Diesel Tuner's Blog

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

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.

• Learn More about the Smarty MM3
• Read our first article about the Smarty MM3
• 500 RWHP, Emissions Intact Performance

Calibrated Power is excited to beta test a new tuning product for the 1998.5 - 2016 Cummins.