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Comments
kcram
Community Leader/Smart Shopper Conference
How come you don't post too much any more??????
-powerisfun
Crush season at the day job - I'm in market research and companies are trying to get their marketing strategies and advertising budgets set for January before the holidays come up. One of our clients has a major interest in this time of year - if you're a parent, uncle/aunt, or (like me) godparent, you've shopped there this time of yeat for the little ones.
You'll see more of me between now and the end of the year. I still have to post October sales
kcram
Community Leader/SmArt Shopper Conference
Wildman
I have six M773s on my Ram 3500 - best tire I have ever had. It's tough as nails, wears evenly, even with the Ram suspension, holds pressure, and has excellent traction. The only problem is, it is not a consumer tire per se. It is a commercial truck tire, thus is not available in anything larger than OEM sizes.
For the size you want, I would definitely say get the BFGs.
kcram
Community Leader/Smart Shopper Conference
You are right. Those Goodyear tires do suck! Be careful of Kelly. Methinks Kelly is owned by Goodyear. I have had no personal bad experiences with Kelly, but they may be of the Goodyear family. Hope this helps.
Didn't GM have a strike last year? Hmmmmm....wonder why there are so many "increases"? Plus, if GM didn't introduce a new model--how much would the growth be then?
He just put a new set on last week. They are
BF Goodrich Trigard 3-ply All Terrain T/A KO 31x10.50.
GM announced yesterday that its November truck sales of 177,630 units rose 7.5 percent over a year ago, marking GM's BEST ANNUAL TRUCK SALES EVER !! with still one more month remaining in 1999.
I've also had a couple sets of real aggressive tread Bridgestones on my old work truck (Forest Service)I thought they were outstanding for a truck that doesn't feel the pavement under it a lot. Probably not the best compromise for all-around though.
I've also had a couple sets of real aggressive tread Bridgestones on my old work truck (Forest Service)I thought they were outstanding for a truck that doesn't feel the pavement under it a lot. Probably not the best compromise for all-around though.
kcram
Community Leader/Smart Shopper Conference
Haven't I said this before? Dodge can't make a tranny to save their life~! If it wasn't for the redesign of 94 and the Cummins partnership---this company would still hover (maybe) 100,000 units sold.
BTW: I thought GM was considering Allison?
Roc
The big block V8 and the Duramax diesel do in fact use the Allison 1000 automatic.
kcram
Community Leader/Smart Shopper Conference
The problem with the Cummins and the automatic is the ability of the torque converter to handle the grunt at shift points (when the TC is "operating"). Until now, the solution has been to detune the engine. Beginning with the "new" 2001 model, the Cummins computer will now perform a "temporary detune" when the Chrysler computer tells it the automatic is about to shift. Because it only takes place during shifts, the average driver won't notice, and the experienced driver will think it feels like a high-speed double clutch. As a result, the automatic version of the Cummins will be rated the same as the 5-speed manual for the first time since the 1993 models in the old body - 235 hp and 460 lb-ft. The 6 speed manual will get the higher 245/505 rating.
kcram
Community Leader/Smart Shopper Conference
The transmission's internal code name? "Brute"
kcram
Community Leader/Smart Shopper Conference
My plan is starting to come around. Get a 2001 Ram/Cummins in a few months. Keep it until the 2004-model, and get one of those in late 2003 when bugs are worked out of new truck/tranny.
Only problem, what is Clinton's proposal, today, of requiring all light trucks (SUVs, pickups, vans) to comply with the strict car emmissions requirements going to impact the diesels?
kcram
Community Leader/Smart Shopper Conference
kcram
Community Leader/Smart Shopper Conference
How is your Ram holding up?
The baby semi is doing great. Almost 56K at the moment, and I just stuck payment 43 in the mail (of 60). In the 3 1/2 years, the only true failure it has ever had was the batteries giving up in June (for those who are unaware, diesels usually require 2 batteries - one had died on its own, and the resulting load killed the other one too). A few minor repairs here and there, but nothing serious or unexpected. And the Cummins has never let me down yet.
Even as grungy as it looks at the moment (I may have my body shop do a power buffing on it this month), I still have people stop me in parking lots to ask me about it.
Can't wait to see the redesigned 2003 Ram dually...
kcram
Community Leader/Smart Shopper Conference
Wildman
You'll have to enlighten me on the "Power wagon" look. I remember the old one but is Dodge planning an new one??
Dodge released a concept vehicle a year ago under the hallowed Power Wagon name. The styling was an attempt to modernize the original PWs of the 40s. DC has given it a green light after much positive response, and it will see production in the fall of 2002.
