Diesel Tuner's Blog

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Thinking of Drag Racing your diesel pickup? Here is what you should know first:

The NHRDA (National Hot Rod Diesel Association) has several sanctioned events throughout the year.  Hosting the best drivers in the diesel industry running the fastest diesel powered trucks/vehicles in North America.  Many of the trucks entered are being piloted by someone with years of seat time and experience.  

However, most truck owners will not build a truck capable of competing with these record setting drag racers.  Furthermore, many owners simply do not have the available resources to gain years of experience and hundreds if not thousands of passes it takes to become a Pro.  

• Diesel Performance Podcast:XDP Drag Truck With Anthony Reams
• How to Drag Race Your Diesel, TruckTrend.com Article
• Idaho Rob and Drag Racing on the Diesel Performance Podcast

There are a few things you can focus on if you are new to diesel drag racing scene that may dramatically help! 

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What is the the best tool a diesel enthusiast could ever ask for; a Mustang 4WD Chassis Dynamometer.  Why is that?  An 4WD Chassis Dyno gives you the ability to see exactly what your truck is capable of.  It also provides tuners the safe and controlled enviroment required to test calibrations and dial in your truck to best running condition.  Which in turn, gives you a truck that not only makes big power, drives as smooth as possible and gives you insight to when and how your truck performs at it's best.  

• Find your PEAK Horse Power and Torque
• Get the smoothest running truck possible
• Gain insight into how and when your truck performs it's best

Many people have estimated horse power and torque numbers based on what someone else has told them.  A Chassis Dyno gives you the ability to know exactly how much power you have at the wheels.  No guessing or estimating involved since a dyno is a measurement tool at it's core.  

Beyond peak power, there is drive-ability to consider when you have a heavily modified truck.  Any tuner can make the peak power number, the difference between them is how the truck drives on the street.  Smoke output, shift points, throttle response and so much else can be dialed in when you are strapped to a dyno for testing.    

Diesel truck owners often want more RPM.  The logic here is that RPM equals power.  However, a chasis dyno gives you a clear picture of where and when your truck makes peak power.  When it comes to competing with your truck, this is crucial!  Diesel guys know all too well how close sled pulling or drag racing can be, so every possible edge really matters.  

 

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Tillage work is labor some and has high fuel cost! 

 

Annual tillage can help mix nutrients in the soil, combat compacted soil, conserve soil moisture, and help in other ways.  A common problem with the farming community throughout the corn belt, is heavy tillage work (deep ripping, chisel plowing, etc.) can be a chore for their tractor. 

Tillage work involves using your tractor to pull what is generally the largest implement you own.  Most people report that tillage work is when a tractor will be put under the highest amount of stress.  Which explains why so many reports come in about tractors being grossly under powered for this practice.  Bogging down, running slow, struggling to climb hills, and other complaints are often made during tillage work.  

This is a situation that can be easily remedied with the custom tractor tuning provided by our Power Manager! 

Power Manager

• Custom tractor tuning
• Safe for your tractor
• Easy to use and readily available
• Use less fuel per acre
• Cover more acres per hour
• Supports Green, Red and Blue tractors

The Diesel Performance Podcast sponsored by Calibrated Power Solutions has been a hit!  We currently have over 70 episodes and counting.  Our $15k Budget Build was such a hit, we wanted to do a $30k and possibly frame out a higher priced build show in the future.  Thank you for listening!  

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Custom MM3 Tuning on a 2003 Cummins:

For many years truck owners with the 2003 - 2005 Cummins motor have craved quality custom tuning.  Sure there have been attempts in this field, and some were even decent, but never before has there been a software capable of fully custom tuning for these trucks.  

Darrell has had his 2003 Cummins for a few years.  He invested in a built transmission (a few times), 50hp injectors, 2nd Gen exhaust manifold, 188/220 Hamilton cam, Wilson thasher intake, 62/74/14 turbo, ati balancer and a Smarty with TNT-R tunes. 

