Looking for Advice
 

I am not a new diesel owner, but not a gearhead or mechanic of any sort. I currently have a stock dodge 3500 with only a 5 inch TBE. Wondering what other upgrades I should be looking at (intake, tuner, transmission, etc.)?

It all depends what you wanna do with it and how much money you have. I have a Afe intake and a smarty s06 pod on mine and 5 inch exhaust and im happy with it for being my daily driver.

I'd say get gauges (egt,boost,tranny temp) know your numbers. I have edge juice with attitude cts and its has all the built in gauges on the screen and its perfect. Intake would be nice too for cooler egts and more flow. If you really wanna fork money out first I'd say tranny haha

Power is nice, but it takes a back seat to suspension mods for me.

Intake will gain you practically nothing until you start making osme real power, definitely won't make anything cooler.

Add a tuner and all you do is jeopardize the trans or clutch, you don't say what trans you have. Power and trans upgrades need to go hand in hand.

A Smarty and a few trans mods will make a world of difference.

The 5" TB system is a mistake, killing your low end. A 4" thru the muffler is more than adequate wothout the spool penalty. If you want to keep the 5" then manifold blanket, turbo boot, and DP wrap should be mandatory.

Advice for a 3rd gen Cummins
 

Pointclair,

My suggestion would be to keep things simple. The 5 inch CBE is definitely a step in the right direction. If you are looking for a modest bump in power with a stock trans, I would look into the Smarty Jr. I have five Dodge Cummins, and having two 2nd gen Dodge Cummins with Smarty's, 47RE tranny re-builds with all the HD upgrades, I still prefer my 3rd gen with the stock 48RE and the Smarty Jr.

The only mods for my 3rd gen are a K&N intake (drops in OME box), 4 inch CBE, Nitrogen Filled Nitto Grappler A/T's, and Smarty Jr. My 3rd gen performs like a dream towing with 445 RWHP/785 ft-lbs torque, and when empty getting 29 MPG HWY and 24 MPG in town.

If the suspension is something of concern, take a look at the on-board rear-axle air systems by Firestone to help stablize your ride while towing or hauling. Balancing drive-lines is helpful too if needed. That's my thoughts.

Good luck with it.

lollol

A little fantasy always makes it worth reading, no matter how unrealistic. Now you have the stuff dreams are made of to balance against reality of guys getting 10 mpg with the same mods.

Once you step away from stock power all bets are off on the mpg and the stock transmission. Decide what you want to do and do some research on how others got there and what really works before jumping in, you will be a lot happier.

Well after all, he is a member of the "Cummins High Mileage Club!" :lol88:

No problem, say what you will, but the numbers have been consistent for the last 4 years, and there is a limit of MPG seen in my trucks. We do see mild variations sometimes when using antigel additives.

However, I did not mention the impact of other contributing factors to improving MPG, such as, tire compound, tire pressure, rear axle gear ratios, and simple changes that improve fuel atomization at the injector. My only point is that things can be done to improve MPG.

Those mods I did list all have an additive benefit when combined. The MPG on any truck can be improved, but keep in mind mileage is RPM dependent. For the ISB 5.9L, Cummins recommends 1,800 RPM Max for the best fuel economy. The mileage I quoted for my 3rd gen is hand calulated. We have been doing this a long time, so agree to disagree. You make a valid point; before any mods, research. Thanks for the feedback.

Regards.

Thanks!
 

I appreciate all the advice and I am looking in the direction of a built trans in the very distant future, but until then I believe I will go with a smarty. Does anybody have any recommendations where to get one at a decent price? Monitoring ability would be a plus.

Diesel dawg per. Diesel auto power rollin smoke diesel. As for monitoring capabilities you need a edge insight CTS or cs . I have the CTS and love it.

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I see you're in Baton Rouge, when you are ready to do your trans you should go see Jojo at Custom Built Transmission (504) 347-5481. He built mine and several of my friends, really good prices and outstanding work.

You can shop around, but the price of the Smarty should be the same regardless of you you decide to buy it from. I use Summit Racing.com to buy all of mine. You can contact Summit at either 1-800-230-3030 or www.summitracing.com

Note: that without a rebuilt trans, the Smarty has the potential to damage the 48RE automatic transmission. If a stock 48RE, then it is best to use the Smarty Jr.

The Jr has the same potential to harm the trans as the Sr.

In my humble opinion i would look at a fuel upgrade first. I'm partial to airdog my self. Then air intake and programer. As far as programers goes I would seriously look into efi. Its about the same price as a smarty but can be customized to your truck mods and city elevation above sea level. You can get a dsp5 switch for an extra 50-70 $ and have 5 tunes on the fly with the turn of a knob.

