Paul Wilson
Recent Posts
Stock Duramax Turbo Upgrades!
Duramax owners are generally proud of how their stock turbos perform. They spool quickly, run hard and are capable of over 500 RWHP (once you tune it and make a few supporting modifications to handle the power). However, after driving your truck around 520 RWHP for a while, the addiction will creep in and you may find yourself shopping for more power. We all do it! For some, it may not even be about more power, it may be about EGT control under load, or it may just be the factory turbo had an issue and needs to be replaced. If you are anything like me, you will not want to replace it with the factory components if there is an upgraded, after market, charger available.
Drop-In Duramax Turbo Options
In the old days, there was no such thing as a "drop-in" turbo. You pretty much had to buy a turbo that was designed for a different application and convert it to run on your Duramax. Meaning the requirements for installation included several custom fabricated pieces to make it work.
As technology in the diesel performance industry has advanced, our options for parts have expanded. No longer do we have to use semi turbo's and roal coal to make power. Now with the common rail injection system and variable vane turbo advancements there is a real need to find a turbo that makes more power than stock, while retaining all the benefits of a stock turbo.
Benefits of a stock turbo:
- Quick Spooling
- Clean installation
- Reliable
- Serviceable by any dealer or reputable shop
- Requires no custom fabrication
However, they do lack peak power, and peak power matters! When looking for which upgraded unit to replace the stock turbo, we recommend matching the replacement as close as possible to the desired power level to minimize compromising drive-ability. Any extra capacity you buy in peak for performance will cost you low end response. Example: Looking to make 650rwhp? Buy a turbo that can just barely squeak out 650rwhp, do not buy something that's good for 850rwhp because it will drive poorly a light load.
Custom Tuning for 1998.5 - 2002 Cummins VP Trucks!
We have been tuning 06 and newer Cummins along with 2001 and newer Duramax motors for over a decade. It's been no secret in the industry that truly custom tuning on the 1998.5 - 2002 Cummins was sadly missing. However in the past there has never been a decent hardware option for us to get our files onto those trucks. Box programmers offered mild adjustments, but certainly nothing at the caliber of tuning we are accustomed to.
Now with Smarty MM3 we have the long missing hardware access to deliver tunes that are up to our standards. Creating clean, powerful tunes that drive smooth and offer the windshield experience our customers expect.
With our new test truck arriving this past weekend, our office is buzzing with excitement. Testing kicks off in the next few days and we will be bringing you the results and hopefully answering your questions though out the process. Below you will find the most common questions asked about VP tuning so far.
- Does MM3 Tuning require you to tap the pump? - Testing in process
- Will the RPM limit be raised? - Yes, but to which final level remains to be seen
- Can the Smarty Touch be updated to use MM3 software? - Yes
LML Stealth 64 VVT by DuramaxTuner.com
The Stealth 64 turbo lineup has provided Duramax and Cummins owners the perfect drop-in, upgraded turbo option to net 80-120 extra horsepower. It spools like stock, appears stock, and still makes good power. The Stealth 64 lineup has already supported the 04.5-07 Cummins and the 01-10 Duramax. Significant changes in design of the factory turbo slowed our entrance to support the 2011 - 2016 Duramax trucks. Until now!
This turbo has an upgraded compressor and turbine. It's a direct bolt in for the factory charger on the LML (Custom tuning Highly Recccomended!)
- #DTCleanSweep Video
- 500+ HP Emissions Intact Cummins
- Learn more about Emissions Equipment
Smarty MM3 Tuning Update!
We have been testing the new Smarty MM3 Tuning for the 1998.5 - 2016 Cummins. The software/hardware is the newest solution for custom tuning. Until now, the limited amount of accessible tables in the 1998.5-2002 tuning platforms made fine tuning challenging for highly modified Cummins trucks leaving them smokey, noisey, and generally not as smooth as other similarly modified trucks tuned with more advanced software. Now that we have access to said tables, we will be able to create clean, efficient power with these trucks.
One of the most exciting features to the new Smarty MM3 is Live Tuning. The live tuning ability allows our tuners to make real-time changes to the calibration on the dyno or during a road test where in the past we had to wait 7-12 minutes to implement one change. As you might imagine, live tuning will significantly shorten the developement cycle and allow us to quickly fine-tune a wide variety of modifications on-site at CPS. The second advantage to the live tuning software is the ability of the customer to change tunes (power levels etc.) on the fly on any of the supported platforms. These power levels will be supplied along with the base tune to customer at the time of sale (idealy).
Our discussion with the developers of this software/hardware package lead us to believe that improved scan tool functionality is next on the priority list. We would expect to see a very high sample rate scan tool along with several dozen of the most important PIDs in the near future for beta testing. This tool is critical to the development process. Without a strong scan tool we cannot validate our work, the better the tool - the better the final product and the better we can help our customers troubleshoot accurately if they need to.
Calibrated Power is excited to beta test a new tuning product for the 1998.5 - 2016 Cummins.
Shift Up, Throttle Back, What is it?
Many farmers run their large 4WD tractors while performing tillage work. Generally they find a gear that lets them achieve a desired ground speed and run at WOT. This practice will get the job done, no question. However, operators may see the Gallons Per Hour go up while this work is performed. This is a result of the tractor running more RPM than neccessary for the drawbar requirement. The amount of power needed for most drabar activities is probably not the peak power output of the tractor. This excessive RPM operation is the root cause of wasted fuel. Good news though: Iowa State University, University Extension studied the "Shift Up, Throttle Back" strategy and have given suggestions on how to save fuel. In fact, during testing some tractors measured up to a 20% reduction in fuel useage.
Duramax engines have always come with solid turbos. However after miles and miles of whistling and boosting, your turbo may have problems. Or you may have other issues, that make you think your turbo has problems. This is very common as most drivers watch boost, keeping an eye on how much PSI they're making. It stands to reason that if your peak boost drops, your turbo has a problem. This is usually not the case though. More often then not, when we diagnose this symptom we find there are other problems leading to a lower than expected boost number.
Target boost numbers for the following RPO's are as follows (PSI)
2001-2004 LB7- Stock 20-22, tuned 24-26, tuned with PPE boost valve 28-31. Failure will occur near 34psi
2004.5-2016 Stock 22-24, Mild tune 27-28, Hot tune 33-35
The factory map sensor which electronically measures boost on a 2001-2004.5 trucks only reads to 22-24 psi, 2006-2016 MAP sensors read to 37 psi. If you want to read boost numbers higher you'll need an aftermarket gauge.
REGEN is the burning of soot built up in a DPF.
The Emissions Equipment for diesel trucks has changed quite a bit through out the years. In 2004.5 all heavy duty diesel pickups had to install EGR's which is the exhaust gas recirculation system. Basically it turns exhaust into inert gas and directs the gas back into the combustion process. Then in 2007.5 the EPA required pickups to use a DPF. The DPF, or Diesel Particulate Filter, is a filter that catches soot, or unburnt fuel from the exhaust. Once the soot builds up, the exhaust heats up to burn the soot off. Starting in 2011 Diesel Exhaust Fluid is used to treat NOx emissions, in addition to the EGR and DPF treating the carbon emissions.
The DPF is a crucile part of treating diesel emissions and each OEM utilizes and operates their DPF a little differently. Below, the DPF in the 2011-2016 LML Duramax is explained.
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER LINKS ABOUT REGEN AND DPF's