What makes the 2006/2007 5.9 so much better

[MBurtch]

OK, I have a 2003 with a 305/555 or something like that. What makes the 2006/2007 5. 9's such a sought after item? What can I do to improve what I have? Just interested in what people have to say.

 

[rscurtis]

IMO, they're the closest thing to the '08-'09 truck without the drawbacks of the 6. 7 engine. The 305 is the most desirable 3rd generation as far as I'm concerned, with its excellent fuel economy and simpler programming. The only thing it gives up to the later 5. 9's is the fancier and quieter interior.

 

[CBlack]

I remember reading somewhere that Cummins has said that the last couple of years of the 5. 9 were its most refined (read best) engine of the HPCR 5. 9 series.

 

[Tinman]

I think it's because of they are the latest MY trucks that don't have the 6. 7 emissions. However, there are lots of positives about the 03-05 (48re equipped). Better cam, better timing, simpler programming - 2 injection events instead of three- no cat. The 06/07 trucks have, IMO, better aesthetics, more better interior and, being later in this engine/body combo, more refined.

 

[NavyDood]

Personally I think the 03 and 04's with the 305/555 are the best years. You get best mileage, best seats, not an ounce of emissions crud and better looks.

Get yourself a Smarty Jr. and load the 40hp tune. It will put you just a tad better than the 325hp/610tq engines.

 

[CKelley1]

the 06 to 07. 5 have the best of everything from gearing to quiet, the dual mass flywheel must be changed, the camshaft, and 50 hp nozzles, a smarty jr and a exhaust is needed to gain 40% in mpg. for those that tow heavy the free spin hubs gives a unbelieveable two wheel low reverse. in late 03 to get ready for the 04. 5 build as the good camshaft's ran out they started using the pp 04. 5's that is why some of the late 03 to 04. 5 did not get as good mpg as early 03's. we have several 06's in out fleet and once we found out how good they were we bought some used ones

#ad


#ad


#ad

 

[AEdelheit]

I just went from an 06 to an 04. 5 and I like the 04 interior and seats much better! The 06 headlights are nice and I miss the mega but other then that I dont miss the 06 interior at all.

CKelley1 , I see you posted a picture of the overhead computer mileage, just an FYI thise things are usually very far off, hand calculating is the only way to know the actual mileage, the overhead is just if you want to feel better

 

[CKelley1]

i know that. it was showing 15 when we started. the pix was taken on a long trip. it was hand calculated to 24. 8 mpg using gps. the point i was making was if you remove the in-cylinder egr you can get very good mpg. i also can not stand the 06 seats. i do not care about pretty just comfort, i got padding, leather and contact cement and did this

#ad


#ad


the headlight's are from a honda acord bi lexion hid's. many times better than stock

#ad

 

[AEdelheit]

ah cool, 24. 8 Hand calc is definitely impressive!

 

[NavyDood]

i know that. it was showing 15 when we started. the pix was taken on a long trip. it was hand calculated to 24. 8 mpg using gps. the point i was making was if you remove the in-cylinder egr you can get very good mpg. i also can not stand the 06 seats. i do not care about pretty just comfort, i got padding, leather and contact cement and did this
#ad

#ad

the headlight's are from a honda acord bi lexion hid's. many times better than stock
#ad

You have the only Dodge/Cummins 4x4 dually with the G56 that is capable of that mileage any where in the world. That means you could have easily gotten 850 miles to a tank of fuel. Sorry, not gonna happen.

 

[Grizzly]

If you want a 6 speed manual you can't beat the 04. 5 and early 05 with an NV5600.



george

 

[RCMerrill]

Where is the in cylinder for the EGR & how can i remove it. got any pictures.

 

[SDrake]

... ... ... in late 03 to get ready for the 04. 5 build as the good camshaft's ran out they started using the pp 04. 5's that is why some of the late 03 to 04. 5 did not get as good mpg as early 03's.....

I am trying to track down cause of disappointing fuel milage on my 03 w/48re. That cam information caught my eye because everything else is checking out on my truck. Just uses a lot more fuel than my 94 did making the same trips etc. Anyone with information on how to tell and what can be done, I would be much obliged.



PS. On edit: My truck has the engine mounted APPS so that mekes me think it is not a late 03. Havn't sorted out my information about that.

 

[Regcabguy]

I just went from an 06 to an 04. 5 and I like the 04 interior and seats much better! The 06 headlights are nice and I miss the mega but other then that I dont miss the 06 interior at all.



CKelley1 , I see you posted a picture of the overhead computer mileage, just an FYI thise things are usually very far off, hand calculating is the only way to know the actual mileage, the overhead is just if you want to feel better

My friend's got a '04. 5 ST and his seats are way too short. They don't offer enough length to support our legs. I don't know if it's an ST deal or not. If you go through Marathon Seat Covers,they'll line their covers with foam to soften up the seats somewhat. The only thing I miss about my 2nd gen were the seats.



As far as fuel economy goes,sounds like EFI Live is eliminating the 3rd injection event. Maybe that and a variety of tuning variables they've enabled will help with fuel economy.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I am trying to track down cause of disappointing fuel milage on my 03 w/48re. That cam information caught my eye because everything else is checking out on my truck. Just uses a lot more fuel than my 94 did making the same trips etc. Anyone with information on how to tell and what can be done, I would be much obliged.



