New to the CRD from 12v need lil help

[WAnderstrom]

Good day fellas.

I just purchased a 2004 quad cab 2500 4wheel drive 6 speed Manual. I have had a 12v for several years know and just needed something a little bigger to haul the kids in. I could use some help with ideas on where to go from here.



The vehicle came

Strait piped with 4 inch after the stock down pipe. 3. 5 inch I think.

DR Performance chip

Air bags w/compressor



I did a trip the same day I bought it towing a 6000# Travel trailer and put in a sled deck on the bed that had 2 atv's on it. So I was Hauling about 7500#'s. I was very impressed. I never needed any more power than it provided. And got 12mpg on the entire 750 mi trip crossing several mountain passes. Half the trip at 55mph and the rest at 65mph. Not bad.

I guess my questions begin with, I know I need guages for this DR performance chip that I never heard of but fits my needs. I would like to go with one of the digital ones that will defuel if egt's get a little crazy, as I often trade off driving with less than attentive drivers. Is there a product out there? Maybe the Quad commander?

Is my current exhaust system going to be fine with just an aftermarket muffler, or do I have to purchase a whole new system that will be 4 inch turbo back?

I guess I have no idea either where some of the common problems with these trucks are either. (IE KDP in the 12ers)

I did hear that these trucks can handle a higher EGT than my 12 Valve's 1250*. What is a safe level I should be able to hold for several minutes while going up steep grades towing of course. Some of the mountain passes will are several miles of 6%+ .

At what point does this turbo lose it's effiency, again my ol 12V was at 28-29#'s.

Any help greatly appreciated

Will

 

[jelag]

I have an 04 that has 240K miles... it has towed a 22 ft trailer that weighs 22k lbs as a work truck..... we have the engine and exhaust stock... we've added air bags, exhaust brake, and air horns... . we have several who might drive it so it hasn't been changed much. . but works, and works and works... .

With the exhaust brake we went 160K miles before the first brake job... . and use the air bags to level the truck.....

If we had chipped it I think I'd add the gauges and go from there... . I personally believe that if you haven't turned the HP up much over 75 or so you don't need much else.....

Hope this helps. .

 

[BHolm]

I finally just got into my ideal third gen truck. This is number six. Mine is an '06 QC LB G56 Big Horn. The PO on my truck also straight piped it, though mine has a cat, and yours may not. For now I am feeling a little delinquent and I think I will run the exhaust as is. I plan to add a Quadzilla XZT plug and play 65hp box and maybe run a drop pipe from the airbox for more air. That is more power than I will ever need. I will run either dual pillar gauges, or maybe the dual Westach gauge in a single pod like my last truck.



For your puposes, there isn't really a gauge that does any defuelling at high egts. You could run an Edge Juice w/ Attitude monitor. That has all the readouts in a single display, gauges included, plus adjustibility. I think Bully Dog and Banks, and a bunch of others have similar products.



If the exhaust isn't all chopped up already, I would just add a muffler. Any decent muffler shop should be able to find a simple solution to the noise.



The stock turbo is good for 32-35 lbs reliably (my opinion), depends on which engine you have, the 305/555 or the 325/610, the latter having a little better turbo capable of 35 lbs steady. My '06 Mega ran 30 lbs stock, for many many hours. That is about the most I saw stock.



Not too many weak points on the common rail engines. The 600s can run 1400 degrees, they have better exhaust valves and exhaust manifolds than previous generations. The CP3 fuel pump will be overwhelmed at some HP point, of course there are solutions for all that too.



Depends on how far you want to go. I settled on just a basic upgrade for lower cost. I guess I figure if 390hp and 730 lb/ft of torque isn't enough for me, I have some kind of problem ;-)

 

[WAnderstrom]

Thanks for the replies fellas. I looked into the Quadzilla commander, they claim it will control the DRPerformance chip. Anybody use one? Would just like some 1st hand experiences with them if possible.

Jelag and Bholm, thanks for the posts. It is your experiences I read about that made me look so hard to find a 6 speed. I hope to keep this one for long time trouble free.