Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Super Mental

[MD500E]

Well, here I am, with another round of the bombing sickness! ! I thought once I got the new turbo I was done... WRONG!!!! Now the EGT's are in check, the engine seems like it could use some more fuel. I was thinking along the lines of the DD super mentals. I alredy have the 2's so going to the 3's almost does not seem to be worth the hassle. I have heard thet the mentals are not for the street. Does anybody have some input on daily driving with them. Towing s not a big issue. Also my fuel system is all stock, but the pressure never drops below 7psi. It is mesured at the top of the fuel filter housng.

 

[banshee]

MD,



I drive daily with supermentals and I think they do great. Smoke really isn't a huge issue, and they make some impressive power while still have great idling & driving characteristics. With your PDR-40 spoolup will be really good... I'd say go for it. From what I understand they aren't that hard to get anymore.



John

 

[KLockliear]

MD500E, you need to get your fuel pressure gauge tapped in right at the inlet to the pump. Dodge sells the banjo fitting with a schrader valve in it that's a -4 fitting for a test port. While you may have good pressure at the filter housing, you probably have next to nothing going into the pump.

 

[Amianthus]

I have them and highly recommend them. Very civilized for every day driving. That's all I use them for. Those and my EZ. As long as you don't gut the engine, smoke isn't really a problem. And the power is very good. Just roll on it a little and you get all the power with little to no smoke.

 

[CUMINNTSTRKN]

i have tried a ton of injectors and imo there is not a better everyday injector than a sm. well other than a dd2. if you get a set you will be amazed at how clean they are compared to other big injectors.



as kieth said measure your fp at the vp-44, geno's garage sells a drilled out banjo kit with a 1/8 pipe thread for a gauge.



jim

 

[Devildog]

I run Super Mentals and their great, Your going to need a pusher pump to help the lift pump, with out the pusher pump your fuel pressure will drop to zero. PDR has everything you need.

 

[TxDieselKid]

Before you upgrade th larger injectors, I suggest upping the fueling system also.



I plan to use Super Mental's as a daily driver soon as the transmission goes in.



Andrew

 

[fj40charles]

Andrew,



When is this going to be? So far you're going on year #2 without hooking up that little pump wire...



Charles

 

[MD500E]

Thanks for the imput! I think I am going to go with the super mentals. Will piers give me any trouble ordering them for the street?

Next step is changing the fuel pressure reading to the injector pump.



Well, I guess its deeper into the dark side for me!

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

I have mentals and use em for daily driving. For the power enthusiast they are great. I absolutely love em. The boys are right fuel first, injectors second. I am the proud owner of my third injection pump due to fuel issues.

 

[Diesel Freak]

Loapy Idle?

Would SM's give my Little ETH that cool rough loapy Idle?



I can get it to run a little rough after a real hard pull to redline, but it clears up real quickly..... I want the same Idle that HeberRam has!





Help me please!

 

[DEZLPWR]

I think I might have to dump my III's and give the Mentals a try... . Oo. How much more power do they put out vs. the III's?

 

[Mark_Kendrick]

MD500E,

I'd definitely llok at getting rid of those banjo fittings. I like to swap them out for weber fittings and -6ANs. HVAC turned me on to them and I am grateful for it.



Later,



Mark

 

[RSnaith]

Originally posted by KLockliear

MD500E, you need to get your fuel pressure gauge tapped in right at the inlet to the pump. Dodge sells the banjo fitting with a schrader valve in it that's a -4 fitting for a test port. While you may have good pressure at the filter housing, you probably have next to nothing going into the pump.

Actually, pressure drop between the filter housing and VP44 will be minimal (absolute MAX of 1 PSI, usually much less) unless you have a plugged or pinched hardline, which is very rare. An unfortunate side effect of hooking up to the VP44 is that pump pulses tend to hurt sending units, and mechanical gauges themselves. We've never had a full mechanical last for more than 3 months when hooked to the VP44. Putting a snubber on the line seems to extend life expectancy, but only by a few months. If you are concerned about pressure drop across the hardline, install a Schrader fitting at the VP44 and use a handheld gauge to read pressure, but install a permanent gauge at the filter housing, preferably post-filter.



