High Performance Duramax

[HBarlow]

If you want a good chuckle, watch this hilarious video with audio narration by a Chevy Duramax driver pullling a loaded gooseneck flatbed who thought his "superior" Duramax would surely pass the guy in the old Dodge Cummins with a fifth wheel and Jeep in tow.



I found it on the NuWa Hitchhikers Owner's Forum. The link is in the first post on the thread.



Interesting video



It takes place during about a ten mile run in the hills on I-10 down near Junction, TX on a hot summer Texas day. The Duramax has the temp gauge pegged at 257 degrees, the tach around 3000 rpm, foot to the floor, alarm bells sounding, and the driver never could catch the guy in the old Dodge.



Harvey

 

[SHobbs]

Was posted here a while back, can't believe he won the suit too. Dang transmission looked like it was toast and the engine too who knows. His quote " Superior Duramax and the inferior Cummins. " Well he got spanked by that "inferior" Cummins.

 

[HBarlow]

SHobbs,



Sorry I posted a repeat. I didn't see it the first time around.



Tell us about the lawsuit. That is interesting. I figured he was compiling evidence for a lawsuit because I saw a title on the video with the word "lawsuit" mentioned and the narrator had a bank of instrumentation and video camera recording all the data and facts.



Harvey

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

The most amazing part was the speeds they were towing at. . . would be a pretty hefty fine in the NW

 

[SHobbs]

Harvey,



If I remember right thats his second motor. He was having all kinds of trouble with it getting hot while towing. He decided to make a video to prove his point and to show to the court. Thats if I remember correctly.

 

[HBarlow]

SHobbs,



Thanks. Interesting. After you mentioned a lawsuit some of the narrator's comments became more clear to me. He was obviously documenting the performance and overheating of his Chevrolet for some reason, rather skillfully I might add.



I bet he was successful whether it was a lawsuit, or lemon law arbitration.



Do you know where I could find "the rest of the story?"



Harvey

 

[robertyoke]

that guy is a clown! get the F out of the left lane!!!!

-robert

 

[mfburns]

Does anybody know who was in the Cummins?? Did he have any upgrades?

 

[John - K5AWO]

I didn't catch the first post on this either. My thoughts on the GM driver was "what an idiot", he just keeps his foot in the throttle even though every warning sensor on that truck is yelling "back off!".

I would wager the GM truck didn't have the right gearing for what he was trying to do. But at the same time, the old CTDs still pull their own weight and then some ...

 

[JFaulkner]

I didn't catch the first post on this either. My thoughts on the GM driver was "what an idiot", he just keeps his foot in the throttle even though every warning sensor on that truck is yelling "back off!".



I would wager the GM truck didn't have the right gearing for what he was trying to do. But at the same time, the old CTDs still pull their own weight and then some ...

Why would you "Back Off" the throttle when your making a video showing what what problems you were having with the truck for a lawsuit? If your having a cooling issue the only way to show that is to work the engine! The fact that there just happened to be another truck (reguardless of brand) doing the same work without an issue just helped his cause.

 

[fox]

If I was on the jury on that case, I would have laughed him out of the court room. A top notch idiot. The truck said to slow down. He needed a ticket too. The problem was the driver, not the vehicle. No one should run any vehicle like that, reguardless of what he was trying to prove.

Even idiot lights didn't help him protect his $$$$$$$$$$

 

[AFoulk]

I think chevy was having some over heating issues with the duramax a while back, and apparantley his was one of the affected ones. That truck should have never got that hot though, not if he was stock.

 

[JFaulkner]

If I was on the jury on that case, I would have laughed him out of the court room. A top notch idiot. The truck said to slow down. He needed a ticket too. The problem was the driver, not the vehicle. No one should run any vehicle like that, reguardless of what he was trying to prove.

Even idiot lights didn't help him protect his $$$$$$$$$$

Run a truck like what? He was driving with the flow of traffic and the truck over heated. This was a problem with that year of truck. He probably took it to the dealer and got the typical "we can't find anything wrong with it". You guys don't have a clue. I've taken semi's to Caterpillar with intermittent engine problems. Guess how we fixed the problem, we hooked it to a 70k lb GEN SET trailer and ran the crap out of it. Please explain to me how your supposed to diagnose a problem that only happens under a load WITHOUT PUTTING IT UNDER A LOAD??? Towing within the rated capacity of the vehicle at highway speeds is in no way abusing a vehicle! You actually believe that that truck should have overheated in the situation it was put in? The only problem I see with the video is the fact that he was creeping along in the left lane. Apparently the concept of using video to prove you case in court is WAY to complicated for some of you. I know I know it's just a "junk d-max" I guess if I was to take video of a 53 block cummins leaking coolant, or a vp44 taking a crap on a totally stock truck, or a 3rd gen cummins with that sweet injector knock, or a dropped valve seat or cracked plastic intercooler. You know all these things that would fall under your "The problem was the driver, not the vehicle. " BS!

