first tow with duramax

[MCummings]

Originally posted by MABurns

Most of the initial bashing was over the aluminum heads. But there does not seem to be any problems with those.



Now the focus has shifted to "high RPM" gasser like engine. Peak torque is 520 ft lbs at 1800 RPM.



Where is it in a CTD?

MA,, Try to get your D-Max to go WOT at 1,800 RPM,, Your Allison won't let it happen. Nothing Below 2,000 RPM will ever be seen (unless in 1st) at WOT with the allison.



Straight from Cummins,,, "505 lb-ft of peak torque, from 1600 rpm all the way to 2300 rpm" (that is with the 6-speed)



A short stroke V-8 has to rev to make HP, and can't make to much torque.



Whenever a D-Max comes around and makes 1,000 pounds of torque, then I'll say WOW. But till then Stock to Stock D-MAx wins,, BOMBed to BOMBed,, Cummins is way ahead.



Merrick Cummings Jr

 

[BK]

"Most of the initial bashing was over the aluminum heads. But there does not seem to be any problems with those. "



We can keep bashing on those if would like, it was fun then, but got old. How about the fuel lines that run through the heads to preheat the diesel? Which early on were known for cracking and leaking fuel into the engine?



The rpm was the chevy guys' thing about how much better it is. They threw it out, we picked it up and threw it around... .



From the curves I've seen for the CTD, the torque straight lines from idle to about 1300 rpm, from there pretty much flat till redline (no load I think it was 3600rpm / full load 3400rpm).



Actual torque numbers and HP numbers for the CTD depend on the version. All the advertised tests and numbers have been such a "specsmanship" game, need one hill, the same trailer, same rear gear ratios and same height tires ( to be really acurate a transmission to normalize the test around would be nice too). Then the truth in advertising could be told.



And sorry, but had to pull around a lot of GM oil powered HDs that were slowing me down on the "hills" upstate NY. Never a one passed me. Of course I didn't pull over to talk to them afterwards. Had places to go things todo. . so I don't know if they were afraid of melting the tin can head , or just weren't trying... or were really trying but just couldn't...



Yes I test drove one, of course I wanted to see what one was like. I think GM makes some nice looking and very comfortable pickups. But I wasn't impressed with the Dmax. Without towing I know I don't have half the story... but I do know what my CTD is like empty. I get a smile from the CTD. . the test drive of the Dmax didn't light a smile on my face.



The mpg's I've seen were report from a thread on the chevy site which the link to was posted on tdr. So it wasn't here say but reported by the owners.





here we go again... :-{}



I'll have to dig out my flack jacket and brain bucket...



Fire away!



Love ya folks.

-Bob

 

[Breck]

I wondered what Major "Frank" Burns did after M*A*S*H. I guess I know; I always pegged him as a Chevy kind of guy.



I work with a "ring knocker" from West Point:



His typical expression>



:{





V/R



BP Livingston

 

[MABurns]

I can say with pride that even though I work here I am not a graduate.



I did it the easy way... . four months of OCS.



Trust me you'll have to do better than that, I get the MAJ Burns jokes all the time.



BK, where in LI are you?

 

[BK]

MABurns...



Breck's link to Mash Vs your handle never crossed my mind till he wrote it. I need a laugh once in a while, that was such a great show.



I'm almost dead smack in the middle of the Island. . If my mush for brains serve me correctly, it's about 60 miles to Manhatten and about 60 miles to the end of Mauntauk (funny, neither of 'em that I can spell). I'm just off of Exit 62 of the LI Distress way.



It's a royal pain to get off the Island to go camping. When heading to New England I opto to pay the fees for the Port Jeff Ferry. But when heading up state it's just not worth it.



Ah the Island of long...

I laughed when they were firing up the Nuke plant in Shoreham (sp?) and were announcing evacuation plans. What a slap in the face, to try and make us think they could empty the island for a nuke plant failure but can't build road systems to handle rush hour! Geez weren't they going to use the same roads and rail system? I was wondering what magic they had to pull new capacity from.



There are many things I love about the Island, but the traffic and the congestion are the two things I never miss when I leave it.



