Dragginbutt

Owned my first diesel for two weeks now, been plenty pleased so far. I hear everyone talk about exhausts, intakes, upgraded turbos etc... all designed to get more power... then I hear about tranny problems caused by too much power etc... So where do you start?

So far, I am pleased by the stock power pulling my trailer over my old 1500 Hemi. WHat a gutless wonder that one was when pulling a 7000# trailer. The 2500 diesel is much more suited to the task.

What will mods do to my warranty? Can I gain a lot of performance? Do I need more? I'd sure like to get a little more milage, but right now the truck is so new, the paint is dripping. It certainly gets better milage than the Hemi did. I take it real easy, and have not had it over 2000 RPM yet. I drive it like an old man.. which I am...

Any thoughts? I do not want to kill the tranny... I can barely afford the payments now, I can't afford to do any major repairs on top of that....

torquefan

I know the feeling. I've had mine for 2 years now, and I'm still real happy with the power so I haven't really done any serious mods yet. If the truck's still under warranty, it's something to really consider. Any mods can be cause for a warranty rejection so be careful. Maybe wait awhile until the novelty wears off or you become bored with the performance, by then you'll be a few payments ahead. A good place to start then would be gauges, then small mods like an air intake and free-flowing exhaust.
Have fun.

koogala

Mods void the warranty. Start w/exhaust & intake. Then go to your box/chip
& gauges. DON'T go past 100 hp on a auto tranny. The torque converter will be your weakest link. Your mileage WILL improve as you break in the engine.
15-20K. If you peel out at every other light in town you'll trash your tranny
fast. I never knew how some folks drive these trucks till I came on this site
& went to a dyno meet. These guys make some awesome hp. I choose not to
drive that way. No offense to them.....its thier truck and they can do as they choose.

I was where you are 4 months ago and knew nothing about diesels. I know just enough now to get in trouble. ..... Doing a search will give you a lot of info fast! Some exhaust names:MBRP,Nelson,Magnaflow,Aeroturbine,Donaldson. Intakes:AFE Proguard,
BHAF,Scotty,Quadzilla. Modules:Edge,Bullydog,Banks,TST,Van Aaken,& Quadzilla. I'm partial to Quad. He has GREAT customer service. Fill out your signature on the user cp so we can see what truck you have

BigBlueDiesel

I am in the same boat as dragginbutt, and almost identical situation only my old truck was a2500 hemi and I definitly know what you mean by a big diff in towing ability as I was trying to tow a 10K fifth wheel with my hemi........I Started with removing the silencer ring in the turbo inlet opening on this new truck and next will be a "High Flow" muffler to replace the old restrictive stock one........then an unrestricted intake tube.......and that is all I am planning for now as it is new (only 700 miles on it)

Ripper01

Straight pipe it... I talked to my dealer if i do an intake it voids my warranty but supposedly they have an intake mod you can do my buddy did it on his 06 so he wouldnt void his extended warranty

BigBlueDiesel

I would like to know what that mod is ?

Ripper01

You use your stock airbox and filter.... You cut a 4" hole in the bottom of the box attach a hose and shove it in front of your wheel skirt so it acts like a cold air then they have a new rubber hose piece from the box to the turbo.. Quite easy and quick i dont know how much it helps but i know my buddy did it.. But i guess the dealers or my dealer will let you put an exhuast on or straight pipe it.. My dealer even has a prebent peice of exhuast tubing to delete the muffler...

BigBlueDiesel

Is this an authorized dealer modification that wont void the warranty..........I mean do you get the necessary parts from them?

Ripper01

he got all the parts from the dealer and stated that intake mod an muffler delete were warranty legal you can check with your dealer and see what they say.. Im not sure if its jus my dealer allowing the mod or if all dealers are...

BigBlueDiesel

Cool,
Got pics?

Ripper01

ill get some pics next time i see him so ya'll will see what im talkin about...

Nitro71455

Dealers around here are fine with intakes and exh mods. Just no chippy chippy.....

BigBlueDiesel

Thanx Ripper,

Look forward to seeing them.

dhe9

my dealer here in the state of so kalifornication said that exhaust and intake are fine. however they draw the line at a chip. that said, i went with the 20" magnaflow cat back exhaust and really like it. next at some point ($) will be a mild intake either the stage 1 or 2 AFE.

all that said, go to your local book store and look for "DIESEL POWER" magazine. they have an article this month on what mods and in what order you want to do them. wealth of information for us diesel aficionados. a big word for diesel heads

david
socal

qmcdt

Do you tow, put in the whoa before you put in the go. Engine Exhaust Brake.
Pre 06 upgrade the stock torque converter (clutch if manual) and valve body even before the brake. There is no instant gratification, just the satifaction that when you do get your go parts put in, you aren't going to break something. (And can actually get the whole thing to a stop.) I went the other way first and had a perminant feeling of dread that I was gonna break my tranny. Now, let's just say . Barry @ NADP clams I should be able to put 4 to 4 and a quarter on the ground with out hurting my tranny now with just the torque converter and valve body.

#1 Beef - Torque Converter/Valve Body (Clutch)
#2 Whoa - Exhaust Brake (Do the exhaust when you do the exhaust brake if it's less then 4" from factory)
#3 Air Flow/Exhaust Flow - Cold Air Intake & aftermarket 4+" Exhaust depending on the noise levels you and your's can handle in the cab.
#4 Fuel - Chips & programers for those who don't want to change hard parts like injectors and pumps. A chip can be removed before warranty work and is untracable by DC, unless they see the pyro point in your exhaust. Programmers can be traced apparently. Injectors and Pumps for the initiated.

Also Dude, fill out your signature with your year and others can be more specific to your truck year. Go hard