PS. On edit: My truck has the engine mounted APPS so that mekes me think it is not a late 03. Havn't sorted out my information about that.

The cam info is interesting. I had a fairly early '03 2wd 6-speed and got good MPG with it, generally 20-22 on the highway driving 70-75mph. But where it shone was towing since it got a lot better mileage towing than either of my 12-valve trucks. I got 15-16 pulling my small travel trailer with it but with the '96 and '98 12-valves it was a consistent 12-14 with the same trailer at the same speed.



Also, as for the APPS, it has little relevance when it was built. . . there are early '03s without them engine mounted and early 04s that still had them on the engine. Look at the door of your truck and read the MDH number, it will tell you the exact age of your truck (and look at the engine tag to see the date it was built).

 

[CKelley1]

Your truck uses in- cylinder egr for smog reduction. They also extend fueling duration and retard the timing to keep peak heat and pressure down. Since the third injection pulse is so late in the cycle the egt is very hot compared to a 03 but the peak temp where the no is formed is actually lower. i will try to keep it simple, the cam exhaust lobe is ground to leave burnt exhaust gas in for the next cycle. change the cam to a pdr or colt. the hamilton is ground more for kids who are after power, we just want low end torque and mpg. change or hone the nozzles to ddp 35 to 50 hp. ddp does not list the 35 but they do supply them. the 50 are stock. the reason the 35 is a little better is because as the nozzle wears it wears to more hp, that is why the truck gets better mileage as the truck nears 75,000 miles. after 50 hp the truck drops to stock mpg at about 80hp. get a smarty jr leave the torque set on default set timing to 4 and on tow or sw2 as it is called. get a fbd turbo back straight pipe kit 5". get a m090072 resonator and a m090535 muffler and 4 clamps from ryder truck parts. for the first one i did it took me 5 hours. after about the 10th one i can do it in about 3 hours. it takes longer to remove the old one than you think. i install them by my self and you do not need any special tools. i have my own shop and change the cams and nozzles here. you will probably have to pay labor. do the nozzle change at the same time as cam to save labor. send me your email and i will send pix. use the left over pipe to extend the exhaust out further to keep the fenders cleaner. from ah64id There is no external EGR on any 5. 9. The 04. 5-07 meet the 04 emissions by utilizing "in-cylinder" EGR. The 4 big ways this was done was cam, pistons, timing, and turbo.



The cam lobes are timed so that the intake is a longer duration, and the exhaust is very short (shorter than any other Cummins in a Dodge) and the exhaust closes sooner to keep more gasses in the cylinder, this decreases combustion temp.



The pistons are a non-reentrant design and don't promote as good of air movement and combustion, again reducing peak combustion temps (and makes the pistons really easy to melt)



The timing is retarded to again reduce peak cylinder pressure and combustion temps, and to raise the EGT's to help the Cat work.



The Turbo has a very inefficient tubrine wheel and small housing, this provides backpressure on the manifold to again reduce the exhast scavanging effect.



The 03-04 actually has the same cam, and the turbine is even smaller, but its the combo of the timing and the pistion in the 04. 5-07's that completes the effect.

 

[AABEN]

I am trying to track down cause of disappointing fuel milage on my 03 w/48re. That cam information caught my eye because everything else is checking out on my truck. Just uses a lot more fuel than my 94 did making the same trips etc. Anyone with information on how to tell and what can be done, I would be much obliged.



PS. On edit: My truck has the engine mounted APPS so that mekes me think it is not a late 03. Havn't sorted out my information about that.

When you have more HP you will use more fuel. My son had a 99 that got more milage than my 03. That is why the fuel milage changes as they add the HP 07 up get less than my 03. Your rearend gearing will make a diffrent in milage.

 

[rscurtis]

That's interesting that your '99 does better than your '03, as the 24 valve second generation trucks were not noted for fuel economy. My signature truck gets better mileage than my '95 did on the highway, although the '95 had the FE edge on local driving. This could be because it weighed a little less and had a better lock-up strategy on the torque converter. OTOH, the '03 has the benefit of a free-breathing 24 valve head and variable injection timing.

 

[Tinman]

Darn it. I just changed out my nozzles of some DDP 50s. I noticed that DDP used to offer the 25-35 nozzles but they aren't listed on their web page any more so I figured they did 't offer them. I'd have preferred the 35s for optimum mileage. Oh well.



What is the cam timing for the 6. 7 engines? Since it uses such heavy EGR, does it use the 06 cam timing or something different.



What the best stock cam (for performance and mileage)?



When I changed my cam to a PDR cam, I noticed a significant improvement in smoke, a little low end grunt, and a little better mileage. I didn't see quite the mileage improvemnt some others have seen. Maybe a 1mpg. I got about 2 mileage improvement with the advanced timing of the Smarty and about 1 with the Dynatrac hubs.

 

[Tinman]

I have an '03 and '06. The '06 was the first year of the TIPM (electronic fuseblock). I'd rather have an '05. Minor point. My '06 is developing some rust on the inside bottom of the door panels - too soon IMHO.

The TIPM is a serious weak link. Expensive and very easily destroyed.