Can anyone truly say that the changes they have made , or alterations they have made to their Trucks has made a difference worth talking about?


I have talked to a few folks who say that the engineering of these trucks is best left alone.


I see the chips, the front-end work , the Exhaust work, the Amsoil prefiltering, Air filters, and such. How much of it really makes a difference? Or is it all for fun? Just to say you have it!!!>


What are the "requisite" changes that one should make on thier new Dmax Trucks? That is, Hands Down, need to do stuff...


Thanks...

I think what i have done wasn't for not..


for instance my stock shocks stunk. bouncy bouncy bouncy.. bilsteins are MUCH better and its easy to tell.


EGT's are lower with my 4" exhaust. measured before and after. granted if your power level is stock this might not matter.. but mine ain't stock!


fuel filter- this is important no matter what brand you use or where you plumb it. the stock one has been show to be sub-par and i plan on keeping my truck for quite some time so its a must-have item for me.


granted many things are for fun.. sure my tts programming and tranny upgrades- my favorite fun-factor upgrades because it makes it fast and makes it smoke (if i want). as for it being a difference worth talking about, my 1/4mi times sure are lower than a stock dmaxhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gif


i don't know what people will agree on as far as "requisite" changes. if they will all ever agree. if i had to guess, i'd say secondary fuel filtration, synthetic fluids, and new shocks..

Without a doubt the addition of the hot juice and exhaust made a tremendous difference. Made a good vehicle great!

Highly recommended.

Without a doubt the addition of the hot juice and exhaust made a tremendous difference. Made a good vehicle great!

Highly recommended.





http://forums.corvetteforum.com/images/smilies/iagree.gif 100%.





Drive a Dmax with the above modifications and you will not want to go back. Edited by: HD-Nate

The shocks. Change them before you drive off the lot. I guarentee they will be worth every penny. They make a measurable difference with quanifiable results.


Front and rear axle lubricant. Go to synthetic and change the front differential breather to the white one rather than the factory black one. The synthetic in the front is mandatory for operating 4x4 in cold climates.


I am not saying the synthetic axel lube will net you any noticable difference, but you are guaranteed to have the proper fluid in the proper amounts. That is more than GM sent you with. The axles have been driven off the lot with as much as 2 quarts missing.


Reduce rear air pressure from 80 to 65 PSI. That is with a load E tire and unloaded. Otherwise you are guaranteed to have a bumpy ride and have a tire with a very low groove through the middle.


Any other changes are just because you love to tinker and pamper your baby!

I have 14k on my truck and I'm hesitant to chip it. Though I did put on a Banks 4" exhaust which included losing the cat convertor. I immeadiately could feel an improvement power wise. I also like the way it sounds. It's easier on my ears I think it is the lower frequency. I have air bags on the rear for the camper which improves the ride empty. I think I'll add some shocks as people say it will ride even better. I've almost pulled the trigger twice on the Banks 6 shooter, wastegate, and gauges but I chickened out. People on this site seem to go for the Juice w/attitude. From what I've read and heard at least you can remove it b4 going to the dealer. No permanent wiring or other things to tip them off. "Please correct me if I'm wrong" cause there are a lot of people on this site that know a lot more about this than me. The waranty issue is the main reason I have not chipped mine...........4th crew cab....1st diesel I love this truck...


Calhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cool.gif

For peace of mind, the secondary filtration is a must. Gauges & Juice for fun. 4" muffler to let her breath better and lower EGTs (chipped or not)

Bronco, I have never heard this yet "Go to synthetic and change the front differential breather to the white one rather than the factory black one.


Where is this breather and where can you get the WHITE one?

Bronco, I have never heard this yet "Go to synthetic and change the front differential breather to the white one rather than the factory black one.


Where is this breather and where can you get the WHITE one?





The low fluid reccomendation comes from several here at the Place having low axel fluid myself included.


The cold climate is a T.S.B. from GM. They site Alaska and Canada but never really give a temperature? I figured since I lived in Colorado and have been in -15F a time or two, I had better change as well.


The breather is a little different because it has a synthetic compatible o-ring and also the metal vent on the back is heavier to keep it positioned down in the thinner fluid. Otherwise the breather looks identical. I bought mine from Gm for about 26.00.


Here is the link to the T.S.B.


http://dieselplace.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=554&PN=1


Edited by: Bronco

Bronco I must have missed the thread on this. Thanks.

I tried to change mine to the white one but was unable to get it threaded. I put the black one on and took it to the stealer and on the hoist the tech was unable to thread the new one. He stipped two out and told me the only reason to switch was so in the future one could tell if it was synthetic or not. Is this correct? Thanks


Ben http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Rock On.gif

I had a bear of a time trying to thread the white one. I dingered up the threads so bad that I had to clean them up with a file and scratch all. Once I cleaned up the threads and knocked down the first thread it screwed right in. Probally screwy before I even started?


There is a metal outlet on the back of the vent cap. It pivots with the fluid. So if you are going up or down a hill the vent always points in the correct direction. I noticed the outlet on the white cap was quite a bit heavier then the outlet on the black one. That is the only difference I could notice. Maybe it had nothing to do with operation? I have no clue. I changed to the white one just because it said to. I guess now the GM tech knows not to put mineral back in. Wonder if the chump at Grease Monkey knows what the white one is for? Edited by: Bronco

I will do my changes so I am not worried about some grease monkey not knowing. I do agree with the difference between the white and black one of the weights. The tech did say that the seal was the thing to worry about so we changed the O-ring.


Ben http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Rock On.gif

4" Exhaust. I noticed an obvoius power increase in the 1800 to 2500 rpm range.

After just installing my Bilsteins on my truck(03 and just a few miles under 30k), these are a must. This truck now rides like a whole new truck and much smoother like a half ton.


Secondary filtration, is open ended as to a must or not, but when I did have mine installed I did see slightly better fuel economy than what I'm currently getting. Although from 8k to 25k I ran it non stop but still had an injector get stuck open and needed the replacements. Havent reinstalled as of yet, but I plan to soon.


Chips/tuners. Well they are just for fun. I haul heavy from time to time, but don't tow much right now. It does wake up a sleeping giant though. A huge difference in driveability, but not a neccessity per se.


Exhaust, once again, a good thing to breathe easier, but certainly not a necessity.


Gauges, just one extra way to monitor your rig for performance and/or a possible malfunction. Not a must buy, but a strong recomendation.