Right this is my first post, so i'll start with a little introduction.
My name is Bill I'm from England I've jut got myself a '95 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins diesel 5.9, auto with 270,000 on the clock, and its awesome! However these trucks are extremely rare over here and i use it for work, i want a bit more power out of it for some fun but it must stay reliable as its a work truck and i can't afford to replace it and i'd struggle to find another cummins dodge in a hurry here anyway!

So, with that in mind i've been looking at the low level tuning options. So far i've cranked the smoke screw in and slackened off the star wheel a bit which has got a nice little bit of smoke going and increased acceleration a bit too. This is good a good start but i want alot more than what just fiddling with stock parts can give. I'm thinking a simple fuel plate and more boost with some fiddling with the AFC should get a good noticeable increase in power from what i have read on these forums.
The next problem is parts over here are hard to come by, i have to import everything except engine parts and ancillaries (the Cummins is used in used in some bigger trucks over here, so engine parts, starters etc are easy to get cheap). I noticed a warning on the #5 plates (250hp and 65-lbs/ft) saying that the transmission can't take this amount of power, but apprently the #6 plate at (230bhp/605lbs/ft ) would be fine theres not alot of difference there and i'd liek to get as much power as possible so would it really be so bad to run a #5 plate? I don;t want to damage a transmission as the down time would be a big problem for me also the expense of importing transmission parts would be terrible.
So do you guys recommend a #5 plate on stock trans?
If i wanted to run 250bhp or more what modifications would the transmission require to handle this sort of power?

I understand that the turbo elbow supplied with this fuel plate kit Dodge 94-98 12 Valve Cummins TST Torque/Cam/Fuel Plate [TSTxxFuelPlate] - $195.00 : DieselStorm Technologies, Parts, and Accessories comes regulates th eboost with a screw in it already pre set to the right level, thus eliminating the need for a bleed valve/boost controller and a gauge? Can i safely gain power by adjusting this for more boost or adding a bleed valve as mentioned, and does anyone know what the setting for the boost elbow on a #5 plate is? How much boost can be run on stock internals in these trucks with the levels of fuelling i'm looking at? the truck will also be getting either stacks or a 4-5" straight pipe and a freeflow air filter.

Thats a about it for now. Just to summarise I'm looking at a #5 fuel plate and how much boost to run on an otherwise stock truck, I don't want to kill my auto transmission at the same time so will these mods be safe. I was also told that a 'tow pack' was added to the tranmission to aid towing as part of a full rebuild about 18 months ago, does anyone know what this would have done to the tranny with regards strength, maybe it can take more power now? and power delivery?

I appreciate that all this info is probably on the forum, I've read alot of the tech articles but can't find solid answers for everything. I need to be totally sure before ordering this stuff as returning things and getting it wrong isn't an option unfortunatley. So i thought i'd start another thread and ask specifically. Thanks for your help guys, this looks like an awesome community with alot of very able and knowledgeable members, i hope to become one of these inthe future

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I se some people syya they're running 350bhp on stock trans with no real issues, and some threads people are saying the tranny will be toast with barely 300, whats the deal?

 

since you have an auto with 270000 on it , it will not old very much over stock if i were you i would just slide the stock plate forward for now but sooner or later you will have to do something with that trans. your trans might not do something big like twist a input shaft but it will slip and once it slips once it will do it agian and get worse every time

 

The trans only has 10'000 on it though from a full rebuild incl towing upgrades (£1200 worth) which I'm lead to believe include a better tc. I don't tow anything so that's a pretty fresh trans really? What upgrades would you suggest adding to the trans?

I've slid the plate and aft housing up already and it's no where near what I'm after.

 

All this si bearing in mind i know alot of you guys haul serious trailers and liek to race and things this truck will be doing extremely light duties by comparison, no tug of wars, no tractor pulling etc etc.

When you say the trans will slip, which part is this refering to, i presume you mean the torque converter?

 

i would find out what was done to the tranny first if possible. if it is a stock rebuild a fuel plate will destroy it in a hurry depending on how you drive. has the killer dowel pin been tabbed on this rig? i would find out ASAP!

 

FWIW, I dynoed 388 rwhp on a stock transmission with a shift kit and an upgraded billet torque converter. it has been holding that power for over 4 years now , and the lockup clutch in the converter is the only thing that has failed.

I would put in a #10 plate. You will be quite pleased with the results, but be warned, this is where the addiction starts...

 

Solid info, now another question :p My local diesel man who has experience in race prepping big rigs..Cummins L10 or somethng. Doesn't seem too into fuel plates and saysits all about tuning and messing with the AFC, but he did recommend getting bette rnozzles onthe injectors he said he could get me up to 210HP with some of those for a fairly decent price, what do you guys think on that? also if i got the injectors thena ten plate where would it put me roughly inthe numbers?

 

buy your fuel plate on ebay! $29 and it comes with the boost elbow. save u $160

 

Awesome, I take it thats US ebay? any chance of a link to the one you mean?

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Dodge Cummins Diesel Fuel Torque Plate #100 # 100 on eBay (end time 15-Apr-11 16:28:35 BST)

this one? can anyone explainthe numbers here as this talks about it being liek a ten plate and a 0 plate,

where as the platesiw as looking to buy before were 5's and 6's I think...does each brand have there own system for rating them or do the numbers refer to different properties?

 

DODGE CUMMINS DIESEL FUEL TORQUE PLATE SOLID 1PC #0 # 0 - eBay (item 190448185796 end time Apr-21-11 09:58:32 PDT)

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there u go!