 

[HBarlow]

... ... ... ... . I would wager the GM truck didn't have the right gearing for what he was trying to do. But at the same time, the old CTDs still pull their own weight and then some ...

I'm not 100% certain but don't think a buyer has ever had any gearing choices with a Duramax GM. You get a 3. 73 differential if you buy a DM/GM.



*********************************************************

I don't have a problem with what the GM owner was doing except for "leasing" the left lane. He was doing his best to document the overheating problem when pulling a load within GM's rated capacity for his truck, probably as another member suggested, to force GM to repair or replace a defective product. I hope he was successful.



If I had been a member of a jury hearing a civil suit against GM I would probably have found for the plantiff. He documented an overheating problem pretty clearly.



Harvey

 

[fox]

Ok, the warning indicators said to lift the throttle, slow down,etc.

He drove in the left lane like he owned it.

He compared it to a known superior engine. Just because it was an old Dodge doesn't mean a light duty newer truck will compare!!!

The Cummins is a medium duty engine, Duramax is light duty.

If my employees ignore the guages, dash lights, I call them less than idiots.

If his oil pressure light came on should he ignore that too???

He proved that truck was not capable of towing that load.

He proved he is not concerned with the rules of the road.

Just because he was under a load limit that does not account for the wind load does it mean it should pull it??

Dollars spent does not always buy a superior vehicle.

He should have let up on the poor truck when the first overheat indicatios happened and take that video to his court or whatever he was after. Continuing to video his abuse was a mistake.

 

[JFaulkner]

Ok, the warning indicators said to lift the throttle, slow down,etc.

He drove in the left lane like he owned it.

He compared it to a known superior engine. Just because it was an old Dodge doesn't mean a light duty newer truck will compare!!!

The Cummins is a medium duty engine, Duramax is light duty.

If my employees ignore the guages, dash lights, I call them less than idiots.

If his oil pressure light came on should he ignore that too???

He proved that truck was not capable of towing that load.

He proved he is not concerned with the rules of the road.

Just because he was under a load limit that does not account for the wind load does it mean it should pull it??

Dollars spent does not always buy a superior vehicle.

He should have let up on the poor truck when the first overheat indicatios happened and take that video to his court or whatever he was after. Continuing to video his abuse was a mistake.

I love the whole Cummins is a medium duty engine crap. Well technically the D-max is used in medium duty trucks as well. (kodiak) No I'm not saying that the D-max is a superior engine but that argument is retarded. If you put a small engine like the 5. 9/6. 7 or the 6. 6L D-max in an actual medium duty truck you'll find out what a weak gutless wonder they really are. Second, you seriously can't believe that a coolant issue and a oil pressure issue are the same. You can overheat an engine without killing it, you can't run one without oil, no matter what the goofy infomercial at 3:00 AM tells you. Please tell me the "rules of the road". I know it's stay right to be considerate, but very few states have an actual left lane law, so without knowing the state this took place that argument is also retarded. Maybe I'm just bias since I know someone that this kind of thing has happened to. A friend had a Kenworth with an N14 Cummins that had a bearing issue and was rebuilt at least 4 times under warranty. So being tired of them (the morons at cummins) simply patching it up, the next time it started to knock he held it to the floor and waited for the bang. Guess what they fixed it right the next time.



Funny how some idiots are quick to judge a products quality by one bad run when it's not the brand they like. But then completely ignore the problems with their brand. There are those who love the Ford Pinto, or AMC Pacer, Pontiac Fiero, Chevrolet Corvair just to name a few. You know those vehicles with less than average quality or safety standards, but the brand loyal overlook these problems but are quick to point out others.

 

[CNeubauer]

I love the whole Cummins is a medium duty engine crap. Well technically the D-max is used in medium duty trucks as well. (kodiak) No I'm not saying that the D-max is a superior engine but that argument is retarded. If you put a small engine like the 5. 9/6. 7 or the 6. 6L D-max in an actual medium duty truck you'll find out what a weak gutless wonder they really are. Second, you seriously can't believe that a coolant issue and a oil pressure issue are the same. You can overheat an engine without killing it, you can't run one without oil, no matter what the goofy infomercial at 3:00 AM tells you. Please tell me the "rules of the road". I know it's stay right to be considerate, but very few states have an actual left lane law, so without knowing the state this took place that argument is also retarded. Maybe I'm just bias since I know someone that this kind of thing has happened to. A friend had a Kenworth with an N14 Cummins that had a bearing issue and was rebuilt at least 4 times under warranty. So being tired of them (the morons at cummins) simply patching it up, the next time it started to knock he held it to the floor and waited for the bang. Guess what they fixed it right the next time.



