Calling all power freak experts

[THeske]

The time is getting near to do a H. P. adjustment, Now this is my question. What is the safest power mods that I can do to my truck, 48RE auto, 2003 305 h. p. 1 ton dually, 3. 73 gears, 55,000 miles, No transmission work to date,

Please no-- I heard of a guy responses,

what is the best bang for my buck power increases, ie: power modules (Edge, Smarty,Predator,,,,,) intake horn, larger exhaust, that kind of stuff taking into account the stock transmission;;;;;;;;;;;;



Also the same response using an updated transmission;;;;;;;;;;;;;;



Please do tell me the transmission updates required to handle a modest 450 H. P. Yes this truck will be used as a tow vehicle, 20' horse trailer, 20' flatbed, both 5th wheels, 12k-22k would be the approx towing load,



FYI: I have a first gen Cummins thats had a few mods in my 89 ford 1 ton dually with a 5 speed ZF transmission, 3. 54 gears, This is my present tow vehicle, All said and done the the first gen TOWS better, stronger, harder than the 2003 truck, On an all out 1/4 mile drag the 2003 comes in 2nd, But there is no comparision to the quite and comfort the Dodge offers over the Ford, So the Ford will BE REPLACED but I need some reliable power mods first,

THIS is why I call the Dodge Cummins power freaks together



Yes gauges are first/foremost

 

[WoodChuck]

An Edge juice with Attitude controller is a great place to start and it has gauges built in.

 

[THeske]

Will the stock transmission hold up? Or should I be considering a rebuild on a sound transmission @ this point?

 

[CToney]

Don't know about the auto but I would get a box or programmer that is adjustable so if you continue to increase power you can get your transmission built. My dad has an edge EZ in his 6sp set to 40hp 150ftlbs of torque and it is plenty of power and safe to my knowledge without spending big $ for little benefit on other mods.

 

[robertyoke]

get a tst box or a smarty.

you can use either box at lower levels but the smarty will be harder on the trans, it just so much fun to drive with a smarty.

no matter what you choose you will have to upgrade the trans down the line because the power is addicting. a valve body and torque converter will prolong the life of the trans and may be all you need for now.

-robert

 

[BHolm]

You don't need the power freaks to get you to "only" 450 hp, thats easy on these trucks. Mine is right there and I am an amateur



To run 450 hp reliably through the auto you will need a torque convertor and valve body upgrade. Anything over 100 hp and you should be seriously considering the trans work.



I think you need to be honest about the power you want/need. If you will never go above the 450 level the Edge Juice/Attitude might be the slickest route. The controls/gauges look nice and work well, kills two birds with one stone. It could also be done with a Quadzilla box and the QZ Commander, similar to the Edge control box. Then you could use a little exhaust work. The first thing I would do there is find a bigger turbo outlet elbow from a newer "600" truck. I think they bolt up and give you a 4" outlet instead of 3. 5". Then your choice of full 4" exhaust. My truck came that way and just needed a muffler elimination kit, works great, sounds great, but there is a cat in the system on mine, not sure how loud it is without. Then I would pick up a high flow air horn, mine is a CFM+, improved response dramatically, lowered EGTs. Then last I would do a cold air intake. Those mods should get you to 450 hp.



If you think for a second that you will want more, I would buy the TST box so that you have excellent growth opportunities and full adjustability. If you plan a turbo, cam or injector swap at some point get the TST, I think it supports the big power best.



If you want to tow heavy running 450 hp you need a full billet trans upgrade and a twin turbo set-up to keep EGTs down, maybe a big single will work too. You didn't really specify.

 

[MDTyree]

I would start with a exhaust first then you can go with a tuner or programmer. You could have some problems with high egt's if you don't. You are putting power in, you need to be able to get it out. In the latest issue of Diesel World Mag. they had a truck similar to yours, pulling the same thing and they put the Banks Power Pack on it and had good results. Not that you need to put the Power Pack on yours maybe the ottomind 6 with pda to start. Get an issue and check it out.

 

[DFranks]

I just sold my edge juice/att for a smarty and I wouldn't go back for anything. 5 setting s plus the hot juice for edge.

Smarty has 9 settings plus a hundreds of other programs, (that are allways being updated) and in IMHO transmission work needs to be done on either upgrade I have listed above just for the piece of mind factor. With that being said my stock transmission wil be upgraded this spring/summer.

 

[jwilliams3]

I heard of a guy...