Turbo Mounted Exhaust Brakes

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Within the next few weeks I was planning to add a BD turbo mounted exhaust brake along with the Ted J. 4" exhaust system. Today I got a flier in the mail describing the US Gear D-Celerator exhaust brake that mounts under the truck. The flier explains why turbo mounts are no good. Without stating everything, they mention reduced exhaust opening area at the turbo, higher temperature at the brake, changing the turbo outlet air swirl, etc. Not sure what to believe - sure need opinions from those of you with different types of brakes before any serious $'s are invested. Thanks

 

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ISB RAMBO, I remember this issue came up over a year ago. There was an excellent rebuttal that knocked the US Gear D-Celerator theory out of the water. I will try to find that information on my home computer tonight. I do recall that one drawback with the US Gear is that you could easily knock it off if you ever take your truck off-road. I'll try to get back to you.

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David Dressler
(Ordered) 2001 Driftwood 3500 Quad Cab 4x4, 155 inch WB, 5. 9L HO Cummins Diesel (ETH), 6-Speed HD Manual (DEE), SLT Plus, 3. 54 Anti-Spin Axle, Camper Special Group, Trailer Tow Group, Leather, Sliding Rear Window, YG7 (2 additional gallons of gas).
"Diesel, it's not just for breakfast!"

 

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Forgot to add sig.

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Stan

2001 2500 SLT+ Quad Cab, 6 speed, ETH, 4X4, LWB, 3. 54 LSD Trailer Tow, Camper Special, 241HD, Tow Mirrors, Bright White

 

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Forgot to add sig.

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Stan

2001 2500 SLT+ Quad Cab, 6 speed, ETH, 4X4, LWB, 3. 54 LSD Trailer Tow, Camper Special, 241HD, Tow Mirrors, Bright White

 

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FYI. The claims by US Gear may be found here: http://www.usgear.com/alert.htm
Now to find the rebuttal

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David Dressler
(Ordered) 2001 Driftwood 3500 Quad Cab 4x4, 155 inch WB, 5. 9L HO Cummins Diesel (ETH), 6-Speed HD Manual (DEE), SLT Plus, 3. 54 Anti-Spin Axle, Camper Special Group, Trailer Tow Group, Leather, Sliding Rear Window, YG7 (2 additional gallons of gas).
"Diesel, it's not just for breakfast!"

 

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David, that's what I got in the mail and why I'm confused. Sure want to put this truck together correctly the first time.

(Curious as to why I had the double signatures 2 minutes appart - thought it was only entered once)

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Stan

2001 2500 SLT+ Quad Cab, 6 speed, ETH, 4X4, LWB, 3. 54 LSD Trailer Tow, Camper Special, 241HD, Tow Mirrors, Bright White

 

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Stan, I was in your same boat when I started researching the exhaust brakes a couple of years ago. I will be installing a Jacob's E-Brake on my Ram as soon as it arrives. What I found is that there are many quality exhaust brakes out there. Many people have had great successes with various brands. I will be installing the Jacob's E-Brake because I think it best suited my needs:
1) It is a top quality product.
2) It attaches directly to the ECM (no floor mounted microswitches.
3) It is made be the engine manufacturer and supplied by both Cummins and Mopar thus warranty issues might be less of a concern.
4) My load will not require the extra RHP as offered by some of the other brands (i. e. this will actually lead to extra rear tire wear if used often-which I plan to!).
Choose the one that best suits your needs. Dave Fritz over at http://dodgeram.com/ has some excellent articles on all the popular exhaust brakes (look under "technical"). Good luck.

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David Dressler
(Ordered) 2001 Driftwood 3500 Quad Cab 4x4, 155 inch WB, 5. 9L HO Cummins Diesel (ETH), 6-Speed HD Manual (DEE), SLT Plus, 3. 54 Anti-Spin Axle, Camper Special Group, Trailer Tow Group, Leather, Sliding Rear Window, YG7 (2 additional gallons of gas).
"Diesel, it's not just for breakfast!"

 

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I did the U. S. Gear De-celerator on my 96. Never again. Had solinoid promblems. Then one of the by-pass lines broke right at the connection making it unusable. Held the truck back, but quality control is a definite issue. I'm going to the BD for my 99.

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99 QC 2500, SLT, 4X4, LWB, 5 Spd, Rhino Liner, Mobil Delvac 1 5W40, Auto Trim Design Runningboards, Les Schwab Wild Country Radial APTs

 

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Appreciate the feedback. Still have the same basis question - is mounting the exhaust brake after the turbo a bad idea as US Gear states? As I originally mentioned, my truck will soon have the Ted J. 4" exhaust and looking at The US Gear literature, they have a new 4" Air Activated Super Duty Model - is this a good idea with the ETH and new exhaust?? Right now I'm totally confused and need some expert opinions - will only go down this road once and need to select the 'high road' the first time. (If turbo mount makes sense, any comments about the various brands are well apreciated). Thanks again

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Stan

2001 2500 SLT+ Quad Cab, 6 speed, ETH, 4X4, LWB, 3. 54 LSD Trailer Tow, Camper Special, 241HD, Tow Mirrors, Bright White

 

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ISB Rambo:
Two observations:

1) Mr. McCrickard offers only conjecture, no facts or test results. That tells me his position is questionable. If He (USGEAR) were correct in their position, this simple test would prove their point. First take a stock TD and dyno it for max ouput. Second install brand X brake and redyno. Third remove brand X brake and install US Gear brake, redyno. IF what he claims is true, the numbers would substantiate their claim. Since they did not perform this (or any other) simply, inexpensive demonstration, I can only assume that they know there is little performance difference between the two types of brakes.

