PDR HX40 versus Dodgezilla HX40/35 Hybrid

[HeavyHauler]

Hey fellas, I don't believe this comparison has been done before so I'm pretty interested in what you have to say. These are the two I that I have narrowed it down to, but both seem to have their good points.



Within a month or two, my complete setup will be Mach 1. 6 injectors, Edge EZ, Scotty II, 4" exhuast, and an adjustable TST PowerMax. I only intend to use the TST for play or for when it's needed when I'm towing (which I'm not doing much of right now). I will probably run with it off most of the time or maybe on a very low setting.



Here's a few other considerations. I really like Piers' reputation. Everyone seems to agree that he's one of the best when it comes to turbos and I would like to do business with him. Within a couple of years, I will probably upgrade to a set of twins, which I would like to get from Piers. This makes me think that I should go ahead and get the PDR HX40, so I can use it with that setup when the time comes.



Price - the difference appears to be $10 and from the way Piers' website reads, the price listed on his site includes the downpipe needed for the HX40. I know that the Dodgezilla doesn't need another downpipe.



My first question would be do you think I need an aftermarket turbo with this setup? Most have agreed that I will, so here it goes.



What are the advantages and disadvantages of each, and which do you ultimately recommend?



Also, what kind of boost does a PDR HX40 generate? I've seen the Dodgezilla do upwards of 45psi.



Sorry so long - just wanted you to be well informed. Thanks for the help once again!

 

[jwilliams3]

If your a manual go with the PDR40. If your a automatic I would go Dodgezilla.

In my humble opinion the Hybrid 35/40 turbos have a relatively better resale than any HX40 due to a somewhat undeserved reputation that the HX40 carries.

Piers 40's are top of line units that do not fail on a regular basis.

I ran one on my 99 for several years without a problem and made 501rwhp/1080ft lbs with it.

Some people people are making 490's in hp with their Hx40/35 hybrid turbos.



A plus on the hybrid is that you do not have to change the downpipe

 

[BPonci]

I would go with a pdr40 . (hands down) due to the fact that a hybrid still has a decent amount of drive pressure due to having a 35 exhaust side (wheel and housing) . If yor looking at big power in the future (twins) why even concider a hybrid. I have ran both as a single and in a twin configeration and have found that a pdr40 will lay the smack down on a 35/40 hybrid in a 425+hp levels. Also keep in mind that its not always boost that kills head gaskets its also drive pressue.

 

[HeavyHauler]

Well I just got off the phone with Mark at PDR and he estimated that at the best, I would only be at around 335 hp at the wheels with my Edge EZ and the 1. 6's. We didn't factor in the TST box at this point because I probably won't have it on all the time.



He told me that I'm really not at the point where I would need an HX40 right now and that I would be sacrificing some serious bottom end for the top end in my case. He stated that a PDR HX40 is great between 350-400 hp.



Also, the price shown on the website doesn't include the downpipe as the write-up suggests.



I kinda figured that I really wouldn't need a turbo with my setup so maybe I'll just wait a while and see what happens.



But please keep the opinions coming - I'll need to know sooner or later...



Thanks to those that replied so far - all great advice.

 

[tractorface]

Still on my stock turbo for just the reason you stated. Why sacrifice low end power by adding lag unless you just can't get by with the stocker anymore. I keep waiting for the technology to improve. I hate lag and don't get a chance to blast up to 110 often enought to warrant a bigger turbo. I am going to go with Mach 2. 5's soon and run a better wastegate setup to more precisely control boost. Think it'll be OK.

 

[RCone]

Let me say this about that, ha ha. I really like my DodgeZilla. I dynoed 482 at Piers with his PDR hybird and I have to say I like my DZ better. So to say a 35/40 hybrid can't handle that HP is wrong, cause it can.



So then you say, what about drive pressure. Well, actually I did measure that. And bear in mind that I have a turbo mounted exhaust brake which makes it even more restrictive. Up to about 35 psi I was running 1 to 1. Under 35 was actually running less than that. At max boost which is 42psi for me, my drive pressure was 45. Works for me.



