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Old 07-25-2012, 07:50 AM   #1
chivas
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Upgrades to Tow Vehicle

I have a 2006 Chevy Crew Cab 2500HD 6.6 Duramax Diesal LBZ Allison Transmission with 60,000 miles. What are the upgrades that are worth doing to increase MPG, horsepower, and ride. I presently have Airlift Bags, Rickson rims, and Toyo Tires. I plan on having this truck for a while.

KN Air Filter-Will this plug up the Mass Air Flow Sensor. I had one in my Ford Mustang and it plugged my Mass Air Flow Sensor.

Exhaust-5" pipes, which one is the best and why.

Speed Chip-worth it?

Heavy Duty Shocks?-which ones and do they really work.

Anything else............

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Old 07-25-2012, 05:49 PM   #2
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Forget the K&N too costly and the results are not worth the cost. Chipping is the best bet for the buck.
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Old 07-25-2012, 06:45 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chivas View Post
I have a 2006 Chevy Crew Cab 2500HD 6.6 Duramax Diesal LBZ Allison Transmission with 60,000 miles. What are the upgrades that are worth doing to increase MPG, horsepower, and ride. I presently have Airlift Bags, Rickson rims, and Toyo Tires. I plan on having this truck for a while.

KN Air Filter-Will this plug up the Mass Air Flow Sensor. I had one in my Ford Mustang and it plugged my Mass Air Flow Sensor.

Exhaust-5" pipes, which one is the best and why.

Speed Chip-worth it?

Heavy Duty Shocks?-which ones and do they really work.

Anything else............


The first question I'd ask is what gives you the idea that you need to modify your truck? If it's towing well, mileage somewhere reasonable, suspension doing it's job with the current mods, then why the need? Modifying just to modify doesn't make a lot of economic sense and if there's a deficiency in the current set up, identifying it would get you much more "spot on" advice about what to do next.

Maybe rethinking what you "need" and where your truck is "lacking" and giving the forum that information would get you much better advice.....
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Old 07-25-2012, 08:58 PM   #4
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We have the same truck, same year, same engine... it rides great, tows great, has plenty of power and decent fuel
mileage while towing. It's a diesel truck -so- fuel mileage is never going to be 'great' while driving in town.
We did consider the K & N filter though, but were told (by the local Chevy dealer) that it can & typically does cause
sensor problems on the '06 LBZ, so we decided against it. Beyond that, the only changes we've made have been
tires & shocks (Bilstein's) as normal/routine upkeep. I'll agree with JRTJH... why the need for modifications?

Terri, the Chevy co-pilot
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Old 07-26-2012, 07:42 AM   #5
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Unless you can put a Cummins in there, why mess with a good thing? I'm not a big fan of chipping. If down the road if needed for maintenance reasons I would consider upgraded injectors or turbo but only if needed replacement. Same goes for exhaust system. Any gains from upgrading unless needed are hard to justify, $$$$ You've got a good truck, maintain it and it WILL be around for a loooong time. JM2˘, Hank
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Old 07-26-2012, 07:54 AM   #6
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Ya'll are probably right. I am going to pull with it for a while to see if I need anything..............
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Old 07-26-2012, 08:06 AM   #7
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"Striving to better, oft we mar what's well." William Shakespeare - famed diesel mechanic (1605) This guy always says things best.
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Old 07-26-2012, 05:44 PM   #8
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I do not recommend a K@N filter.......lets too much dirt through. OEM is best for lifespan of your engine. JMO.

You might do some research into EFI live. They have some mild tunes that make a hugh driveability improvement with lower EGT's and some mileage improvements in the real world. Not sure on payback time or if it ever would.

I know the LLM Dmax 2011> is a nice mileage improvement over the previous generation in the fuel mileage dept (and everything else pertaining to powertrain in stock configuration).
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Old 07-26-2012, 06:16 PM   #9
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I am a strictly "stock" guy when it comes to the powertrain whether gas or diesel.
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Old 07-28-2012, 06:02 AM   #10
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Better mileage from a chip or programmer

Many of these members are saying leave it stock, that's pretty narrow minded. On my work trucks,08' GMC 3500 diesels, we did the air filter, exhaust,and programmer , towing in the mountains we have wonderful power, huge fuel savings, and zero problems. And I tell you, we have four of these pulling heavy work trailers full time!
We calculated full payback in 5 months with the amount of driving we do, just on fuel savings alone! Stay away from k&n, there are better products out there, Airraid.
Good luck, don't be afraid to try things, these engines are just a big vacuum pump that give us power, go to a diesel site for better information.
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Old 07-28-2012, 07:02 AM   #11
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Many of these members are saying leave it stock, that's pretty narrow minded. On my work trucks,08' GMC 3500 diesels, we did the air filter, exhaust,and programmer , towing in the mountains we have wonderful power, huge fuel savings, and zero problems. And I tell you, we have four of these pulling heavy work trailers full time!
We calculated full payback in 5 months with the amount of driving we do, just on fuel savings alone! Stay away from k&n, there are better products out there, Airraid.
Good luck, don't be afraid to try things, these engines are just a big vacuum pump that give us power, go to a diesel site for better information.
I wouldn't say it's "narrowminded" to want to know what the OP feels his truck lacks before making any suggestions regarding modifications. If you look at his previous modifications, new wheels, tires, airlift bags, he's added cost to his truck without improving performance at all. (Maybe improved stability with a lift kit, traction with tires, but "professional duty wheels" ?? How do they improve towing performance?