The truck came in with plenty of power.  It also came in with plenty of smoke, plenty of room to improve shift quality and throttle response and plenty of character.  Darrell uses the truck to pull equipment, daily drive, and all around just to have fun.  Although he does not drag race or sled pull in a highly competitive atmosphere, he wants the most he can get out of the truck.  

• 62/74/14 Turbo
• 50hp Injectors
• Smarty So6 with TNT-R Tunes
• Dyno'd 540 RWHP 

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Switch-on-the-fly Tuning with SWITCH for Colorado/Canyon with 2.8L Duramax:

 

For may years the 2001-2010 Duramax powered Silverado's and 2006 - 2016 Cummins powered Rams have enjoyed the benefits of Swith-on-the-fly tuning.  The switch allows diesel truck owners to change tunes instantaneously while driving.  Making life much simpler for those who use their truck for multiple purposes.  This luxury has been envied by other diesel owners who have to plug in a programmer each time they want to change power levels.  Some truck owners with non-switchable tuning have even started leaving trucks in the hottest tune while towing just to avoid the hassle of flashing in an appropriate towing tune.  

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Harvest is one of the busiest times of year for farmers.  One thing no farmer should have to deal with during this time is an under powered combine.  Lugging up hills, slowing down the system, and in general costing the operation money can be enough to drive you nuts!  

Each year, just after harvest, we take an influx of calls inquiring about adding horsepower to combines.  Farmers tend to be detail orientated, and have a lot of questions before tuning any equipment.  Which is totally understandable, combines are not exactly cheap and they are one of the most crucial components of a successful harvest. 

 

If you think tuning a combine is crazy, take a look at the 3 most common reasons we find farmers love combine tuning.  

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No need to delete emissions to make power!  

 

 

Many people looking to make more power with a 2011 and newer LML Duramax think an aftermarket exhaust is required to make power.  This is simply not true!  Countless people reach over 500 RWHP with just the LML SPADE and a lift pump.  

The most common myths about making power with an LML Duramax:

• "The DPF is going to fail"
• "Higher hp tunes will plug up the filter"
• "I deleted my truck and now I get better MPGs"

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IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO UPGRADE THE TURBO ON YOUR LB7 DURAMAX THERE ARE A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER FIRST

• What is your power goal?
• What do you use the truck for?
• Is there a sled pull class you would like to compete in?
• What are your future plans for the truck?
• Are your mechanical skills up to par for installing it yourself or are you taking it to a shop for installation?
• What is your budget?

With so many options on the market, it's hard to determine which is your best option.  Of course you can always call each manufacturer and discuss what options they have. However, you will still need to ask the right questions to get the results that you're hoping for. This article should save you time, money, and the headache of weeding through all of the hype out there to better point you in the right direction on  how to select the right turbo for you!

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What are your Power Goals?

Clearly defining your power goals will help you establish a game plan. No one wants to buy a turbo that will not work with their future goals for the truck. However there are some baselines that you need to set first; like are you going to build the motor?  On an LB7 we know the rods cannot handle more than 650HP.   So if you're not going to invest $15k-$25k on a motor build, there's no point in purchasing a turbo that is 800 HP capable.  On the flip side, if you are going to do a motor build in the future but want something more suited for the stock truck, consider a valley charger that will serve as the perfect primary for a twin kit.  This is a great way to maximize your dollar-per-horse-power. Below you will find a list of just a few chargers and their peak horse power raitings. 

 

 

 

6 Turbo Chargers + 1 Month of Testing = Cummins Turbo Shootout

 

 

If you ask five different diesel shops which single turbo upgrade is best, there is a good chance you will get 4-5 different answers.  To separate fact from fiction, we put together a rigorous test for five of the industry’s top turbo chargers.  Also included was the factory HE351 to see if the usual reported improvements over stock are true.  You might be wondering,  How did they choose the turbo chargers? What tests were run? And most importantly, What were the results?