Rod

 

[KLockliear]

Originally posted by RSnaith

Actually, pressure drop between the filter housing and VP44 will be minimal (absolute MAX of 1 PSI, usually much less) unless you have a plugged or pinched hardline, which is very rare. An unfortunate side effect of hooking up to the VP44 is that pump pulses tend to hurt sending units, and mechanical gauges themselves. We've never had a full mechanical last for more than 3 months when hooked to the VP44. Putting a snubber on the line seems to extend life expectancy, but only by a few months. If you are concerned about pressure drop across the hardline, install a Schrader fitting at the VP44 and use a handheld gauge to read pressure, but install a permanent gauge at the filter housing, preferably post-filter.

Rod

The banjo fitting in the end of the stock line at the VP44 is the biggest restriction. We saw a 6psi increase at the inlet to the VP44 just doing a line kit at the 350hp level.



Don't know what you are using for gauges, but we've had full mechanicals in our trucks for over a year with no problems.

 

[RSnaith]

Originally posted by KLockliear

The banjo fitting in the end of the stock line at the VP44 is the biggest restriction. We saw a 6psi increase at the inlet to the VP44 just doing a line kit at the 350hp level.



Don't know what you are using for gauges, but we've had full mechanicals in our trucks for over a year with no problems.

If you're simply connecting the gauge to the end the stock banjo Schrader, you're not eliminating any restrictions, and your fuel pressure will be virtually the same as it is on the filter housing outlet. Of course this could change if you have an uprated lift pump or additional pressure. I was going from the numbers we've gathered on stock lift pump and hardlined equipped trucks.



On the gauge front, we wrecked 3 IssPro EVs, and 1 Hewitt isolated before we figured out what was happening. As a science project we also hooked up an Autometer electric and a Dakota electric, and both sending units were gone within a month. Again, this is on a stock hardlined system. Opening up the line ID between filter housing and VP44, and replacing the hardline with rubber hosing may tend to reduce the pulsations in the fuel system. This could be why you're seeing extended gauge life when mounting to the pump.



Rod

 

[HeberRam]

Super Mentals

I run super mentals as a daily driver unless I'm in competion for HP I move to larger injectors... . They produce very little smoke for the size and work well with larger turbos... They do tend to lope a little at idle (which I like). As others have sugguested, you should also upgrade your fuel line size to an -6an preferly as far back to the tank as possible. I would also recommend the installation of a mechancial fuel pressure gauge at or just prior to the VP-44 injection pump. These injectors along with fueling boxes require a lot of fuel, and the last thing you don't want to do is restrict the amount of fuel to the injection pump. Running at this level of power, I would also recommend a pusher pump to insure adequate fuel is being supplied at WOT situations.



Diesel Dynamics injectors have a track record for great quality and proven performance. Just make sure the rest of your engine upgrades are taken care of to get the best performance from these injectors.



Steve





P. S. As a side note, I use a Dipricol 0-30psi mechanical fuel pressure gauge w/ isolator connected to the VP-44 via a schrader valve. There is no pulsation, noise other then accuracy. No electronic senders to fail etc. Have had on over 8 mos. since first developed by Ken Jones of Diesel Performance of Utah.

 

[KLockliear]

Originally posted by RSnaith

If you're simply connecting the gauge to the end the stock banjo Schrader, you're not eliminating any restrictions, and your fuel pressure will be virtually the same as it is on the filter housing outlet.

Rod

I disagree with this. Since the banjo fitting, which is the restriction, is upstream of the schrader, pressure will be higher before the schrader (at the filter) than after (at the pump).

 

[GiesJ]

Steve -

what is your daily opperating altitude there in Herber UT?

Thanks,

Jason