Alright...I took the plunge and got me a low mileage 2006 LBZ despite all the piston cracking potential. It was real difficult to decide between the truck that I got and a Cummins equip Dodge. I am hoping that I did not make the wrong decision.

Truck is completely stock with the exception of aftermarket rims and tires.

I want to put a tuner on the truck (I understand that EFI live is the best) but am slightly terrified about the warranty implications. Is anybody familiar with swapping the ECM and leaving the stock one unmodified and in a box in case anything does go wrong.

**quick caveat** I am not going to run some sick boost levels, hurt the truck, and then expect GM to eat the new motor after I take my parts off.

The tuner will serve to maximize fuel efficiency and driveability. If I did swap ECM, is there a mileage counter in the ECM so the dash mileage would not match the ECM mileage?

What other modifications should I consider:

Sleeved tie rod ends
Upgraded transfer case pump
Upgrade fuel filter
By pass oil filter set up
Transmission shift improverI have zero idea about what you guy recommend about the above. I am all ears.

If you are wanting to put in a preprogrammed ecm, any efilive vendor here should be able to set you up with a good tow tune that will net you some good mileage. Secondary fuel and oil filtration are a excellent mods also. Pump rub upgrade a good idea before it happens. Tie rod sleeves only needed for drag racing/sled pulling, but if you want them put em on, however I would suggest installing cognito pitman and idler arm supports.

As for mods, I currently have put the deeper allison tranny pan and the maghytec diff. cover. I am about to put a cognito leveling kit, pitman idler braces, and bilsteins all around in the next few weeks w/ some H2 rims and tires.

Mods I hope to have done by next year (christmas present to me) is to add a BD exhaust manifold and 4" MBRP exhaust with a set of gauges so I can run my Predator on a higher setting without worrying. I run it on the 65hp now and take it easy cause i dont want to burn up a turbo.

Next year I am looking at going with a banks intercooler.

I also have a Nicktane Fuel pre-filter that I haven't put on yet.

As for oil bypass or any of that I wouldn't worry about it just use a good synthetic and amsoil ea052 filters. I would like to look at a lift pump one day but thats a ways off.

good questions.......i'll be curious for the answers as well. i have a question, why bother with the tie rods? is this a GM problem? or when you lift it problem?
as far as your choice of trux...........you did good. the Dodge IMO is funny looking and sounds weird. just my opinion.

there is a ton of info on here related to tuners, however for a "safe" tuner that will deliver MPG improvment as well, though a bit more expensive, BANKS offers a good product line.

I had a 2007 Cummings Crew cab I bough brand new, after 17K miles I traded it in on a Dmax. I couldnt handle the lights dimming to fire flies when the heater kicked on, I addressed it with Dodge and it was determined to be "normal" and I was able to recreate the "problem" on every new diesel that they had on the lot, just start the truck turn on the headlights, turn on the defroster on the front window, and turn the fan on high, wait less than 30 secs and you will watch the volt meter drop way down, headlights will dim out, and it will repeat every 30-45 seconds for 3-4 seconds of dimming. I first discovered the problem when towing my Travel Trailer back to TX from FL when I was on the elevated roads in Louisiana where the lighting is non existant. At 1030PM I didnt like not being able to see the center line on the road. I traded the truck in the following day to the Chevy Dealer, after Dodge stated there wasnt anything they could do for me, I figured it was time for me to do something for the safety of myself and my family.

YOu made a great choice, no worries, be happy!

good questions.......i'll be curious for the answers as well. i have a question, why bother with the tie rods? is this a GM problem? or when you lift it problem?
as far as your choice of trux...........you did good. the Dodge IMO is funny looking and sounds weird. just my opinion.

The tie rods is a too much power problem, even with stock HP you can bend the tie rods if you pull something in 4 wheel drive.

As far as tuners and mileage you can switch out ECM's and GM can't trace it on the factory ECM then. But I don't know what it will do for mileage. The best fuel mileage I got was with the stock rims and tires and the Edge J/A on lvl 6. I'm working on a fuel mileage tune with EFI live right now... But its not going too well... Having too much fun with my race tune :D

You made the right decision to switch teams, big bonus getting the LBZ. I applaud you for admitting you won't hold GM responsible for your intentional eqpt. abuse. Kinda rare. The closer you stay to stock, the better off you'll be IMO. Since that's not possible (thanks to this site), I say use the "go easy/not crazy" method on mods, and you should be ok. Unless your truck is a "toy", and you don't rely on it for daily transportation, and/or you can afford breakage...let it rip if that's the case.

