Pacbrake or Cummins E-brake

[Big A]

Fellas,

I need your infinite wisdom once again. I want to make a final decision on which brake to get. I have decided on one of the these two. Which would you recommend?

Also,Which is less restrictive with the butterfly open?

I'm towing in the Rocky Mountains,mostly.

I'm basically at around the 20,000 lb GCWR of my truck.

Thank You

Big A

 

[Got Smoke?]

Pac Brake is the best for your $$. That's what everybody keeps telling me.

 

[RustyJC]

I've had a Jacobs e-brake on the truck since delivery - it was a dealer-installed Mopar accessory negotiated as part of the deal. It has worked fine and never given any problems whatsoever. Maintenance free - I've never touched it.



The only downside is, since it's a direct turbo mount brake, I can't upgrade down the road to an HX40 or larger turbo without changing out the e-brake.



Our truck spends 90% of its working time towing a 36' triple slide 5ver. GCW loaded and on the road is 21,180 lbs (21,500 lb GCWR).



Rusty

 

[RHARVEY]

US Gear ...



http://www.usgear.com/dcelerator.htm



They are a little expensive. . but it is a great product. . Check the link... This way you can upgrade to any turbo in the future and you dont have to worry about the brake.



Rick

 

[K_Arts]

PacBrake all the way. Got one on my truck and wouldn't turn it in for the world.



My brake is about 2 years old. I only use it in the winter... I have not done anything to it PERIOD... and it has not stuck on me once. It just keeps working!!! I will be putting a pacbrake on the wifes truck here pretty soon.



Kev

 

[TPCDrafting]

I like the pac. It too has been trouble free. I know a few others locally that have them and have also been trouble free.

 

[Carlton Bale]

I think if you asked 5 different people you'd get almost that many different answers. Mine, of course, is a little biased.



I have not used a PacBrake, so I can't give you a direct comparison. However, I can tell you that Cummins has performed thousands of hours of field testing on the Jacobs/Cummins/Mopar brake. There have also been multiple endurance tests in test cells with fully instrumented engines. This is to insure that exhaust back pressure, valve float, push tube loading, and turbo seal pressures are all within specification. Durability, of both the engine and the brake, are our primary concern.



Installing a brake produced by another manufacturer will not automatically void your entire warranty. However, if you experience a failure that is related to the exhaust brake, only the Cummins/Jacobs brake will guarantee you that the engine warranty is still in effect. That is why we spend so much time validating engine reliability.



Good luck with your decision; you will undoubtedly enjoy the extra braking power in the Rockies.

 

[RHARVEY]

Does Jacobs offer a brake that will work with the HX40 turbos???



Rick

 

[Ron Bissett]

Pac-brake cheaper better made works fine two years . add signature to your post use button on top of page to access profile and add this lets every one know what truck you have if it is auto stick 2x4 or 4x4 year model and mods . Ron in Louisville ky

 

[Carlton Bale]

Originally posted by RHARVEY

Does Jacobs offer a brake that will work with the HX40 turbos???



Rick

Rick,



I'm pretty sure that we do offer a brake for the HX40 but I think it is operated by compressed air. Most of our brakes are operated by compressed air except for Dodge. The brake would be available through Cummins distributiors / dealers. I'm not at my desk to find the exact part number; most of our cross-references are by engine model rather than turbocharger model. Is there a specific engine family for your HX40?

 

[RHARVEY]

It would be on my 5. 9 2500 Dodge! I will have an onboard air system for my 24" Grovers. . The reserve tank is 8 gal. and the pump will push 150 lbs. Would that system work...



Rick

 

[Mad Bomber]

B-D

I have the B-D ex brake and part of the reason I went with it was that B-D tends to work better at a lower rpms than the others. They do say to use it alot of the time to prevent carbon build up. It is nice to save the brakes and use ex brake instead. Eric Wagener

 

[Nickaru]

Carlton Bale is correct. I have the Cummins/ Jacob brake and you can't beat the $575. 00 price from www.magauto.com . I was told by the Cummins dealer that cummins now owns Jacob. I'm just mentioning the URL because I found it here last year and they were the cheapest price for an original Jacob brake. The others start at about $800. 00 and go up to $1200. 00. Hope that helps... .

