What Exhaust Brake do you use, how much and...

[CoreyPerez]

Hey folks,



I've spent about 2 hours flipping through all of the exhaust brake posts, and still haven't found anything that actually settles the question.



I'm going to put a poll on here and ask that EB owners fess up with what they have.



My application is a 02 6sp. I'm looking at the PACBrake, but here that the Banks can get you upto 20% increase in fuel economy. Going from a 12v to this fuel hungry 24, any thing would be great. i'm just curious if its worth the extra money.



For those that have them, can you please suggest where to get them, and the prices, or best prices / TDR Discount. How about suggestions on any problems you had mounting it. I've also seen the neat-o switch with the 2lo & EB for the shifter. I just never really found the location (that wasn't outdated) where you can purchase and the price.



Well thanks in advance, I know this is a long request, and has been done numerous times before...



Corey

 

[Ram4Sam]

BD for me...

Corey, I bought my BD from Piers, along with the shifter switch. It was real easy to install and it is probably the best mod I have done so far. If you tow, it is a must have. I went with the BD because it's max retarding power is at a lower RPM that the others. Plus, at the time, Piers had a sale on the BD that was just a few bucks more than the others.



As for Bank's claim of 20% better mileage, well, I say



Look at these articles



http://www.bd-power.com/ram/exhaustbrakes.php



and



http://www.bd-power.com/straight_facts.pdf



Although these links are from the BD page, I found them very informative and full of good info.



Sam

 

[DIESELMAN]

Coreys Signature... .

Its God's Job to forgive Bin Laden, its our job to arrange the meeting...



Being an engineer, I'm waiting on BD for the '03, me likes it!

 

[Gray Ghost]

I bought a Pac brake for my 99 from ED Percell at 1800 828 5438.

I have been very pleased with itI couldn't justify several hundred dollars more for a BD. When I traded my 99 and got an 02, I pulled the brake. I bought a sw from WALLYWORLD for $5. 00 and installed that inline. Works great. Just tear the sw apart and wrap the guts in some tape to stop the rattle. Drove my child bride nuts till I did that.

There is one difference between a 99 and an 02. The 99 cruise actuates the gas pedal and the 02 is electronic. If you install a brake for an 02 you will get a 2 sec delay. I wired mine just like my 99 was wired. I just can't turn the brake on with the cruise on. I have to hit my brakes and then activate the PAC. If I can ever figure out how to post pictures, I will post my sw assembly and shifter in Mahogany.

Sorry for the long post, just giving you my experience.

 

[Michael Hughes]

Does OEM = ebrake from Dodge, Cummins and Jacobs?

 

[GiesJ]

Corey

I posted this a while ago:



I spoke with TDR member Bob V yesterday about his Eaton fuller Kit to do this sort of thing. I highly recommend getting ahold of Bob - His knowledge and understanding of pneumatics was impressive!

I plan on getting his kit in the near future.

-- email address removed --

Do a search on Eaton Fuller and you should see some additional information.

Hope this helps,



Here's a link to Bigsaints:

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=1378&width=0

Scott helped me decide to get the EF knob. I'll be doing the 2 Lo Kit when I get a BD exhaust brake. Good luck!

J

 

[CoreyPerez]

I really want to thank you guys for all the input. There is always more information than one can actually sort through. I was hoping that we could get all the definitive information as to what people have and what they would suggest.



As far as Exhaust brakes, I really like the claim of the 20% increase with the banks, but would rather spent the lesser amount. Also, with the shifter, thats just cool!



Also thanks again for all the links that others suggested. I hope that in the future this will be a post that will help all others solve their questions.



Mike,



As far as OEM, yep. What ever the Original Equipment from the Manufacture would end up being.



Corey

 

[RustyJC]

Originally posted by CoreyPerez

As far as OEM, yep. What ever the Original Equipment from the Manufacture would end up being.

Technically, then, there is no OEM brake - you can't order a truck with an exhaust brake factory installed. The Jacobs exhaust brake is available as an aftermarket accessory from Cummins and Mopar, so I'm guessing that's what you had in mind. I voted accordingly as my Jacobs was installed by the dealer before I took delivery of my truck.