Funny how some idiots are quick to judge a products quality by one bad run when it's not the brand they like. But then completely ignore the problems with their brand. There are those who love the Ford Pinto, or AMC Pacer, Pontiac Fiero, Chevrolet Corvair just to name a few. You know those vehicles with less than average quality or safety standards, but the brand loyal overlook these problems but are quick to point out others.

The medium and light duty ratings are the official ratings the mfg's put on the engines based on duty cycle and intended use. The 5. 9/6. 7L Cummin's engines were designed from the start to be used in farm and construction equipment and medium duty trucks where a light duty engine like the Duramax or Powerstroke doesn't have a chance of living very long. In farm tractors engines are generally rated at much lower hp levels than in trucks but they will often be ran at 100% load for hours at a time which would be like sled pulling for several hours without stopping.

 

[JFaulkner]

The medium and light duty ratings are the official ratings the mfg's put on the engines based on duty cycle and intended use. The 5. 9/6. 7L Cummin's engines were designed from the start to be used in farm and construction equipment and medium duty trucks where a light duty engine like the Duramax or Powerstroke doesn't have a chance of living very long. In farm tractors engines are generally rated at much lower hp levels than in trucks but they will often be ran at 100% load for hours at a time which would be like sled pulling for several hours without stopping.

OOOOH I like the word "official"! That must mean there is no room for debate huh? Keep in mind your pickup truck claims it's "HEAVY DUTY" which they are FAR from.

 

[JDiepstra]

JFaulkner, do you even have a Dodge? Geez!

 

[HBarlow]

I love the whole Cummins is a medium duty engine crap. Well technically the D-max is used in medium duty trucks as well. (kodiak) No I'm not saying that the D-max is a superior engine but that argument is retarded. If you put a small engine like the 5. 9/6. 7 or the 6. 6L D-max in an actual medium duty truck you'll find out what a weak gutless wonder they really are. Second, you seriously can't believe that a coolant issue and a oil pressure issue are the same. You can overheat an engine without killing it, you can't run one without oil, no matter what the goofy infomercial at 3:00 AM tells you. Please tell me the "rules of the road". I know it's stay right to be considerate, but very few states have an actual left lane law, so without knowing the state this took place that argument is also retarded. Maybe I'm just bias since I know someone that this kind of thing has happened to. A friend had a Kenworth with an N14 Cummins that had a bearing issue and was rebuilt at least 4 times under warranty. So being tired of them (the morons at cummins) simply patching it up, the next time it started to knock he held it to the floor and waited for the bang. Guess what they fixed it right the next time.



Funny how some idiots are quick to judge a products quality by one bad run when it's not the brand they like. But then completely ignore the problems with their brand. There are those who love the Ford Pinto, or AMC Pacer, Pontiac Fiero, Chevrolet Corvair just to name a few. You know those vehicles with less than average quality or safety standards, but the brand loyal overlook these problems but are quick to point out others.

I think you are missing the point. Nobody claimed the little ISB was powerful when installed in a MDT but, in fact, before Dodge contracted with Cummins to buy and install ISB engines in the Dodge platform the ISB was a MDT engine. The ISB was commonly installed in Class 6 and 7 trucks grossing up to 60k pounds. I'm sure they weren't fun to drive but they were tough enough to pull the load for several hundred thousand miles without overheating or early failure. Prior to Daimler owning Freightliner and dictating that only MB engines could be installed in FL Business Class trucks the ISB was very common in MD FLs. There are still thousands of late '90s FL-50s, FL-60s, and FL-70s in use in those trucks. Lots of them are used by full-time RVers to pull their heavy 5ers. Lots of hotshotters, and lots of box trucks also use them.



The Cummins ISB 5. 9 was offered as an optional engine in Ford F650 and F750 MDTs up until the ISB6. 7 engine was introduced. A GM Duramax has been the primary engine in GM 4500/5500s but has never been an option in the GM 6500 or larger trucks.



The federally-mandated engine data plate (now decal) on Cummins ISB engines clearly describes the engine as intended for "Medium Heavy Duty Applications. " The Duramax label identifies it as a "Light Heavy Duty" engine.



Like the poster above asked, are you a Dodge Cummins owner or just on this site to criticize the product? You might be happier over on the Duramax website. You are awfully generous with your "retarded" and "idiot" labels for the other TDR members who you disagree with. Is that the only way you are capable of communicating?





Harvey