Roger

 

[bmoeller]

HH,



Send a PM to WaynesWorld. His HTB2 from HTT has a 12cm2 turbine housing on it. He has more fuel than I do, and seems to really like it so far. Check his sig for the rest of his mods. It does a good job of clearing up the smoke when it spools up, too. He also has a BHAF, same as mine.

 

[HeavyHauler]

bmoeller - I'm actually going to be meeting up with WaynesWorld at the Mid-America Trucking Show in a couple of weeks. That will give me a good chance to get his opinions - thanks for mentioning his name.



I've looked at the HTB2, and I really like it but I know that I'm not putting out enough fuel to turn it right now. It seems like it's made for guys that could handle twins but only want one spinner for one reason or another...



On the Dodgezilla, there's no doubt that it will handle a lot of power. Wade Patton dynoed at 473hp with it making around 44psi. I was just wanted a good comparison as it looks like they are pretty evenly matched. Although I do wonder about the DZ's efficiency at that range, because City Diesel only rates it up to 450hp. There's got to be a reason behind that.



Thanks for all the posts guys - good stuff.

 

[RonA]

I talked to City Diesel about taking my Dodgezilla off and putting a DZ40 on as my secondary charger. He said that he didn't think there was a big enough difference to justify it. Said that If I didn't have a top turbo yet, to go with the 40 for more power. But it wasn't a big difference. PDR rates their towing twins at a range of 450 to 550 hp with a 35/40 hybrid on top. I think the street twins are rated up to 100 hp more than that. I have not been able to reach 450 as of yet with my Dodgezilla 14/ BHT3b 26 twins, so I do not know if those numbers appy to the Dodgezilla.

 

[jtisdale]

Up to about 35 psi I was running 1 to 1. Under 35 was actually running less than that. At max boost which is 42psi for me, my drive pressure was 45.



Roger

What size exhaust housing is that?

 

[RCone]

What size exhaust housing is that?

14wg housing

 

[Jetpilot]

Picking a turbo is tough... ... The larger it is normally means increased lag. But to really be efficient the engine needs to breath both in and out. This being said the small exhaust housings really hurt top end HP if they are run on a moderately fueled truck. You can make big HP with a tight housing (heck I have seen an HX35 make almost 450 HP) but its not the best way to do it. What you end up with is an actual loss of HP and increased egts if the exhaust housing is too tight.



Lots of guys are running tight housings to help with spoolup and they are happy with their rigs. But if you are looking for the most efficient setup then match the turbo to the job.



HH if it were me I would go with the PDR-40 and if needed run the TST box, plus this would allow for a good start towards some twins if you go that route. Well thats just my $. 02 worth.



Doug

 

[HeavyHauler]

Here's what I'm thinking right now - after talking to Piers, it got me to thinking about what I was going to do later on down the line. Instead of getting either of the two that I mentioned, I may go ahead and get a PDR HX35 with a 14cm2 wastegated housing.



Reason being, they recommend a HX35 for a set of towing twins which is what I would go with when I do get to that point. Also that would be more of what I needed right now with my current horsepower setup. I shouldn't have any lag and I figure that the PDR 35 would be a real performer with what I've got right now.



So I'm thinking that I'll put what money I was going to put on a TST towards getting my head fire-ringed and studded. I'll try to get that done this summer and then just get what I can for the twins setup as the money comes available.



It'll still probably be a year or two before I get it all done, but at least it will give me something to work towards.



Anybody have any other suggestions? Does this sound like a pretty good plan so far?



Many thanks!

 

[I-6DZL]

Am i missing something or just wrong period ??



Heres my thinking. You want a bigger turbo. You want to run twins later on. You're going to waste $$ on small injectors that will not (nor need to) spin twins. Instead of running all the time with 2 boxes on why not just get a larger set of injectors to happily spin the hx40 that you clearly want ?? I know of a person right now that is running an hx40, comp box, and edm 4's (i might be wrong there) This person also ran something like 434 horses. Tows pretty heavy often. Had no trouble pulling his lead sled enclosed trailer with a lead sled of a car in it!