I have a 2007 Dodge Mega Cab, 2500 Cummins 5.9L daily driver truck that I am looking to upgrade. What you achieved with your 3rd Gen Dodge is right where I want to go!
My goal is focused on improving fuel efficiency while remaining quiet; not horsepower or speed (I haul rarely). Albeit, each will likely improve as the engine's efficiency is upgraded. Currently, my stock truck is at 19 mpg, I want 35 mpg.
Overall for upgrades, I want my engine to breathe better- more cold dense air in, and less restrictive manner to get the exhaust out.
The four Banks items I am looking to upgrade with are:
1/2- Banks Ram-Air Intake System with Banks Super-Scoop Kit,
3- Banks Techni-Cooler System package (but with the 3 ½” mandrel bent boost tubes from the ‘42766-monster-ram-intake-w-boost-tube-2003-07-dodge-5-9L’ package), and
4- Banks Big Hoss Intake Manifold System.

Four non-Banks items I'm drawn to for upgrades as part of my plan are:
1- BD Ported Wastegate T6 exhaust manifold,
2- Turbo Smart Hyper-gate 45mm,
2- MBRP 5" Quite Tone muffler exhaust system, and
4- Wicked Wheel 2 or another turbine wheel upgrade to pull in more cold air

Is the package I am putting together on track to improve fuel efficiency?
What advice can you offer to help me reach my goal for increased fuel efficiency?
Do any of the Banks or other products I am planning to partner together not work well together?
Does the Super-Scoop Kit ever lead to water intrusion into the intake? If so, are there cheater tips to prevent this?
For programmers, is the Bully Dog GT good for what I am working to accomplish? I had one given to me. So no skin in this model if it isn't what I need.

Thank you for your time.

Jay

It is all bling, nothing there is going to help enough to be worth the $$ in 20 years.

Until the hard parts that kill the efficiency are changed and programming optimized you are putting lipstick on a pig. Bolt-on mods are a minimal help, the stock exhaust and intake system is more than adequate for well north of 500 HP before anything needs addressing. Everything on your list is a performance mod not an efficiency mod.

If you are really getting 19 mpg average, you aren't but that is a common mistake, it is already 4-5 mpg better than every other truck out there, 35 mpg is a pipe dream. Maybe if you drove it downhill all day in 40 mph on a hot windless day you might see that but not in normal driving. Realistically, 20-21 mpg in good conditions is excellent. It won't be an average just a situational thing.

I appreciate your insights and feedback. Your knowledge is much deeper than mine.
What are your recommendations for where I should be focused instead of the bolt-on mods?
Specifically change recommendations to 'the hard parts that kill efficiency'?
Which programmer optimizing do you recommend?
Thank you for your time. I look forward to your thoughts for how i can advance towards reaching my efficiency goals.

For hard parts it will be the cam and the turbo, but, the tuning is the important part. The cam helps implement the in-cylinder EGR effect and is built with emissions in mind. The turbo is part 2 of the EGR effect with its limited boost and tight housing. The wicked wheel has not proven ot be much of effect by itself so it really is not worth the mod. A better mod would be send the turbo to Turbo Resources for their HE351 mods to the compressor and turbine. For a efficiency oriented build and a little more power that seems to be as effective as possible

Stock tuning, part of EGR, is all about meeting emissions which severely impacts efficiency, you MUST change it to see decent results. You have a couple choices there with HP Tuners or Smarty UDC Pro.

All of those areas factor in to power or efficiency, what you concentrate on will be determined buy your goals.

I appreciate your feedback on the turbo and tuning mods. And for steering me away from the wicked wheel. When I looked for 'Turbo Resources', my searches found 'Turbo Lab of America'. Their options for modifying my HE351 look good. Please let me know if I'm off-target of the company you familiar with.
What types of cam mods do you recommend?
Thank you for your time.

Welcome

The mid range Hamilton cam seems to be very popular, do not remember the specs but it is one step up from the mild grind.

UPDATES: I've crossed a few items off my list for efficiency mods based on Great feedback and More research. And added a few new ones. I listen and want your feedback.
My goal remains focused on improving fuel efficiency while remaining quiet; I'm not after horsepower or speed. Currently, my stock truck is at 19 mpg, I wantED 35 mpg, but have re-scaled my expectations from your feedback to aim at 25 mpg.

New items I am looking at for upgrades:
-- HE351 Turbo mods to compressor and turbine- Turbo Resources has been recommended to me and I am in touch with Austin/Ian. Looking at 'Holset HE351CW Turbine Housing + Shaft Upgrade 67 mm'. Let me know if this is on target or needs adjustment to another Turbo mod (model/maker/sizing/?)
-- Do you think Turbo Resources' 'HE351 HX40 67mm Billet Compressor Wheel Upgrade' (on top of the aforementioned) will increase or decrease fuel efficiency?
-- Cams are an item identified to me as a hard part mod for efficiency- Hamilton 180/220 is on my radar for a daily driver (but my research is in its ground-level stages and open to guidance on manufactures/models/sizing).
-- I'm looking for tips to keep my IAT up (100*) and a thermostat to stay under 200*
Which makes/models have been successful for your trucks?
-- Tuners- Smarty Jr., EFI live, Smarty UDC Pro, and Diablo Sport Extreme or Predator programmers: which programmer is best for fuel efficiency?

