Duramax Mods

MO Predator Racer

MO Predator Racer

Member
Does anyone have any duramax's on here. Doesnt matter what year. What mods have you guys all done to your trucks and if you havnt done mods to them what do you plan on doing. I am trying to get ideas because I am saving up to do some mods on my truck.
 
I was planning on deleting it all the way because we did that on our other truck and it increased the MPG like crazy. It has EGR delete and I am straight piping it and doing some other stuff and a TransGo Jr shift kit probably later on and thats all. Nothing crazy because I dont want to mod tranny much but I plan on doing a few small things. Also cold air intake in future.
 
I personally haven't owned one, but my dad has had a couple. An '05 3/4 ton LLY and currently a '15 1-ton LML.

The '05 pulled an 14,000lb 5th wheel from coast to coast, up into the Rockies several times, Glacier NP twice, down to the gulf countless times, up to the UP of Michigan, and more. Roughly 35k miles of towing that trailer. Never once had a problem, and never once felt like we needed more truck, or more power. It did everything we ever needed it to. That truck was bone stock except we went up from the 245 tires to 265 tires. Other than that it was literally bone stock. Typically got around 8-9mpg towing if I recall correctly and would get 20+ empty. It was a phenomenal truck.

The '15 has pulled that same 14,000lb 5th wheel to Estes Park, Glacier NP, Durango CO twice, all over the smokies, etc. Roughly 10K miles pulling that trailer. They recently upgraded to an 18,000lb 5th wheel. They haven't had it long, but with that trailer the truck has gone to the Knoxville Nationals, Houston Tx, and Bristol, Tn. roughly 3K miles with the new trailer. Once again, haven't had any major problems, but the new truck is definitely more finicky with the sensors on everything. This truck is also bone stock except for a 60 gal. fuel tank. We have never felt like we needed more power or more truck.

The moral of the story, the trucks work fantastic in their bone stock form.

My opinion: Hundreds of engineers design these trucks, the engines, the transmissions, the transfer cases, the diffs, the suspension, etc. They are very good at what they do, and I have yet to find a reason for a street truck to be modified in any way. You have your race cars, and karts, leave the truck be. When you start to play around with the engine, you'll hurt the trans. When you fix the trans, you'll kill the rear end. Leave it be. If you want more power, buy a newer version of the truck.

Now if you want to make the thing a purpose built pulling truck or something, then go nuts I don't care.

Pic. for Proof

20210812_171843.jpg
 
jaymancds said:
I personally haven't owned one, but my dad has had a couple. An '05 3/4 ton LLY and currently a '15 1-ton LML.

The '05 pulled an 14,000lb 5th wheel from coast to coast, up into the Rockies several times, Glacier NP twice, down to the gulf countless times, up to the UP of Michigan, and more. Roughly 35k miles of towing that trailer. Never once had a problem, and never once felt like we needed more truck, or more power. It did everything we ever needed it to. That truck was bone stock except we went up from the 245 tires to 265 tires. Other than that it was literally bone stock. Typically got around 8-9mpg towing if I recall correctly and would get 20+ empty. It was a phenomenal truck.

The '15 has pulled that same 14,000lb 5th wheel to Estes Park, Glacier NP, Durango CO twice, all over the smokies, etc. Roughly 10K miles pulling that trailer. They recently upgraded to an 18,000lb 5th wheel. They haven't had it long, but with that trailer the truck has gone to the Knoxville Nationals, Houston Tx, and Bristol, Tn. roughly 3K miles with the new trailer. Once again, haven't had any major problems, but the new truck is definitely more finicky with the sensors on everything. This truck is also bone stock except for a 60 gal. fuel tank. We have never felt like we needed more power or more truck.

The moral of the story, the trucks work fantastic in their bone stock form.

My opinion: Hundreds of engineers design these trucks, the engines, the transmissions, the transfer cases, the diffs, the suspension, etc. They are very good at what they do, and I have yet to find a reason for a street truck to be modified in any way. You have your race cars, and karts, leave the truck be. When you start to play around with the engine, you'll hurt the trans. When you fix the trans, you'll kill the rear end. Leave it be. If you want more power, buy a newer version of the truck.

Now if you want to make the thing a purpose built pulling truck or something, then go nuts I don't care.

Pic. for Proof

View attachment 17617
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I understand that completely. I can do a bunch of mods to help get the best fuel efficiency out of the truck so for me that would be doing the mods I have planned plus it will just let the truck breath and as a high school kid I want the truck to scream and the turbo to whistle so the straight pipe and the other deletes will give me the noise I want to hear with a little extra power. No doubt that truck has enough power, I don't even get near to full throttle and she will still put you in your seat. Other than the few simple mods I have I just want to get everything on it cleaned up and I like the look of a clean truck so all the badges ecsept for chevy bowtie is coming off and the side steps and some other stuff. Just to keep it a clean simple build. I am gonna do Diesel Mechanic work my Jr and Senior yeah of highschool so those few simple mods will give me some time to do that. I just want it to be loud since I am just like any other high schooler. I see all the points you guys are saying but I am a 15 year old and when I mature a little bit I would probably tell people jsut to leave there trucks alone but I am having fun so I will do that. When I am older I will probably se the points you make but for now I am just gonna have fun with it.
 
