Poor drivability; 2011 Manual with 3.42 Gears

[RVTRKN]

Is there an aftermarket tune that allows an owner to start a regen rather than the truck doing automatically, that way I can plan my own strategy and block the regen when its inconvenient. I have no interest in adding power, even at 305HP, I'm happy with it.

 

[AH64ID]

I don't believe so. There may be a way to manually start a regen, but blocking one would be ill-advised.

 

[RVTRKN]

Unfortunately the new download to the ECM it got in 09, has it go into regen regardless of the amount of soot in the DPF. I suspect mileage will trigger one regardless, whether it needs it or not, and detunes in the lower RPM range and then surges with power in the higher RPM range. If I could see the level or the pressure drop across the DPF then I could run a regen. I never had an issue until the reprograming from Dodge. I kick myself in the ash for allowing it, every time I'm in regen in city driving, if it wasn't for the Communist State I live in, I would delete it.

 

[schmalda]

The Christmas break has afforded me some time to reengage my truck's drivability issues…. Summarizing my situation to date:

I purchased my 2011 manual trans diesel truck in spring of 2011, after driving for a few months I noticed a few undesirable behaviors, to pin point what exactly was going on I hooked my truck up to a low tech datalogger (poor sample rate) and plotted throttle position and fueling to better understand the issues. I found two core problems:
1) Persistent fueling; after quickly removing throttle (ie shifting) the engine continues to fuel for 1 to 2 seconds.
2) Poor power; if you enter 2nd or 3rd gear at rpms higher than ~1800rpms with WOT the engine will only deliver 75% fuel, while the previous gear and the gear would provide 100% fuel at WOT.

I took my issues to the Dodge dealer they understood and recognized the issues but could not do anything to correct as all parameters w/within tolerance; they contacted STAR who provided no assistance. I also worked back channels thru the lead Cummins Engineer for Chrysler motors (I'm an Engineer at a major Defense Contractor who uses the Cummins V903 motor in its vehicles); this effort was also fruitless. So I read a couple of books on Diesel Performance including ‘High Performance Diesel Builders Guide' by Joe Pettitt and read the TDR's Turbo Diesel Buyer's Guide.

Looking for more information I had some correspondence with H&S Technical Support regarding my two key issues.
1) Persistent fueling: H&S Tech confirmed this behavior is common with manual transmission trucks. H&S stated it is a “programming feature to combat surging”. Below is a link to a video of a truck similar to mine that has the same issue; note at 0:13sec: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WftlWDdmp4
H&S has not done much with this problem, they stated that “We worked this on the 6. 4L Ford trucks for a while (removed what Ford calls the "anti jerk" fuel algorithm), and it caused horrible surging issues for those that couldn't hold their right foot steady”.
2) Poor power: H&S Tech confirmed this behavior is common with manual transmission diesel Ram trucks. H&S explained: “When we first started tuning on a Manual Truck it was very prominent that it would not fully fuel (68 - 80% fueling) on some gears unless you let the RPM drop below 1600 or so. It was frustrating to say the least. We have however, found that our tuning will fix most of these issues. Some of this logic can be attributed to Torque Management trying to save the clutch from any slip. (Peak Torque is made around this RPM). H&S tuning does do away with MOST of these cases, but unfortunately we cannot promise anything to the end user. The logic used by the ECM is the entire fuel control and by removing too much of the control you get a very erratic running truck. ”

Given my research I've decided to systematically upgrade the truck…. .
1. Baseline current performance (flash: 18-012-12, 3/19/2012) using Auto Enginuity (http://www.autoenginuity.com) data logger.
I'll be focusing on the basics such as RPM, Acceleration rate and ground speed to measure performance. I'll then expand the baseline to record things like boost, fuel delivery, throttle position, ect. Immediately before and after each upgrade I'll be gathering a datalog set to make sure ambient conditions are similar. This is not perfect but it's the best I'll be able to do given my time constraints.
2. Have Dealer update with latest Flash (flash: 18-012-12, 11/21/2012)... ..... then baseline performace with data logger
3. Install Banks Air Intake... ..... then baseline performace with data logger
4. Install H&S Mini Max and Flo-Pro 5” exhaust with muffler... ..... then baseline performace with data logger
5. At this point I'll likely need a new South Bend clutch…. . then I'd move onto water-methanol injection by Snow Performance.

Once I have some meaningful information from above steps I'll start a new thread to keep the community up to date and hope that the information helps someone else.

Thanks,
David

 

[Bob4x4]

From 2010 and newer it is very common for any worthwhile air intake system to trip codes,the ones that do not add much flow will not. I won't mention the names of the systems that do not add enough to set codes

 

[EDankievitch]

Ok, I have to ask how is your MPG with this H@S programing?

 

[RVTRKN]

Schmalda, its nice to see you updated the thread, and glad to see you have it somewhat under control. I now have to replace my clutch from the surging RPM's after 2000 RPM, that I have posted about earlier. I was pulling a grade heavy and went into regen without knowing it, when I was accelerating, I hit that magical 2K RPM mark and BAM there went my clutch. I plan on the Solid flywheel and the SB DD3250 in May and having the trany inspected then a girdle added for extra stiffness to the weak aluminum case.

 

[schmalda]

Ok, I have to ask how is your MPG with this H@S programing?[/QUOTE

I don't have the Mini Maxx installed yet that is step 4 in my previous post it will likely take a couple of months for me to answer your question. I will be posting data like this in a new post in the comming weeks and months.....

Thanks,
David

 

[Gearjam'r]

Hey schmalda I have the same air box,exhaust & H&S plus some. I don't know what your future plans are for your truck but if you are not going to be hotrodding it any I dont think you will need to go with the 5"flo pro. You could get away with some flo~pro DPF delete piping and save some $$ for something else like a FASS system or some ARP 625 head studs. I did the 5" system and later realized I didn't really need to go that big. You might want to do some more research on the meth system too. I was going that way but the more I asked around the more I was told that for the little gains you get back It really don't pay for itself. IMOA
Give a call to Richard @ Glaicer Diesel Performance,He's a great guy to talk to and to do business with.
Hope this helps.