Items on my original update list with adjustments or changes in priority:
-- MBRP 5" Turbo back exhaust system (possibly with Quiet Tone muffler as I like quiet) - still looks good to decrease exhaust backpressure
-- Cold Air Intake- Banks Ram-Air Intake System with Banks Super-Scoop Kit; or S&B's equivalent; or just a BHAF by AFE.
-- Banks Techni-Cooler System package (but with the 3 ½” mandrel bent boost tubes from the ‘42766-monster-ram-intake-w-boost-tube-2003-07-dodge-5-9L’ package), and
-- Banks Big Hoss Intake Manifold System- is this intake manifold system necessary if I'm looking at an intake horn upgrade? Which one gets the most efficiency out of the 5.9L Cummins?

Items I've crossed off my original list are: (and let me know if they should be placed back on the 'do' list)
1- BD Ported Wastegate T6 exhaust manifold: not necessary as enlarged manifold does not create the pressure necessary to maximize / power the turbos
2- Turbo Smart Hyper-gate 45mm: not necessary as I'm not looking combining enough turbos to overpreassure the exhaust manifold
3- Wicked Wheel 2 or another turbine wheel upgrade to pull in more cold air: I'm on the fence here as turbine wheel upgrades bring more air into the turbo for efficiency but are usually intended to increase horsepower (I'm considering Turbo Resources).

Achievements:
600 lbs of sandbags placed at the tail end of the truck bed gave me 2mpg. My theory is the added weight over the rear axle transforms the rwhp into moving Big Blue forward instead of spinning the tires. My attention focused here because within 5K miles of buying the truck my rear tires were noticeably worn. I'm looking to place a 1/2" steel plate back there to cut down on the space required for 12 sandbags.

Thank you for your time and insights.
Jay

None of these will really give you enough to be worth the cost:
-- MBRP 5" Turbo back exhaust system (possibly with Quiet Tone muffler as I like quiet) - still looks good to decrease exhaust backpressure
-- Cold Air Intake- Banks Ram-Air Intake System with Banks Super-Scoop Kit; or S&B's equivalent; or just a BHAF by AFE.
-- Banks Techni-Cooler System package (but with the 3 ½” mandrel bent boost tubes from the ‘42766-monster-ram-intake-w-boost-tube-2003-07-dodge-5-9L’ package), and
-- Banks Big Hoss Intake Manifold System- is this intake manifold system necessary if I'm looking at an intake horn upgrade? Which one gets the most efficiency out of the 5.9L Cummins?

The first specifically is a no-no for an efficiency paradigm. For all it does, a cold air tube on the stock box and a 4" pleat air filter will do as good as anything.

A 62 mm compressor and the 67 mm turbine is a nice upgraded to the HE351. Whether or not it will add efficiency is the question, that has some other dependencies that may or may not validate it.

I am partial to the Smarty UDC because I like to work on my own stuff and tweak things. EFI Live and HP Tuners are likely as good. The add on boxes do not allow to tune enough, they are not bad but lack sensitivity.

The Hamilton cam you mentioned seems to be a good choice.

Injectors and transmission will come up on the radar soon. The stock injectors are just not tight enough on balance and operation plus mileage will effect the efficacy.

The transmission will make a noticeable improvement, both in efficiency and driveability. Stock unit is sloppy and a power waster.

Your insights on the exhaust system and Smarty UDC are good to hear.

The turbo and cam upgrades have potential; I'm looking to see who else has walked this path and where their trucks improved as a result.

On another note, manual hubs (perhaps a dynatrac free-spin conversion) and a Gear Vendor overdrive transmission attracted my attention for mpg gains. Not sure if the costs are worth it, but these caught my eye for further study with a cumulative 5mpg increase. Albeit, only a single truck test generated these numbers. Not sure if this is the route to take on a transmission upgrade. I haven't explored transmission options yet.

Thank you for your time and insights.
Jay

The free spin kits, maybe 1 mpg given nothing else is done. It might give you a gain in good conditions if you are getting 15 mpg, once you get to 20 mpg in good conditions there might be minimal or no change.

Pretty much the same with the gear vendors, at some point it just won't help trying to shove an 8000 lb box car thru the air. You can drop over $5000 on those 2 mods and see nothing gained in mpg at 75 mph. Drive 60 mph and you might se 3 or 4 depending on other factors.

Chasing the mileage grail gets to be expensive at times.