just trying to gather more information on other mods that can be done to our trucks, outside of tuners/programs, so here goes:


Injectors - Good thing ? pros & cons


Turbo - I know there isnt anything available but when they are, im sure it will only help


Porting - is there any porting that can be done that will improve performance


Propane or NOS - good/bad, pros & cons


Heads - can anything be done here


Cams - can anything be done here as well


Driveline and attachements - same thing

1) Injectors are a good thing as you can get more fuel into the motor faster-Cons are you will see a drop in gas mileage and you lose your 200k GM warranty on the injectors.


2) Yes there is a turbo for the d-max, actually there is 3. they are offered by ATS they are called the Aurora series and Clint the owner is currently running the Aurora 5000, there is also a 4000 & 3000. I don't know if he is selling them yet but they are out there.


3) Porting if done correctly is good for any performance motor, but the duramax is already extremely effective with airflow and I think that you would yield very small performance for the cost.


4) Propane is great for making power because it helps the diesel burn quicker and more effectively, but keep in mind that its another type of fuel and if you already smoke like a train then your not getting enough air to burn the fuel in the first place. This is where Nitrous comes in, since this cemical can create massive amounts of oxygen in the combustion chamber it enables you to burn all that extra fuel. Hense the reason it cleans up all the black smoke. This combo when tuned correctly, will yield major increases in power. Cons are if you don't tune it correctly you could lose your motor. This combo also increases your EGT's quite a bit.


5) Heads are already very efficient but could always be made better.


6) Cams could yield a significant increase in power but it would take 1000's of hours of research to find out exactly what the ideal duration of the cam would be. Nobody that I know of makes cams for the duramax.


7) Driveline is pretty stout since it was build for hauling, tranny needs internal upgrades desperatly when you start making big power.


8) One thing you didn't mention is a Water/Meth injection system, this will not only clean all the carbon out of the internals of the motor but it will lower your EGT's and create more power, it also helps stablize the mixture of Nitrous, propane, diesel so it doesn't detonate while under serious power. (detonation will also kill your motor)Edited by: IBDMAX'IN

thanks for the feedback, very good information and just what i was hoping for. im really thinking about going with a propane injection system and upgrading the TTS Tow Tune when its available. The propane systems seems to be nice for towing, power, mileage, etc, and the bigger tune TTS will provide some good power.

Super Diesel runs the TTS extreme on his dually and it really gets on it!!! He was having problems when running the extreme race tune and the propane at the same time because he didn't have enough air to mix with it all. He did notice a difference in power but it wasn't untill he added the N20 then it became scary fast. He's pushing 794HP and around 1400ftlbs with the TTS extreme, propane, N20 & water/meth. I think he was running somewhere in the upper 400's with just the TTS.

IBDMAX'IN (quote) but the duramax is already extremely effective with airflow and I think that you would yield very small performance for the cost.


I am assuming you are basing this on actual flow bench testing of the Duramax heads and intake combined. It would be benefit to see what a stock head and intake does flow.


Any information you have would be helpful and appreciated.


Deep Enough


Donald McMullin

6) Cams could yield a significant increase in power but it would take 1000's of hours of research to find out exactly what the ideal duration of the cam would be. Nobody that I know of makes cams for the duramax.





Funny that you mention the good old camshaft. If somebody really wanted to get after it, this is how it would go. Get a spare OEM camshaft. Arrange with a willing cam manufature ( Competiton cams) to have the cam measured. This is easy and free. Would only take Comp cams 1/2 hour to measure the cam. See if they could cut a new cam? Probally could and would. Maybe make it just a little larger for starters. They have people who know what specs to change.


Here is the big problem. Whos is gonna take the time to figure out what the current Duramax motor can handle? Not power, but clearance. Valve train geometry and piston to valve clearance. You would have to put your Dmax on an engine stand and do some very fundamental blueprinting so on and so forth. Or you could just stick a cam in with a little more duration and see if anything breaks.


I have attempted to contact Isuzu for engine specs. but they don't want to part with the knowledge.


If the correct cam was added to a currently bombed motor, I would guess a gain of 100 HP. Edited by: Bronco

bronco - good post, my buddy and i were thinking the same thing in regards to the cam, after looking around and researching we were amazed to find that there wasnt a whole lot of info out there, atleast nothing worthwhile for what were talking about anyway like you mentioned. weve got to figure out if this is do-able and start at the bottom and work up on it. i have a side buz with race dirt bikes and high performance quads that we change out the cam immediately, and the performance gain is night and day difference, gotta think the same would apply here but i just dont know enough about the diesel engine yet to fully understand everything that would go into it

I will find out more on this in the up coming months. I will have the motor I am building for the dragster torn compleatly apart. I plan on researching all of this info on the cam grinds and the head porting and how the flow is. Will it be efficient, or room for improvement?

I will find out more on this in the up coming months. I will have the motor I am building for the dragster torn compleatly apart. I plan on researching all of this info on the cam grinds and the head porting and how the flow is. Will it be efficient, or room for improvement?

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Clap.gif http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Rock On.gif
thanks SD - let us know, im ready to start tearing apart and rebuilding if its worth it and wont hamper reliability tooo much http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gif