-Bob

 

[b.j.oneill]

When they start to put the Edge juice(timming) & Power play (fueling) we are going to have a lot of compition to deal with And know telling what they are going to be like W/ mechanical upgrades W/ that.

 

[DiTrani]

The al. head is a red herring.



Some people like short-stroke V8 gas power, some like long-stroke I6 diesel power. Just a matter of taste. I see engines like the DMax as a decent attempt at the best of both worlds. Makes sense to me. If I'd have known then how much my obnoxiously loud truck was going to make me self-consciously apologetic in my cramped urban neighborhood, I'd have looked again at the DMax. The extra ~$5K and lack of history probably would've killed it, but I'd have looked.



Aside: I FINALLY found a Dodge parts guy to help me piece together cruise control for my ill-ordered truck. Big ups to Ira Dodge parts counter in Medford, MA. Hope it all works.

 

[MABurns]

What is a red herring (aside from being a fish)?

 

[DiTrani]

Red Herring

The is al. head is a non-issue.

 

[azgearpro]

I love when a dmax pulls up next to me thinking he is going to whip on me. You should see how big there eyes get when all they see is the rear of my truck while it is going by.

The new h. o. cummins that are coming out this year are rated at 305 h. p. , dont think dmax will touch them stock.



BTW: I love the way the frame on the dmax hangs down over 6" under the truck looks so cool LOL

 

[BK]

"BTW: I love the way the frame on the dmax hangs down over 6" under the truck looks so cool "



They have their SUV quality IFS suspension to thank for that.

One chevy owner replied back to me in discussion about their suspensions saying that it's one of most popular suspensions with the most lift packages out there for it.

Duh Ah yea, it's the lowest full size 4x4 out there, it needs it.



Again designed for what "that buyer wants". . lower step in height.



I want to be able to roll me and my belly under the truck to change the oil and check things out without jacking it up. I don't want to get high centered when towing over the rough stuff off road. I don't want a front skid pan of the IFS scraping up the sand and taking half the beach home with me. I watch the stock height chevys on the beach, the skid pan reminds me of a boat's bow breaking the wave. Had the same issue on my Nissan Pathlooser, with out towing. After washing the under side of it out, I used to be left with speed bumps of sand in my driveway.

The vents in the skid pan were great for dusting the engine with sand. It got everywhere.



I've had my fill of tin can heads, was a Toyota truck fanatic.

The tin can heads arent a problem on the 4 banger either, till about 60K - 100K miles or your 1st very hot run, not even an over heat. Granted the Dmax is a newer design but produces a much higher power density than those 4 bangers. . more power = more calories = more heat = ?worse problem? ?or just the same at a different level?

As Clint once said "Do ya feel lucky?".

Granted , it's a wait and see. Chevy has tried bold new things. Thats how one makes advancements. But mistakes are made on the way too... . and I don't want it on my dollar.



I read an article in one of the rock crawler rags that talked about when the real trucks may finally make a come back and how there's a market for them. (personal opinion,dodge just needs to put leaf springs and hubs back in the front end and I'm happy). It seems DC made a jeep called the rubicon or something. Built a lot of quality after market syle upgrade parts into it, even in the axles for spline count, I think dana 44's all around and good stuff like that. But it seems now that the bean counters killed it.



Now we have the 1500 torsion bar Dodge, next coming the Dodge HD with wish bones (my BONE is that I WISH they'd put leaf springs back in) and torsion bar. It seems they think we are all bent on having an SUV with a pickup bed. WE ARE NOT!!!!!

Just before the new 1500 came out I noticed a bunch of new , 1500 and 2500's driving around. No dealer could keep the Off Road version 1500 on the lot. I guess the ones not wanting a torsion bar front end rushed out to get the last of solid front axle trucks. My neighbor took a 6' bed on his left over 1500, since that's what was left instead of getting a 8' bed on the new 1500.



I heard that DC will be importing the Unimog?.

I guess there's my answer.

 

[_MACKIN]

azgearpro,

Me too, that's why I bought it. That's why I used to smoke cigs too, ALL THE COOL KIDS DID... ... . I wish I lived in AZ. I would run ya... ..... I'm certain my eyes would not be bugging out of my head... ... ... Lets be realistic 300 auto verses 305 is not a ground breaking difference... . In addition is it not only available in HO 6 speed manual?Correct me if I'm wrong.