It may well be that he is looking for a "specific something" to improve a perceived deficiency. Modifying "helter skelter" not knowing what that deficiency is won't provide him anything but a "shot in the dark" at fixing an "unknown" I still think more information is needed before making any suggestions regarding any money being spent to "fix it" when none of us know what he thinks is "broke"
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Old 07-28-2012, 07:58 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MyCoug243 View Post
Many of these members are saying leave it stock, that's pretty narrow minded. On my work trucks,08' GMC 3500 diesels, we did the air filter, exhaust,and programmer , towing in the mountains we have wonderful power, huge fuel savings, and zero problems. And I tell you, we have four of these pulling heavy work trailers full time!
We calculated full payback in 5 months with the amount of driving we do, just on fuel savings alone! Stay away from k&n, there are better products out there, Airraid.
Good luck, don't be afraid to try things, these engines are just a big vacuum pump that give us power, go to a diesel site for better information.
I think what we are trying to say is, being happy with the stock performance and averaging 10,000mi a year it is hard to justify high dollar mods. If there is something that needs fixing .... by all means fix it.
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Old 07-30-2012, 12:43 PM   #13
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My main concern is what MPG I will get. If it is not what I want will probably start with the computer chip. The air filter and exhaust is not worth it IMO. I only drive this truck 12K a year. Half that is pulling. I am going to pull with it a while and see.

May put on some better shocks to even out the commercial tires.
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Old 07-30-2012, 01:38 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by chivas View Post
My main concern is what MPG I will get. If it is not what I want will probably start with the computer chip. The air filter and exhaust is not worth it IMO. I only drive this truck 12K a year. Half that is pulling. I am going to pull with it a while and see.

May put on some better shocks to even out the commercial tires.
First off I see you live in California. Will right there this will dictate what you can and cannot do to the truck. California does emission testing and they check the engine compartment to see what mods have been done, they also check the ECM. If any are detected than they most have a CARB certificate on them or you will fail the emission testing, also if a programmer is installed in the ECM.

Here is a link to the SEMA site for all 50 states testing requirements.
http://www.semasan.com/page.asp?cont...sions&g=semaga

So leave it stock unless you want to move out of that state.
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Old 08-16-2012, 09:16 PM   #15
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I'd look into a Volant cold air intake, they use a box around the filter, so that'll help keep it clean. I wouldn't worry too much about that, though. I had a K&N on my 1/2 Dodge and it was on dirt roads, and as long as I washed it every now and then, it was fine.

Opening up the exhaust would be a great idea too. Magnaflow, Banks and MBRP all make good systems.

You could also look into some Mag-Hytec diff covers and tranny pan. They hold more fluid, and so keep everything a little cooler.

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Old 08-23-2012, 01:03 PM   #16
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I've got an '01 Dmax. I've added an aftermarket trans cooler along with a 500hp capable rebuilt tranny by the Allison god, Mike L of Inglewood Transmission near Dland. My trany was shot so for the same price that the local shop wanted for a stock rebuild, Mike did the necessary mods to hold 500hp and make one heck of a towing tranny. I've also just added two tunes by Trent Nell of EPR Diesels. I've yet to tow with the +50hp tune but it and the 500hp tune have really awakened this truck! I pulled out an aftermarket CAI system and went back to a stock air cleaner box that I "swiss cheesed" to get some more air flow through from behind the headlights. There are some really good Dmax sites to check out at DieselPlace, DuramaxDiesels and DuramaxForum. Lots of info, have fun!
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Old 08-23-2012, 03:12 PM   #17
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Also have an 01 and nowhere near the mods of 5ackman.

I do have a 4" exhaust, Edge Juice and CTS. Tossed the K&N (I could sell it to you) as I don't think they filter as well as OEM and are not your chokepoint for power.

Biggest thing I suggest is some kind of EGT gauge. Mine is part of the Edge setup, but it is the one mod I suggest anyone pulling with a diesel do.

If my tranny kicked it I'd do what he did and get a built one. With a simple chip you can kill a tranny (even an Allison).

But the 01 is nice in that there is no pollution control on it. Not even a cat.
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