2) The ONLY ebrake Cummins will warrant the engine with is a turbo mount Jacobs. You're SOL with anthing else. That tells me a lot more than McCrickard's pictures or rhetoric every will.

Another thing, I don't buy his nonsense about lost performance due to restricted area being significant. You know why? Cause our turbos have these things called "wastegates". You know what they're for? To DUMP exhaust gasses around (bypass) the turbo when the turbo output exceeds the engines design limitations. Lost of guy's on this site have vented their frustrations 'cause the stock wastegate limits turbo output to about 20 psi. Some have gotten around this limitatin by using "boost" modules have been able to push turbo output to 30 psi and more and that's with turbo mount ebrakes installed. The point is, there's plenty of turbo headroom to make up for the "slight" reduction in performance due to restrictions.

Finally, let's cut to the chase. How does the US Gear perform in braking compared to the turbo mounts (after all, that is why we install them isn't it?)? Well, according to BD, not very well thank you. Again, no test results from US Gear.

My recommendation: If you want to preserve your 5/100,000 engine warranty, get the Jacobs/Cummins brake. If you want the best performing ebrake, get the BD. If you can bet a better deal on a Pac-brake, why not. But I would install one of these three before the US Gear.

Good Luck (and keep your hand over your head to save the watch!).
Ron.

PS. One final thought, if you install a US Gear down in the tailpipe section of your exhaust system, you stand a chance of blowing your exhaust systme apart. Good exhaust braking needs 30 to 40 psi of pressure and our mufflers and resonators were not designed to withstand that kind of pressure but the turbo is.



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'00,2500,4x4,QC,LB,6spd,3. 54,4wABS,Camper-Trailer packs,BD Brake,Pullrite 20. 5K 5hitch,Tekonsha EnvoySV,CobraCB,Flame Red/Silver.

 

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Ron, thanks for putting it all together - it makes sense. I was at the Raleigh RV show today and talked with a dealer, that besides selling product (including the BD and US Gear exhaust brakes) installs the brakes and he states the BD is better and to forget the advertising by US gear for the reasons you stated. I'll have to look at the Jacobs brake a little closer but at least the question of turbo mount is taken out of the picture. Thanks

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Stan

2001 2500 SLT+ Quad Cab, 6 speed, ETH, 4X4, LWB, 3. 54 LSD Trailer Tow, Camper Special, 241HD, Tow Mirrors, Bright White

 

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ISB RAMBO, I'm extremely pleased with my BD exhaust brake. After careful research, I believe the BD exhaust brake is the highest quality unit on the market. It also has the highest retarding hp. figures and creates the least amount of exhaust restriction. In addition, the BD brake also boasts the highest opening and closing exhaust brake valve pressures which make it the least likely to have a stuck valve.

RonVB, the BD exhaust brake is the safest (for your engine) of all the brakes on the market. The small diameter stainless steel tube which runs from the exhaust brake to a pressure switch mounted to the exhaust brake control assembly, will not allow the system to over pressure thereby eliminating the possibility of floating your exhaust valves. This design is why BD attains the high retarding hp. figures they do. However, I have noticed BD has eliminated the pressure line/switch assembly from their most recent brakes. I was told testing had shown that these items were no longer necessary. Was the design changed that incorporated a new, over pressure safety device?

Piers, could you expand on the ommition of the pressure valve and line?

The US Gear D-Celerator should have ALL upstream exhaust system joints, welded the entire circumference.

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'98. 5 2500 QC 4x4, (BLACK) SLT Sport, ISB, LWB, 3. 54 LSD, A/T, Glasstite Vision II canopy, Line-X bed liner, 285/75R16 BFG A/Ts on 16x8 M/T Challengers, Warn 4X Boards, Mopar fender flares, front and rear NW Custom stainless steel/rubber mud flaps, Mag-Hytec diff. cover and trans. pan, Edelbrock IAS shocks, Mopar tow hooks, Jordan Research Ultima 2020 trailer brake controller, VDO Vision gauges, PIAA Dual Sport 900 auxiliary lights and Super White bulbs, BD exhaust brake and TorqLoc, Prime-Loc fuel filter relocation kit, Bosch 275 hp. injectors, VA CPC, DD Boost Module, Banks Stinger wastegate actuator, "Scotty Air System", BLACK '00 valve cover, Hitco/Geno's exhaust blanket, Femco/Geno's EZ Drain oil pan plug, Banks Stinger 4" dia. stainless steel exhaust system, plus many other trick modifications

'00 Polaris 6x6