thecatsfan

Okay, I finally got the guts up to drill the hole in my exhaust manifold and install my EGT probe to complete my gauge installation. Gauge seems to be working fine. I started the truck and the gauge was at about 150 and crept up to 200 within a few seconds. Took it out for a drive and quickly saw higher temps.<br><br>So my question is, what are common EGTs during unloaded driving conditions? My truck has the Edge EZ with the low boost pin set on #2. Setting #1 was producing way too much smoke (people behind me were hitting the brakes and turning their headlights on when I shifted). As far as I know, everything else in the truck is stock.<br><br>When I drove it this weekend, I was surprised at how high the EGTs got. Cruising through town, I would see temps around 800 when accelerating. They would drop back to 500 when cruising. On the highway, at 75, I would sit at around 600, sometimes a little more.<br><br>But as soon as I get on the go pedal, wo baby. I had no problem pushing the needle over 1000. At one point, I was cruising at 55 as we started up a moderate hill. I was in 5th gear and accelerated from 55 to 70. I wasn't near WOT. I hit 1100 before I got off the throttle. Now, I only hit it for a second, but that's still much higher than I expected to see in an unloaded truck.<br><br>Does this sound normal? I didn't think a &quot;close to stock&quot; truck could produce 1100 degree temps. In fact, when I posted a question a couple months back about air intakes, I was told by most that something like a Scotty would be a waste of money because my truck, with just an EZ, would not be able to produce high enough EGTs to need it.<br><br>I have only towed a couple times with this truck and for short distances, and it's probably a good thing. I'm getting ready for a long road trip with the trailer and I'm glad this gauge is in there now.

John_P

thecatsfan:<br><br>Your EGT's look pretty normal to me. I have a new 2002<br>Dodge CTD similarily equipped to yours except mine has<br>an automatic transmission. My EGT's are real close to what<br>you have reported. I have my Edge EZ set on &quot;3&quot; and am<br>unable to get temperatures above 1250 right now. I am sure<br>you are aware of the &quot;unwritten rule&quot; on EGT's,....that being<br>that they should not go above 1300 degrees if the probe is<br>BEFORE the turbo and should not go over 1000 degrees if the<br>probe is mounted AFTER the turbo. I wouldn't worry too much<br>about the temperature going above those &quot;limits&quot; for a short<br>period. I can tell you that on my 96' Dodge CTD (mods listed<br>below) I have hit 1600-1700 degrees on many occasions<br>(dyno runs, towing, drag racing etc.) and so far everything <br>is O.K. The truck has 206,000 miles on it and anyone that<br>knows me will tell you that I run the truck very hard, but<br>also take very good care of it! <br><br>About the Scotty II,...........I have had the Scotty I and<br>now the Scotty II in my 96' since they came out. I disagree<br>that that filter won't help you right now. I think it will and<br>IMO it is one of the best modifications I have done to either<br>of my Dodge Diesel pickups!! I immediately saw 50-75 <br>degree cooler temperatures when I installed the early <br>Scotty I on my 96'. At that time, my mods were &quot;mild&quot;<br>compared to what I have now. I think it would help you<br>out. <br><br>Anyway, hope this has helped you some. Good luck!<br><br>-------<br>John_P

hellotbone

My 02 more heavily modded then yours hits 1500 no probs but then pulls back into the 12's that is normal and should be considered normal operation. If you are hitting 1300 degreese then that is your max but you can't hit 1300 so you don't have a problem. You might want to look into the scotty I would estimate at least 100 Degree EGT reduction on your truck. I lost about 150 with my mods. I cruise at about 60 MPH at 550 Degreese and idle about 350. WOT im into 1400+ for a couple seconds till the 40 catches up!

thecatsfan

Thanks John and Jamie,<br><br>I appreciate the feedback.<br><br>I was considering a Scotty II before I asked everyone here at DTR whether I needed one. One more reason why it may not be right for me is that I have no intention of cutting a 4&quot; hole in my cowl. I not only don't want to do that to my truck, but I've heard that this can get really loud. This truck is the true &quot;Family Truckster&quot; when it comes time for vacations, and 8 hours of the wife and kids complaining about the tornado sound coming from the engine won't do.<br><br>Sure, I could run it in hush mode for these trips, but these trips are when I'm going to need it the most - towing my trailer through the Rockies.<br><br>I didn't think it would be possible for me to hit 1300 degrees either, but as easily as I hit 1100, I'm not quite as convinced anymore. Considering I did this at moderate speed on a short hill without any load at all, I'm very curious what will happen on a long uphill tow with an extra 7,000+ lbs. behind me.

Diesel Dave

My '01 will hit 1200 fairly easily while towing my 5th wheel in the mountains where I live in Southwest PA. I always keep an eye on the egt gauge and just back off the go pedal if I start to get nervous.