In short i would say hx40, larger edm's than 1. 6's, and both of your boxes for when you want to 'play'. But you probably will not want or need both boxes until it is time for twins.



please tell me what i may have missed or misunderstood.



Pm LsFarm, he dyno'd the 4 something horse.



Curtis

 

[HeavyHauler]

Yeah... you've pretty much missed the point here.



1) I was only wanting a comparison between the two in the beginning. If you'll read the first post, you'll see that I questioned the fact that I really needed at turbo.



2) When I posted this, I was thinking that I was putting out enough fuel to turn an HX40, but after talking to Piers, I'm likely not.



3) I don't have near the cash to afford twins or larger EDM's right now. You may have a tree that grows money, but I don't. Right now, I can get by with a stock turbo and 1. 6's if I want to. But if my ultimate goal is a set of PDR twins, then I might as well start getting the parts to complete the setup.



3) If I got a huge set of EDM's right now, my truck would run incredibly hot and then I would be forced to get a turbo. Right now I have options.



4) If you can ever find a set of used set of Don's injectors, they have excellent resale value. So I'm not worried about losing much on them when I do sell them, especially since they are so popular now.



Does it make more sense now? Rather than waste money on something that I won't need in the future, I might as well think ahead and get something useful rather than having to sell a truckload of parts when I am ready for twins, when and if that day ever comes.

 

[Beast2B]

The path is different for all of us, but any way you look at it it's one slippery slide! I agree that doing it in smaller increments is best, and if you're looking to the towing twins later, go the PDR HX35 route now. Even if you want the HX40 twins later, a PDR turbo is fairly easy to sell as well.

 

[I-6DZL]

I understand now, and sorry i replied. Did not intend to step on your toes. Thought if i could add a little more light to the subject you would have more to think about, i was clearly wrong.

 

[Lsfarm]

Turbo needed?

Hello HeavyHauler with the power upgrades you are describing you don't need any turbo other than stock. You will have plenty of air except possibly when you turn the fuel box all the way up. And when you do turn the box all the way up you won't have more heat except when you have your foot on the floor.



I would recommend getting the injectors, boxes, intake and exhaust, and go out and have some fun, save your money for the bigger injectors and towing twins down the road. You may be giving away some upper-end horsepower with the small turbo, but you will gain in street drivabliity and towing flexibility.



The occasional time you have the box on 'kill' and your foot bending the floorboards will only last a few seconds and won't cause a melt down of your engine. Now if you have the box on 'kill' and decide to pull some of those hills on the freeways at 80+mph towing an 11000# box then you will be seeing high EGT's long enough to cause engine damage. Just turn down the box and keep an eye on the EGT's.



When I tow heavy I use a set of 100HP injectors and keep the box on '1'. With the HX40 I can controll EGT's pretty well except when I start to pass everything on the freeway, then I'm seeing high EGT's. If I behave myself I have no EGT issues.



Add the turbo down the road after you figure out how your rig works with the power levels you have planed. I don't think you will have to spend the $ on a fancy turbo. At least untill some other truck passes you up a long hill and you decide to never let that happen again!



My opinion and experiences, I hope they help



Greg L The noise nazi

 

[McDowra]

If it helps you any, at the Nashville dyno days the Dodgezilla made 30hp difference on my weak little truck. All I had on it was a ez box and 275 injectors. I made the mistake of using a 14wg housing, with the stock 12wg housing probably would of squeeked a few more ponies out of it.



Tim

 

[BillGotthelf]

You kind of lost me. I would leave your stock turbo alone and save the $ for your future upgrades. The Box you'll need down the road too and as you said Don M's used injectors hold their value. So buy the Box and injectors and watch your boost levels until you really can play(twins, mach 6's, etc)