The good news is I just graduated from my 96' 12v to a brand spankin' new 02 24v. The bad news is I just graduated from my 96' 12v to a brand spankin' new 02 24v. <br>Nothing like starting all over. Already got the new gauges in, but thats it so far. My questions are this (Geez, I feel like a newbie again)<br>How many miles should I put on it stock before the bombfest?<br>What is the deal with bigger exhaust? Is it a performance upgrade, or just for annoying your neighbors? If performance, what hp level can I get to before needing the new exhaust?<br>Thanks for the incredible amount of expertise available here.

 

Cowpie....congrats on your new toy...The bomb bug already got you??? . If it were me, because it is so new, I would keep it stock until 36,000 mile warranty is up. Take your time and break it in right...any warranty issues, lift pump, tranny, or other mechanical problems, should surface by then. You don't need to up grade exhaust at this time, as no benefit will be gained at this time. Even after you start &quot;bombing&quot; increasing exhaust size, any HP gain is little or none. The main benefit of increasing exhaust size is to help decrease EGT's. The fact that you got gauges is smart. I hope one of them was a fuel pressure gauge? I know it will be hard, stay away from performance sites, diesel truck events, Fords &amp; Dura's on the freeway, don't watch TNT &quot;trucks&quot; show on the weekends, stay away from me, Idaho -CTD, Jetpilot, JR Adkins, and a few others on this forum, you might just make it... : : Good luck..<br><br>Steve

 

The exhaust upgrade is for spool up, EGT, and sound. ;D If your concerned bout warranty for now, but will want A LOT more power later on down the road, get an Edge COMP and just leave the pump wire unhooked. It acts just like an EZ (65 hp and like 150 tq.), but when you upgrade the tranny, you can hook up the wire, and get 120hp and I have no idea how much tq.

 

Cowpie,<br><br>Congrats, enjoy her!! Opinions will vary but we always reccomend getting gauges and then exhaust depending on the level of Bombing you plan to do. Gauges will let you see &quot;what's happening as it happens&quot; and allow you to keep your right foot in &quot;check&quot; if necessary. The addition of exhaust will get you around 20 hp and 30 lbs of torque but it will also drop your EGT's so you can add the magic black boxes or injectors to get that Cummins up and running like the diesel guys here like. the exhaust wil also let teh turbo spool up sooner providing more power at a lower rpm and getting more air in the engine sooner to lower EGT's as well. You're about to enter the &quot;bombing&quot; zone so go hide your credit card statements from your wife now so she won't expect to see them when they get larger in the months to come.<br><br>Mark<br>DPPI