 

[Casey Balvert]

I bought my Jacobs for my 2003 even though it was more $. I made the decision based on extensive testing they did with the new engine and no warrantee hassles if something were to go wrong. Even if the exhast brakes damages the motor (however unlikely) Dodge fixes it. I like the belt driven vacuum pump because it is a solid piece of equipment. I looked at them all, measured the pros and cons and made the decision that I thought was best for me and my $40,000 truck. FWIW.



Casey

 

[Roger rodbolt]

Originally posted by Big A

Fellas,

I need your infinite wisdom once again. I want to make a final decision on which brake to get. I have decided on one of the these two. Which would you recommend?

Also,Which is less restrictive with the butterfly open?

I'm towing in the Rocky Mountains,mostly.

I'm basically at around the 20,000 lb GCWR of my truck.

Thank You

Big A

Big A,

I note that you are towing max GVW in the mountains and you ask which is the least restrictive. First, I've ran the Jacob's e-brake and it is very reliable, economical and the braking part is fine. That said, the Jacob's is very restrictive when the brake is not engaged and will increase your egts with heavy load or on a higher horsepower truck. The exhaust outlet on the Jacob's was designed for the low horsepower/low boost 12 valve engines. I have forgotten the exact outlet measurement but it's around 2. 5". The 2003 Jacobs brake have a 3. 5" outlet which is MUCH better but still small enough to reduce the cooling affect of the now factory 4" exhaust. Egts on the 2003 take into consideration the higher hp engine and small turbo housing. I have no affiliation with Pac, US Gear or BD but I'd ask around and consider on of those. I've installed others but use the 4" remote mount BD on my own truck. The BD's braking performance is marginally better then the Jacob's as I have it set to a higher pressure. The higher pressure at idle, warms the truck up much faster when temps are in the single digits, but the real benefit is the horsepower and egt benefit due to low restriction when not engaged. JMHO, Larry

 

[BigMike]

Been running with my BD brake for almost 4 years. Never had a problem and it works great. I never would tow without one.

 

[JohnE]

<blockquote>&quot;... I like the belt driven vacuum pump because it is a solid piece of equipment. ... &quot; </blockquote>

Casey;

Is that part of the 2003 e-brake package? I have wondered if the electric driven pump was up to the challenge of even running the climate control system & service brakes.





Carlton;

Thanks for the information. I work with Cummins from the OEM side and know many problems that come up from product mismatch.



-John

 

[Big A]

Thank you for all the info. I know that some of the brakes have better stopping power than the Cummins brake,but is too much back pressure detrimental to the engine. Carlton, did Jacobs design the new brake for the 24 valve engine, or are they basically using an old design that was meant for the 12 valve. I guess my question is, is the outlet on the Jacobs brake 2. 5" as Larry pointed out, or is it different for the 24 valve engine.

Thanks

Big A

 

[RustyJC]

Re: Re: Pacbrake or Cummins E-brake

Originally posted by Roger rodbolt

That said, the Jacob's is very restrictive when the brake is not engaged and will increase your egts with heavy load or on a higher horsepower truck.

Towing 21,180 GCW (21,500 GCWR) 36' 5ver with aerodynamics of a brick wall. Max EGT's in Texas summer weather running through the Hill Country - 1100 degF. Yep, that danged Jacobs brake is about to melt the engine down, I guess.



Rusty

 

[cowboybarber]

I have the Pacbrake and it is the best thing that I have added to my truck as far as helping usability. I don't ever plan on changing turbos so this is not a problem. I use mine all the time, really helps for winter warm up. Also really saves those front brake pads.