The reason for the extended frame rail is the ALLISON transmission not the IFS. Just a correction to what was stated above.

MAC

 

[BK]

The view I had in mind, I've also see on the gassers. I think before the Dmax hit the street. So I didn't think it had anything todo the Dmax or Allison, just the platform design.



So I guess maybe we're talking apples and oranges.

 

[CUMAPART]

The Cummins passes the test of longevity with flying colors. All I have to say is that time will tell. I just want to see how many miles the DMAX will be able to put under it's frame rails

 

[_MACKIN]

BK





It most certainly is do you think they would have different frames?For different motors? Most big block GASSERS have the Allison anyway ... .....

MAC

 

[_MACKIN]

CUMAPART,





Over 300,000 heavy towing (hauling) if interested I'll drag the real life thread here on your turf... ... . I aim to please

Just ask...

MACOo.

 

[BK]

everyone keeps talking about "published" numbers and holding them up as some -golden-cant be wrong-end all.

I got some news, games are played with these numbers all the time. I'm sure most here are old enough to remember what the big three did in the early 70's in the HP war... Vs the insurance companies. That was another game of specsmanship in the other direction to get around high rates, so they could sell more cars, but get HP on the street.

There is no truth in advertising.

Gotta get the two engines in some normalized testing for the truth to be told. The ad/test Ford ran for the PS vs the ISB was debunked. I'm surprised Chevy hasn't tried the same, but I guess they know better. :--)



I know cummins lists the ISB by a model number based on HP/Torque eac on will be tuned at to run. So for DC it's a matter of reseting the programing and getting the rest of the drive train to live up to it. There's plenty of room to go in the ISB, it's living an easy life in the Dodge. Only time will tell for the Dmax.

 

[BK]

Originally posted by amcintyre

BK





It most certainly is do you think they would have different frames?For different motors? Most big block GASSERS have the Allison anyway ... .....

MAC

Mac,



yes i would guess they would have different frames for different motors, really series... ...



My 1/2 ton jimmy had a much different frame than the 3/4 ton a buddy of mine had. My 1/2 ton had a frame that flopped around when the steering box was turned, his was a bit taller and thicker and didn't bend.

The 1500 Dodge has a much different frame than the 2500.

Untill a few years ago there was a 2500 dodge and a 2500 HD dodge. . two different frames.

So the fact is that yes the big three do make different frames, even in the same series. Dodge did it based on gasser Vs oil burner back then.

As far as the Allison all I "knew" and read was that the Allison didnt exist till it was designed for and to be powered by the Dmax. Not a single article ever mentioned it being used for another engine or coming from another application in GM. But my only info is from those articles.

I've seen '99 Z series 1/2 ton pickups with the same dropped frame sections I'm picturing. Did they design the frame back then for the Dmax? Again, why I'm thinking I'm not pictureing the same thing.



So you have 300,000 on a Dmax already?

Whats the Vin number?



-Bob

 

[_MACKIN]

BK,

I'm not the publisher of the numbers... . What are you saying? Dodge Cummins is hiding something? To beat an INS. rap? That is in the past.

Numbers are numbers true, as real life is real life, apples to oranges are just that. If you want proof that the Duramax is a contender in the Diesel market I'll produce. It certainly does not have the reputation of the Cummins. But working on it. What are you looking for? Anything in particular? Longevity? There is one guy in a D/A running a car trailer all over the USA logged over 300,000 miles with minor all brand problems. Plus you got me short term 14,000 miles mostly trouble free miles (couple self fixed Allison problems) in a 7000 LB hot rod. They DRAMAX has ran flawless not one hiccup, Are you in need of some info? Just ask I'll tell you good or bad.

MAC

Oo.

on edit:We are talking P/U here not suv right? And the new generation silverado?

 

[CUMAPART]

MAC,

At work all we drive are Chevy's. We tow with them... tow hard with them. They don't seem to hold up to well. We don't have a DMAX yet (the 98 will get traded in soon) but I'm just saying that I would like to see one used "in the real world" with that many miles on it. I'm not saying that it can't go the distance. I'll just keep putting miles on mine and you keep putting miles on yours and well, we'll just have to wait and see what happens.