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I have a 2003 duramax 4 door dually and I tow a trailer long distances on occasion. I need to pull the best fuel mileage out of this thing I can, hence the reason I went to a diesel. So far just has a volant cold air intake. Going to a straight 4" exhaust. What else can I do reasonably? Is there a decent tuner (or tune) I can run on the truck to help? Any other ideas?
A tuner really helped my truck. Also, with this colder weather, you may want to get a grill cover, aka "winter front". I pick mine up tomorrow.
Synthetic fluids in the axles and t case could help too. Make sure tires are aired up correctly.
Make sure you perform the driver mods too...
A few less pounds in the midsection? Maybe a lighter foot? Watch the top speed? All easier said than done! lol
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prince Valiant
I actually got a grill cover with the truck so that works. I always watch tire pressure, I cant afford to replace 6 tires all the time! Fluids couldnt hurt either. What kind of tuner I guess is more my question than if I should...Am also doing injectors soon, that will hopefully help more than hurt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 88Nightmare
I have an edge tuner I took out of my truck, works great, and mileage increase. LEt me know if your interested.
-Dave
The syn. fluids in the diff. trans. and motor are a big help with the cold weather, and a lite foot also helps.
Custom tunes will provide the most benefit and are comparable in price to the good tuners out there. Nick @ Duramaxtuner across the border in Il is one of the better ones around..... avoid Dan's diesel performance tuning at all costs...he will nuke ur trans.
That said, best milage improvement is a light and steady right foot
I have a bully dog gt, purchased from axis racing (flicktitty and Lizmo) and it's great. I've heard bad things from duramaxtuner on the national dmax boards. The thing I like about the bully dog is the monitoring device, and it's safe. I'm not looking to replace my trans under emergency conditions so keeping it safe was key for me.
There's many other tuners across the country that can make a tune file for you with efi live... Just need a way to load it into your PCM. Pm me, I can give you all sorts of info on that
There's strong mixed reviews on running synthetic in the Allison trans... Everyone says best bet is to just stick with the dex 3Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Guy
Most things now are coming with synthetic, both for the improvement in MPG and life of the equipment it is put in. One other thing with synthetics is the extended drains of the oils. I run Schaeffers 7000 5w-30 with a extended drain of 10,000 miles. First truck had 321,000 miles before I made it my weekend bracket racer. Second was a s-10 with 287,613 miles and was traded for a newer s-10 and now has 210,763 miles on it. Is the Schaeffers oil that good. I think so. They have a great web site to check out.Quote:
Originally Posted by 88Nightmare
Dex VI can have trouble in the Allison because it's viscosity degrades too much over time. For the original poster's vehicle, Dex 3 or Transynd are the two best options for the transmission.Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Guy
At some point in production, Allison started building their transmissions to have their seals compatible with Dex VI, however the older ones were not compatible. You could call Allison and give them your transmission serial number and they can verify what seals were in it: 1-800-252-5283
stock trans in our climate can benefit from torque drive and the extended drain interval. Modified trans most recommend the standard Dex fluid. The newer trucks use a low viscosity formulation to decrease drag and improve fuel economy
Oh and I forgot Bobo is in janesville, I think he use to be on this forum. He does some awesome work so far as tuning as well
I want his truckQuote:
Originally Posted by WickedSix
The edge thats in my 06 doesn't seem to change anything i've run a couple tanks on the milage tune and a couple on the stock tune and seems to get within a few tenths of a gallon different. my 04 was tuned with efi live i was getting steady 21 in the summer and about 17-18 in the winter. but was also a 2wd ext cab srw shortbox truck
the 2wd will make a big difference.
EFI live will be happening for me sometime next year
Gap the sparkplugs. That'll net you 2mpg right there.
Just had one of those replaced at the dealer. I gained a couple :goofQuote:
Originally Posted by Prince Valiant
How much you want for it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by fly5150
Older thread, but: Change your oil out for some Rotella T6 5w40 synthetic… helps with mileage improvement and has a longer run life in the truck
intake, exhaust and efi is all you need. duramaxtuner.com is my recommendation. stock transmission safe tuning.
i also recommend full synthetic oil. i am an amsoil dealer. change my oil once a year. get between 15-20k on it. full drivetrain change can help mileage.
duramaxtuner doesn't have the greatest reviews on duramax forums. I'd suggest http://dansdieselperformance.com
don't care what the forums say. i speak from experience. but if you want dan to tune your truck go right ahead.
Bubba you are joking right??Quote:
Originally Posted by 88Nightmare
Dan will NUKE your transmission....so he can then rebuild it for you....
pat do you anyone who has his tuning who hasn't needed a tranny build....cuz i don't. lol
I have no personal experience with either... Just going off what I've read and had recommended to me. Take it with a grain of salt.Quote:
Originally Posted by WickedSix
I'm also in with a vote for duramaxtuner My buddy had his 03 tuned couple years ago he's acually the reason Tyler switched to efi live Brandon and tyler were both at the strip with us. bone stock truck with dmaxtuners tunes pulled hard don't remember the times but i'll be getting my truck tuned by him. his trans isn't messed up any worse than it was with his edge :goof
i've had stock trans tuned efi on my truck for over 2 years now. never once limped my trans. my stage 5 tune put down over 400 hp and 800 lbs of torque at huckstorf. i limped my trans a few times with my ppe but since having it efi tuned it's never run better.
Tony limped his truck a few times with the edge. Hasn't limped it once with efi
who does the efi tuning then that would be a SAFE place to go...
and off topic Bubba, where did you order your towing mirrors from?
dmax tuner
That doesnt help me if I dont know where to look! lol
whoops sorry :goof google works tho too http://duramaxtuner.com/
you can order pretuned ecm with safe tunes on it.