Diesel Tuner's Blog

This LB7 Dually Killing It

I had a customer come into the shop with a pair of up-pipes and a down-pipe he wanted installed on his LB7 dually.  I told him that it would not be a problem and to come by the shop early one morning.  I happened to be near the front door when the the truck pulled in and my jaw about dropped when this thing came barreling down the road and whipped into the parking lot.  

After a brief discussion with the truck owner I found out this unit had just 89k miles on it and everything was original.  This gun metal gray paint had no fading or scratches and free of any noticeable chips or short comings.  The interior had no cracks in the plastics, the charcoal gray interior was mint, even the white paint on each button could still be seen clearly.  I think what really set it off was the 22.5" semi tires wrapped with 37" rubber.  Other basics had been done as well, all the trim was tastefully done, headlights and head unit upgraded and so on.  Looking back, each individual piece was fairly standard and readily available.  However, when put together on this 4 door dually; it just worked perfect!  

After our previous conversation of the truck, I found myself getting as excited about the potential for how cool this thing could be.  However, as any truck build story goes we ran into a few small hurdles that we needed solutions for.   Bolts broke while removing the up-pipes and the turbo had to come out.  It left us with an opportunity to replace the stock IHI with our Stealth 64 LB7 turbo.  Now we knew that because of how the owner used his truck that the transmission was going to need attention down the road . . . . shortly down the road.  It ended up being very shortly down the road.  Once the truck had a  DT750 built transmission we decided to install a few supporting mods.  

• DuramaxTuner.com Jack DSP5 Tuning
• Lift Pump
• Traction Bars

After the truck returned to it's daily life as a highway driver/midnight tollway race truck, it was not too long until we had another obstacle to overcome....

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. 

That's right, you read that correctly,1,600 horse power!!!  "The Ol Woodhauler 2" is on the market and the only way to purchase this is through myself, Danny Voss.  Please contact me with any questions and enjoy! 

The Ol Wood Hauler is a 2006 Regular Cab long bed Duramax diesel 4x4.  This truck is one of a kind and is available.  

• Call today and talk to Danny
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 My name is Danny Voss, I have been working with the tuning department at Duramax Tuner on our emissions equipped truck to get the most out of our LML (2011-2016)  Duramax

"The Clean Sweep" is Calibrated Power Solution's Emissions intact pull truck designed to kick butt on the pull track and drive home like nothing happened.  This truck is the true definition of a sleeper.  When I get on the throttle, the responsiveness is unbelieveable.  

Here are the TOP 3 Reasons why Duramax Tuner choose to do this project:

• The EPA frowns on removing emissions equipment.
• The future of our industry is going in the direction of CLEAN POWER.
• To show the world we can make CLEAN, RELIABLE and LEGAL power.

INTRODUCTION:

Many customers have upgraded from their old pre-emissions Duramax to a new LML Duramax and found there are a few changes besides just the looks. 

The new LML made and astonishing 395 RWHP and 731 ft/lbs of torque on our dyno when tested stock. Which is impressive by itself but you will probably notice your old Duramax feels quicker. In fact we hear many stories of guys trying to merge into traffic or gun it to get in front of someone and the pedal does not seem to respond. This phenomena is often called the LML "Dead Pedal". The "Dead Pedal" is a delay the driver feels between pressing on the throttle pedal and the truck reacting as desired. 

But what causes the LML Dead Pedal? And more importantly, What is the fix for the LML Dead Pedal?

These are exactly the questions we hope to answer for you. Below you will see what we have put together on the topic. 

• LISTEN TO THE DIESEL PERFORMANCE PODCAST ON LML DEAD PEDAL
• READ ABOUT LML REGEN
• WATCH A REVIEW OF THE 2.8L 4cyl DURAMAX TUNING

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