The Power Wagon can be seen here: Power Wagon - by the way, the PW is fully functional, and several magazines got to drive it.
kcram
Community Leader/Smart Shopper Conference
Thanks for the link but it leads me to another question: What is this "designer" fuel that they were referring to in the story?
http://www.wieck.com/public/index.html
ENTER SEARCH CRITERIA "Terradyne"
19 real-world pics
I'm here to report that i have just bought a new
'used' truck. i traded in my '94 chevy for a '98
Chevrolet, one ton Crew Cab, with 350 auto. i've
been wanting a CC for a long time, preferabbly 3/4
ton, but the brand new Fords and Chevy's are too
expensive for me right now, and this truck is in
immaculate condition, and I knew the previous
owners, who took good care of it, and I got a fair
price. I wish it had the Vortec 454 in it, but the
350 with the 4.10 actually runs better than i
expected for this heavy truck. I'm sure my mileage
will only be one mpg better than a 454, but still
a good running truck.
My question is to anyone who knows about this
year/model truck:
is replacing the door speakers difficult? i
would like to upgrade.
The engine in the 1-ton Chevy's is detuned a
littel compared to the 3/4 ton, for emissions. is
there anyway to get the same engine PROM as a 3/4
ton?
what are the options for aftermarket engine
programming, (Hypertech? anyothers?) anyone with
experience with this engine? Quad? Steve?
unixgod? Difficult? Mileage penalty?
Thanks guys!
cdean
I also added a dual-in, dual-out exhaust by JCWhitney ($168 + $15 shipping). Very nice exhaust with beautiful mandrel bends (much better quality than the OEM exhaust) and a big straight-thru muffler (dual-in, dual-out). Very nice sound (can barely hear it when cruising at 70, but step on the gas to pass and you get a very nice mean sound) and more power. For the price, I highly recommend it. I was very pleased since the price was ~50% of what a Gibson costs. I don't know if they have one available for the crew-cab pick-ups or not, though. You could probably modify it to work if you really wanted to.
One other thing I did which may seem a bit wacky was to wrap the entire intake in thermal-reflective tape to keep the intake air cool. This was suggested by an article in Four Wheeler magazine. You can see the article and more details at
http://performanceunlimited.com/projectmpg/ . They saw a 10% mileage improvement and a peak torque increase of 9 lb-ft and the torque peak came on at a lower rpm. I didn't notice any seat-of-the-pants power improvement, but I did notice a 1+ mpg mileage improvement. They used this expensive racing tape, but since the intake is all plastic anyway (very insulating) you just need to reduce the radiative heating by making the black surface (very heat absorbing) reflective instead. I used metal repair tape. It's only about $2-3 bucks a roll.
In addition to the Hypertech power programmer, there's a similar one by Superchip for our engine.
They claim to get the same power improvement as the Hypertech without having to go down to a 160 thermostat. Which is a bonus, because the lower temp theromstat causes mileage penalties and increases engine wear. I don't have either of them, so I don't have any real-world experience with them. dave40 has the Hypertech on his 6.0L as I recall. He may be a good one to ask.
I'm in the process now of researching which supercharger to add to the truck. I started a topic called "Which supercharger for a truck?". I can't remember the topic number but it's near the end of the list if you're interested in reading it. For engine-preservation and fuel-efficiency reasons, I'm leaning toward the ATI intercooled Procharger.
Anyway, sorry for the long post. Congrats on your purchase and good luck.
-powerisfun
Good luck,
Wildman
Has anyone around here had Bridgestone Dueler A/T tires. I had great luck with the Dueler APT, and was wondering if the A/T lasted on anyone else's heavy truck?
Thanks again guys.
cdean
When changing exhausts on the vehicle--don't they recommend adjusting fuel delivery? The only engines I really know well are motorcyles and I know that just changing the pipes can actually run the motor lean. Is this due to the carbs and therefore doesn't affect Fuel injection?
Roc
In other words, the computer "should" compensate for the change and provide the adequate spark and air/fuel mixture it needs to keep it from running too lean or too rich.....if it is working as it should.
Bad thing is, if you have a computer that is not controlling these parameters like it should, and say have a spark knock or it is running too lean, there is very little that can be done to rectify it without replacing the computer. There are no cam adjustments, etc to change the tdc of the timing, etc. and if there is no codes given by the computer, todays techs usually do not have a clue how to approach the problem.
I couldn't have said it better myself. I agree that the claimed 20-25 hp is probably too high. I've even heard people claim 25-30, which IMO is total BS. Based on the feel, though, I'm willing to believe 10-15 rear-wheel hp with both the headers and the exhaust. The nice thing is that it seems to improve the power all the way across the whole rpm range. It's more noticeable at the higher rpm range (2500+), but even in the low range, I'm able to climb further up hills before the truck downshifts than I was before (we have a lot of really long hills in NM). So, in my mind, it's definitely still worth it.
At the Performance Unlimited website listed in my previous post, they saw a 25 rear-wheel hp increase on an '88 Ford F-350 with the 460 engine when they added both headers and exhaust, but that's a bigger engine and an older truck which wasn't quite so confined by the computer as todays are.
-powerisfun