Rusty

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I have a BD brake on my 24v and have a friend that has a Pac on his 12v (with the 60 psi springs so it should be the same as the 24v one). I get far more braking out of my BD than he gets from his PAC most of the time. At high RPM's (like 2400+) they brake about the same but below that he has to use his trucks brakes to keep from running me over. Below 2000 rpm, the Pac provides very little braking whereas the BD is still pretty high. JMHO



I think you've got the Banks claim a little wrong. They claim that their brake "adds 8-10 hp over other brakes (15 or more hp with high-performance exhaust)", not that it provides a 20% increase in mileage. What they've said on here is that you need to add extra fuel in order to gain that power as well, you won't see that gain on an otherwise stock truck.

 

[CoreyPerez]

I seen that posted in another forum on here.



But you could be correct. I'm claiming that I'm ALWAYS right!



Corey

 

[klenger]

I bought the Dodge OEM brake for Mechanicsville Dodge (something like that) for about $540 1. 5 years ago. If you can get to my web site in my sig, there is a page of where to buy the Dodge brake.



My web hosting company made a change over the weekend, and the DNS has not replicated yet, so I can't get to the site from here. You might be able to.



Web site is up now for me. Buy it here: http://www.klenger.net/dodge/mechanicsville-dodge.html

 

[CoreyPerez]

Well it looks like its really a toss (for me) for the BD or PAC. I just don't know if I want to be known as a "PAC MAN" HA! Look, the village idiot made a funny!



The cost is a big concern. My main reason for looking at the cost is, its either this or my bed liner (first) I only want to work on the exhaust area once, and putting in my pyro/EB would be a good thing to take care of at one time. I'm now looking at the pusher pumps for fuel, and may jump on that also. I currently only have about 700 miles on the truck, so... .



Thanks guys, and keep em' comin!



Corey:--)

 

[Wiredawg]

I use it all the time!

I use my BD all the time: sounds cool and saves the brakes.



Wiredawg

 

[SlyBones]

Personally I went with a BD 4" remote mount. When the need to update to a PDR HX40 or larger turbo comes along I wont have to change the brake. It will still be there and working.



I am guessing/remembering back a little here, but it seems the 15hp increase over other brakes thing was because the butterfly was mounted several inches further downstream and therefore does not disrupt the airflow. Something like that anyways.



So the way I see it is



3" = 15hp gain. And the remote mount is more like 36" ( or more ) away. And 15 hp per every 3" means 12 * 15 or 180HP increase by using the remote mount brake. Seems like it well worth the cost to me

 

[RCone]

I've had 2 PacBrakes. I like em. I also notice that most responding are running manual trannys. Well, I have used it on 2 automatics. I do run an AutoLoc tho. There are those who say it doesn't work well on an auto. I will say that I wouldn't be without it when towing my 8500# (MT weight) 5ver. Just MHO.

 

[GLASMITHS]

PAC Brake

Corey: I have a Pac Brake, with auto. If BD is better I would not want it. The PAC Brake will pull you down to or below 18mph on 7% grade, with 26K pushing. Don't need more than that. Both are good products. Just look at price; and as one mentioned if you plan to mess with turbo later might put it remote.



Are you civi or AF? I retired with 20 from AF. -----

 

[dmurdock]

Pac Brake for me, bought it from Bill Kondolay and son...

 

[Bigsaint]

BD Power ! I have the 4" BD remote brake, wouldn't be without it. If you ever saw a cut away of the BD brake, you would be impressed. Very well built. Also, become aquainted with the spool valve as it does require periodic maintenance.



Scott W.

 

[klenger]

Interesting poll. I thought that the Dodge OEM would have scored much higher.

 

[rubberneck]

BD remote mount times 2. Got one on my 01, and one on a 98 12 valve. My dad has a pac brake on his first gen with 60 pound valve springs. IMHO, the BD is a better unit Built extremely well, and like mentioned earlier, i think it slows a little better at the lower/mid rpms. However i think one thing is for sure, once you own a brake, any brake, you will wonder why you didn't do it sooner. They sure decrease the pucker factor when hauling big loads down hill.