Advice on 04 5.9 cummins
 

Just got a 2004 5.9 cummins with 6 inch lift but gonna take lift off since I use it for work. Just wondering the biggest tires I can use with levelling kit also which tires look good, ride well and decent in snow and ice. Also wondering what the best chip is to improve fuel economy.

If you get a pro comp leveling kit the biggest tires you can fit are 33's. Ive heard the edge juice is a good tuner.

Thanks I heard 35 inch but guess not

I have heard 35's too, but on pro comps web site it says 33's. If your looking to get good or decent milage then I definitely wouldn't run 35's

So tire size does affect your mileage? I thought it just screws with your odometer which makes it seem like your getting worse mileage. I have 37s on right now and still got 600 km last tank. But if your right ill just go with 33s. How bout chip and tire brand?

You should be getting way better than 600 km to a tank, but that makes sense with those 37's. With my 33s i get 850 km or 550 miles which is 15 mpg or 6 kilometers per liter. If i didn't punch it as much I would probably get even better. I also get 20 mpg on the highway or 8.5 kilometers per liter. I don't really know a whole lot about tuners, But I'm sure there is a previous thread about them. I have heard nothing but good things about the General grabbers with the red letters, there good in deep snow and ice. Same with dick Cepek fun country tires. nitto trail grapplers are also very good in those areas. I have heard toyo MT's are not good in snow and ice but I don't know for sure. Hope this helps

Okay I'll definitely try a smaller tire maybe dick cepek I had toyo Mt they look sweet and good in mud but yeah terrible on ice and snow. I'll check other threads for a tuner thanks.

what are your goals for the truck? tell me what you want to do and i will tell you what tuner would best fit your needs.

35" tires will clear with a leveling kit, i recommend Hankook Dynapro MT for a mix of mud and snow :tu:

Those are nice tires. Any road noise? Is the drive relatively smooth? Mostly want fuel economy for a tuner don't need 600 hp. And of coarse want the truck to look good. Is there a big difference in fuel economy of 33s and 35s? Might even just leave the lift on and just go with smaller tires.

i run 35" tires and get 23 highway.... when my foot is not down :w2:
Those tires actually!! back ones are about gone :humm: the are a decent ride with some noise and they are one of my preferred tires. the thing with bigger tires is they will help economy on the highway but not around town. the pedal on the right controls mileage.

Do you want a plug and play or an adjustable tuner?

Haha I see. I'll chem them out. Not sure I would prob just keep it on a lower setting for fuel economy but what do you suggest? Would 35s look too small with 6 inch lift?

35s and a 6" lift may look small, but if you do not like it you can take the lift out and throw in a leveling kit and still clear them :tu:
But if you do not want an adjustable on the fly I would say a smarty, if you like the idea of changing it while driving down the road I would say an edge juice with attitude and a cts monitor to keep an eye on parameters and have a touch screen.

Yeah your right I think 35s are the way to go. I'll look into both of those tuners thanks for the help

One more question. What other upgrades to the truck would you recommend Especially for fuel economy? I heard if you use a chip it's recommended to use a bigger exaust

I would recommend a cold air intake, an exhaust system (4").
It depends how far you want to take it. An intake horn, bigger charge air piping, and a new charge air cooler (intercooler) would also help get a better supply of cool dence air, but the most people stick with the top 3 for Mileage :tu:

Sweet thanks got my smarty jr programmer works awesome so far won't be cranking it up too much though. Just a question on leveling kits do all of them put strain on your front end parts or are certain ones better? Figured I would get it put on by same guy taking out my lift

A leveling kit is a leveling kit, keep in mind bump steer. A 2-1/2" leveling kit should be accompanied by a 2" drop pitman arm. It will prolong the life of the draglink, and reduce bump steer. Unfortunately with the heavy cummins and any lift it will put some added wear on the ball joints. I just buy the cheap ones and swap them once a year. Timkin wheel bearing have always treated me very well. Good quality and a good warranty.

Play with the smarty and have some fun with it :c:

Okay lift kit puts strain on ball joints too don't they? My truck vibrates when I get up to about 110 km/hr one guy told me it's main driveshaft cause of the angle it's at with the lift another guy told me it's the front driveshaft cause it hasn't been greased at each oil change even though there is a sticker under the hood that says to do that.

Yes. It's very hard to say without having all the specs on the lift. Is it a cheap lift? Who makes it. What does it contain (springs, blocks, ect.) once that information is out in the open it will be easier to diag
Yes all of them hurt balljoints, exponentially as the lift gets larger

Alright it's a 6 inch bolt on super lift.

Full spring lift?
Blocks?
Carrier bearing spacer? (if applicable)
New control arms?
Did the axles get rolled to help offset the pinion angles?

There is a lot that can cause this when a lift is just tossed at it without consideration

It was a bolt on suspension lift getting it taken off this weekend though. One more question when I start my truck and first start driving there is kind of a large wind up or air noise it's making and only for about the first 30 to 60 seconds of driving then it goes away any idea what this could be? Kinda sounds like running your air conditioning in a gas truck.

i have absolutely no clue on this air noise.