John_P

thecatsfan:<br><br>You are welcome on the feedback! <br><br>I also wanted you to know that cutting the hole in the<br>firewall will increase the noise in the cab. No doubt about<br>that. If your Dodge CTD is considered the &quot;Family Truckster&quot;<br>as you put it, then the Scotty II may not be the<br>right filter for you. You may want to look into the AFE<br>MegaCannon which is also a good unit.<br><br>As far as EGT's while towing I definitely feel your pain!<br>The EGT issue on &quot;modified&quot; Dodge Cummins Diesel Pickups<br>is something that the majority of us are constantly <br>battling. As I said in my last post, my 96' Dodge CTD<br>will also get hot and can do so pretty fast if I let it go.<br>I would suggest using your right foot to &quot;control&quot; those<br>EGT's as you climb the hills. I can tell you that with my<br>96&quot; truck, as I increased H.P.and Torque the EGT's did<br>climb. But,.......with the increased H.P./Torque I didn't<br>have to use as much throttle as before to maintain the<br>same speeds etc. as I did before. More &quot;reserve power&quot;<br>if you know what I mean. I will honestly admit that I<br>have and still do go over 1300 degrees on a regular<br>basis doing what I listed in my last post. I try not to<br>&quot;hold it&quot; for too long but sometimes I cannot avoid it.<br>So far so good at 206,000 miles but I also realize the<br>effects of doing that will eventually catch up to me!<br>I do know one thing for sure,........the Cummins 5.9<br>Diesel Engine is one TOUGH engine!!!<br><br>--------<br>John_P

thecatsfan

I have been considering the Mega Cannon. It probably makes the most sense for me. I wish there was something in between the two. I really like the Scotty design and the isolation from engine compartment air, but without the hole in the cowl, I'm not sure it's worth it. Kinda like buying an Edge Comp and cutting off the pump wire so it can't be hooked up. [undecided] Why bother?<br><br>BHAF would mean I have to try and fabricate my own heat shield and I don't need to look for extra projects that bad. <br><br>At least the gauge is working so I can see what the towing temps really are until I decide. Fortunately, all of my towing is done recreationally. So if the temps climb a little, I can always back off and remind myself that I'm on vacation - why hurry? ;D

hellotbone

thecatsfan <br><br>Your welcome on the feedback. Im not sure if you are aware but the scotty in hush mode is actully quieter then the megacannon and it has a bit more egt reduction still. The I can vouch after having both the scotty is quite a bit quieter then the megacannon and you can later if you do decide to cut the hole reduce the EGT even more but its just if you want to.

StakeMan

thecatsfan,<br><br>You also have to consider the altitude here. Thats why your truck smoked so bad with the EZ set on #1. Do you still have a muffler?

thecatsfan

I've been thinking about the altitude factor here and I think that a truck at our altitude will need an intake sooner (with fewer mods) that one at low altitudes. Air flow is a more precious commodity up here where it's thin to start with. This has been true on all my vehicles. And much of my towing happens above 7,000 ft. I haven't run the truck over I-70 yet, but I can only imagine what EGTs are going to do towing at 10K or 11K elevation.<br><br>Yes, I still have the stock muffler. My wife doesn't mind loud trucks. In fact, when I was shopping for my 1500, we had it narrowed down to two and she wanted the one with straight pipe duals and no mufflers. But there is a limit too. I have a feeling that this truck with no muffler would be a lot louder inside the cab at highway speeds.<br><br>I haven't heard any of these intakes. Nobody I know close by has the AFE or a Scotty. But I've heard on several boards that the Scotty will generate a lot of cab noise with the cowl hole cut, and I know that none of us will like that. I can deal with exhaust noise better than in cab noise.

StakeMan

After the muffler fell off my truck my EGT's went down. I left the resonator on tho.

Did you install the boost elbow? How much boost is it making?

thecatsfan

I did install the boost elbow and it easily hits 25 psi. Haven't tried to see if it will go higher yet.<br><br>I haven't towed anything since I got the EGT probe installed, so I am not sure how the quicker spool I get under load will affect EGTs. The turbo sure spools fast with the trailer behind it.<br><br>I plan to do something with the exhaust down the road, but I have no idea what yet. I have heard so much different discussion on the boards about the different sound, good and bad, that exhaust changes create, that I have no idea whaqt would be right for me. I wouldn't mind a truck that sounds strong and could be a little little louder, but any drone or obnoxiously loud exhaust would not be cool.

Bearfoot2

thecatsfan,<br><br>Your numbers sound about the same as mine. I have the EdgeEZ and a straight pipe (no muff but kept the res). However, I also have an auto which I have to take out of OD on a steep pull (when pulling a TT) in order to keep the EGTs down.<br><br>If I go to pass someone (not pulling) doing 60 mph on a two lane road, and really put my foot in it my EGTs will jump to 1300 real fast and then begin to drop - boost goes to 31 and fp never below 10.<br><br>A question about your EZ. Mine is an older one and the number 1 jumper (farthest to the left) = no smoke; #2 (middle) moderate smoke and #3 (farthest to the right) = much smoke. On yours do you call #1 the farthest to the left or to the right. Just curious.<br><br>Stan

thecatsfan

Actually, when I said it was set on number #1, I think I should have said #3. It was set on the factory default setting (the most aggressive), which I believe is actually #3, when I was getting a lot of smoke. I moved it to the middle setting and now have moderate smoke. I have never run it on the lowest fueling setting. I honestly don't remember if it was to the left or right. I would have to check.

hellotbone

Cat don't be scared of the scotty its the king of sucking........................................... .................................................. ................COOOOOOOOOOOOOOL air that is