New Truck - Questions

[JFielding]

New member. This is my first post. I bought an '05 2500 last week with the NV5600 and 4x4, QC, Short bed. I had an '02 Outback that came apart on me at 40K miles. The '05 is really fun to drive. Loads of room inside. Tube steps go on tomorrow. Rear wheel liners next week. I kept my '94 2500 auto, 4x2 with 104k miles. Still runs great, mild bombs. My wife is short and has a handicap in her right leg. She can reach the fuel and brake easily but is unable to reach the clutch to the floor. I went to a medical supply and got a pedal extension which works great. Chrysler is paying for it.



I tow a 26 foot Nomad trailer and guess the weight at 6-7K lbs. I have an ex brake on the '94 which works great. The trailer has its own brakes. Wondering if an ex brake is needed with the NV5600 and the rig I'm towing.



Also wondering about eventual engine mods. EZ or TST. What do you gain on a 6 speed with those things?



Thanks

Joe

 

[JLovas]

Welcome aboard Joe!



If I were pulling a trailer through the mountains, I would get an exhaust brake just for an added safety feature. I'm in the flats here in ND, and don't consider it necessary... plus I think to myself that I can buy a lot of brake pads for the pice of an exhaust brake. But like I said, if I were doing the mountains, I'd be the first in line at the parts desk to get one.



As far as engine mods, I have the old HO Cummins (305/555) with the NV5600 and have added the TST. The TST can produce VIOLENT amounts of power!!! This can be lots of fun, but it makes me realize that I need to do more upgrades to my pickup. My stock clutch wants nothing to do with that TST and I can slip the clutch in 2/2 when I floor it. The TST is tough on the stock turbo too, and mine barks a fair amount when accelerating. I kept the stock boost elbow to help eleviate some of the problem, but a new turbo is going in after a SB clutch.



I personally chose the TST because it maintains stock rail pressures, which was important to me. Power levels 1/1 just changes the timing, and I can feel an increase in power with just that. If I can remember where I put my winning lotto ticket, I would have that SB clutch in, some kind of turbo (unsure on brand as of now) and I would probably do 99% of my driving on level hp 2/tq 3 because its such a big bump in power! But at any rate, have fun with it!

 

[GCross]

Engine mods can void your warranty so be careful what you do. Fueling chips will set a code that you can't erase. This is a $12,000 engine and if you think that squeezing a few more ponies out of it is worth the risk, go for it.



-George-

 

[JFielding]

Thanks for the input guys.

George, I agree that mods to this engine seem like overkill and maybe very expensive. I didn't mod my '94 until it had over 100K on it. It needed the modest increase. I was just wondering if the gain in power for the 325/610 with the NV5600 was even worth considering in the future. The 6 speed is so close in gearing, until 5th and 6th gears, that it would seem a wasted effort. Probably works great on an auto trans.



Joe

 

[robert4570]

congrats , welcome on board and be glad you got one of the last 5600's.