I have never looked back since I bought mine.

any ideas on the mileage not agreeing with the ECM being an issue.

I am not going to turn up the wick real high on this truck but I hear GM refusing warranty claims because of wheel and tire changes....:eek:

that is complete BS and I challenge anyone to justify it otherwise.

I have had as good as 25mpg, but on the highway of course while on cruise. U can get close to that with a free flowing exhaust, air intake, and almost any tuner out there.

I am not 100% the cvn history can be read on the LBZ like it does on the LMM.

I have the cognito leveling kit with bilstiens. I will going with the tie rods, idler pittman arm upgrade this week.

I had a black hatch, although it was a honda with some stuff:p:

I would open up the exaust. I noticed a big difference in power with exaust. I have the banks 6gun and it does have alot of saftey features.

Moved to Other Performance Discussion!

Moved to Other Performance Discussion!

BOOOOO!!!!

Who would know about the ECM traceability on the this thing.

Just do the basic stuff-Transgo Jr., PPE airbox mod, 4" turbo back exhaust with no muffler or cat, PCV reroute, EGR blocker and fingerstick. You can do ALL that for not much over 600 bucks and you will be impressed. If you want a little more without limping your transmission, get a PPE tuner and bump it up about 100 horsepower-and be easy on it. This thing is a ROCKET! Be careful and don't hurt yourself or the truck.....

Just do the basic stuff-Transgo Jr., PPE airbox mod, 4" turbo back exhaust with no muffler or cat, PCV reroute, EGR blocker and fingerstick. You can do ALL that for not much over 600 bucks and you will be impressed. If you want a little more without limping your transmission, get a PPE tuner and bump it up about 100 horsepower-and be easy on it. This thing is a ROCKET! Be careful and don't hurt yourself or the truck.....


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Picked her up today. What a nice riding truck.

This what I am thinking so far:

AMSoil bypass filter
AMSoil primer
Nicktane fuel pre-filter (BTW...how does this change the stock filter change interval and do you even need the stock filter if you run the nicktane unit). Is there another better fuel filter option...?
Aftermarket exhaust (I see most people running an MBRP exhaust...is there a consensus on the best one?)
EFI live
Spare ECM to keep the GM warranty nazis at bay
Cold Air induction (again...is there a preference on this kit)
Shift improver
What is Transgo Jr.....?
Do I need sleeved tie rod ends...?
What is PCV re-route?
Is there an EGR blocker kit or are you guys making your own...?
What is a fingerstick...?
What is idler pittman arm upgrade?

Picked her up today. What a nice riding truck.

This what I am thinking so far:

AMSoil bypass filter
AMSoil primer
Nicktane fuel pre-filter (BTW...how does this change the stock filter change interval and do you even need the stock filter if you run the nicktane unit). Is there another better fuel filter option...?
Aftermarket exhaust (I see most people running an MBRP exhaust...is there a consensus on the best one?)
EFI live
Spare ECM to keep the GM warranty nazis at bay
Cold Air induction (again...is there a preference on this kit)
Shift improver
What is Transgo Jr.....?
Do I need sleeved tie rod ends...?
What is PCV re-route?
Is there an EGR blocker kit or are you guys making your own...?
What is a fingerstick...?
What is idler pittman arm upgrade?

I dont know what everyone else does, but I have started to change mine at longer intervals. In my opinion, as long as you buy a namebrand, exhaust is exhaust, I have installed silverline on both of my d-max's, fits really well, and I have also installed some Flo-Pro kits, they didn't fit worth a d@mn. Do some searching and reading about the cold air intake, the consensus, is it is not needed. Transgo Jr. is a shift improver. In my opinion, sleeved tie rods are needed for sled pulling and boosted 4wd launches. Search for pcv reroute, in short explanation, crankcase gases are routed back into the engines intake, a reroute, will allow you to route those gases to the atmosphere. Merchant Automotive, Kennedy Diesel, and I am sure others, have egr blocker plates in stock. Fingerstick is a device that is wired into the egr valves wiring after a blocker plate is installed, to keep the SES light from coming on due to the blocker plate being installed and blocking the exhaust gases from re-entering the motor. Idler and pitman arm supports from Cognito, I feel are a must, as GM has always had a problem with Idler , and pitman arm supports wearing out prematurely.

Oh yeah if your getting efilive, the fingerstick will not be needed, because you can set the codes to not report.

Thanks

Here is a PCV reroute kit.
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=240415