew cab dually 4x4. More truck for more trailer.

 

[Jeremiah]

Duro v. CTD

In all cases, it's important to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. Auto trannies are faster off the line than 6-speeds. Six speeds pull loads better. Driver talent plays a role if trucks are shifted manually. So when one driver says Duros beat CTDs to the top of the hill, it's important to know all the data.



I've read on this forum that all other things being equal, a 6-speed needs 100 extra horsepower or more to keep up with an auto off the line. Now once the manual hits, say, 70 or 80 mph and 6th gear it might be a different story.



But it would also be a different race (i. e. , a 1/4 mile run).

 

[DPelletier]

ckukla,

And what were your buddies trucks? What year, transmission, hp, gearing, etc. etc. Thats the problem with these types of threads, can a '01 DM outpull an '01 ETC auto? I have no doubt. What year and configuration was the Cummins that you pulled with before? Keep in mind that when they first came out the original 5. 9's had 160 hp. There is a very wide performance difference between a 1989 and a 2004. 5 Cummins equipped truck. I didn't say that the Duramaxes don't have any pulling power, but with my '03 ETH 6spd, I'm sure not worried about any passing me loaded and heading up the highway and with your new truck it'll be impossible for any DM's to pass you. The 600 is the king of the horsepower hill, at least for now.



Dave

 

[davidclark]

Originally posted by Dieselnerd

Since I first drove the Duramax he's now taken it in and had the full Banks mods done. It has the 6 pack switch on the dash that you can set for any of 6 power levels. He let me drive it again and I turned it up to 6 and let it rip. It really went! He says it now tows better than the CTD.

I hope it tows better now, that's alot of mod just to match up to a stock CTD...

 

[Camp]

Well, my truck was an '02 with a 4" exhaust. One of my buddies trucks is a '02 Dodge with no mods at the time. His is an extended cab short bed 4x4. Both trucks are 6-speeds running stock tire size. He runs 3. 54's and I was running 3. 73's. The cummins I pulled with was his. I have driven it a few times on the way to the trails and also without load. We pull rock crawlers.



Don't get me wrong here, I have not tried to imply that there is anything wrong with the Dodges or that it is any better or worse than the chevy. It is just I see a lot of bashing without any real experience and that doesn't hold much water in my book.

 

[geusterman]

Boys, boys. Read Donnelly's article on the test for the new 600 he wrote up. Those trucks were equals. Dodge ruled. There is your test basis. You don't know if you are alongside Kennedy's DM from the Diesel Page or a stock one. No basis for decisions from stoplight races... just a lot of FUN and it sells boxes! George

 

[DPelletier]

That's my point George.



Short history lesson;



Basically, up until the DM release, the GM couldn't hold a candle to a Cummins. The 6. 5TD is a piece of **** pure and simple. I should know, I still have one. In '01 and '02 the DM had a performance advantage, a slight one if comparing an ETH and a larger one comparing an ETC. In '03, the 305/555 holds a slight advantage, especially when loaded. The '03 ETC obviously is at the back of the power pack. For '04. 5 the ETH or "600" increased DC's power advantage. GM, in turn, released thier latest DM the LLY code 590 ft lb engine, but of course it can't quite hang with a "600".

AND for those that thought Joe's article was unfairly biased, there were several other reporter's present at the same test. I have a copy of the article written by Larry Weitzman that I keep on hand to give out to aquaintances looking to purchase diesel trucks. The Dodge flat out smoked the chevy throughout the whole test.



When comparing new 2004. 5 trucks, I can only think of one advantage the GM has going for it and that's a Crew Cab for those that want one (I don't). It offers nothing that I would consider superior to the Dodge/Cummins.



Dave