MO Predator Racer said:
I understand that completely. I can do a bunch of mods to help get the best fuel efficiency out of the truck so for me that would be doing the mods I have planned plus it will just let the truck breath and as a high school kid I want the truck to scream and the turbo to whistle so the straight pipe and the other deletes will give me the noise I want to hear with a little extra power. No doubt that truck has enough power, I don't even get near to full throttle and she will still put you in your seat. Other than the few simple mods I have I just want to get everything on it cleaned up and I like the look of a clean truck so all the badges ecsept for chevy bowtie is coming off and the side steps and some other stuff. Just to keep it a clean simple build. I am gonna do Diesel Mechanic work my Jr and Senior yeah of highschool so those few simple mods will give me some time to do that. I just want it to be loud since I am just like any other high schooler. I see all the points you guys are saying but I am a 15 year old and when I mature a little bit I would probably tell people jsut to leave there trucks alone but I am having fun so I will do that. When I am older I will probably se the points you make but for now I am just gonna have fun with it.
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Well you saw my first car on your other thread, it was my 16yr old dream so I get it. Make 'er scream!
 
Start saving up for them tickets . There on the way .:eek:
Been there done that .
I like loud as well .
Hd has straight pipes .
Truck whistle's .
Car bone stock .
 
A bunch of my buddies have straight pipes and never get messed with. We have some really chill law enforcement people around here. Though you do have to watch out about the DOT people and then if the officer or EPA finds out what is all done they will throw a fit. I know I will get away with them straight pipes but I will have to watch out if I do much else like fully deleting. The police around my area dont seem to be bothered by much.
 
MO Predator Racer said:
A bunch of my buddies have straight pipes and never get messed with. We have some really chill law enforcement people around here. Though you do have to watch out about the DOT people and then if the officer or EPA finds out what is all done they will throw a fit. I know I will get away with them straight pipes but I will have to watch out if I do much else like fully deleting. The police around my area dont seem to be bothered by much.
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We live in redneck USA. I have never once heard of anybody getting screwed with for their diesels. Just the speed that gets em in trouble.
 
Don't know much about the duromax. But I installed a high performance muffler, Cold air intake, K N air filter and Diablo chip That has 3 selection on a switch.
Stock
just more power
A lot more power.
Been running it for 19years and when you hook it up to something. Something is going to happen. It either move it or all 4 305rX 17 tires will spin. Have pulled a 31 ft fountain power boat,loaded with diving, fishing equipment, 5 adults with all luggage in bed. Set cruise at 85, estimated total load including passengers is about 20,000 lbs. Not including the truck at about 7,500 lbs. 2002 ford F350 , crew cab, long wheel base.
 
Mine is 4wd; don't know if yours is or not, but if it is, I would think twice about deleting the side steps - you will find the ladies appreciate them, at least with the height of a 4wd. While I appreciate your like of the noise, there are mufflers out there that will cut down/take the edge off the sound a bit without a significant power hit, and, trust me, there is a limit to how much attention you want to attract - not all police are as nice as you describe your locals to be, and keeping noise down a bit lets you get away with a lot of other stuff.

If you want to learn about what works and what doesn't, and where to get it all, look for Diesel Power magazine. And if you convert to a Cat back dual setup, mufflers on that will have no performance penalty, though you would need to average 3-4 dyno runs to measure any penalty with the single exhaust and the right muffler.
 
Do a fass system, don't straight pipe it but if it has a def system delete it. Undercoat the bottom and it should keep the rust away for quite a long time. Just seal all your seam welds AFTER removing all moisture.

Nice truck you got and if I was your age and had that I'd be in a lot more trouble.
 
It has a DEF delete and EGR delete on it already so I don’t have to worry about deleting DPF. I am gonna wait till it’s time to see what I want to do exhaust wise. I am for sure gonna put a big ole tip on it and stuff. I took off the side steps earlier tonight and it is a decent step to get in it but I think it looks good without them and I also debadged the whole thing as well. I am just trying to make it a really clean looking simple truck build. I am planing on painting the frame to prevent rust and I have an idea for putting a flag in the bed of the truck. Yeah it has a lot of power so I am gonna have to drive it carefully but I plan on it lasting me a while so I am not gonna thrash on it all the time maybe open it up every once in a while but I plan on being pretty gentle with her.
 
Bonus points for Chevy having the contract with Allison. Don't think you'll be hurting that anytime soon so long as your not turning the sucker way up. Don't follow the fad with the bigger tip just do a 5 inch exhaust with muffler. It will breathe better, have better sound, and won't kill your ears with whistle.
 
I don’t plan on having it tuned after it is fully deleted so I get best performance but I am not about the handheld tuners. I don’t like the handheld tuners because it isn’t reliable power and you will just hurt stuff if you drive it in a heavy tube for very long. I like the big exhaust tip😂. A bunch of my buddies have been doing it so we are all gonna try and put big exhaust tips on our duramax’s. I will probably do a full turbo back 5inch pipe and maybe a small muffler but that way it will breath really well and then maybe a cold air intake. If I had a bunch of money I would have a Wehrli Fab Y bridge and cold air intake and all the hoses under the hood would be a certain color and everything would be powder coated but I am in a high school budget which basically means not much money to do much with.
 
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