A friend of mine just bought an 04.5 Duramax (LLY and Allison). The thing is bone stock and pulls great, but he wants a little better fuel economy and performance. He wants to first add exhaust, but has some questions. Do the turbo back kits require deleting the cat? If so, does this cause any issues (does a diesel have an O2 sensor)? What size/brand should he get? Will the exhaust help without adding an intake and programmer? He doesn't want to drop a lot of coin right now.

He also wants to add an intake and programmer down the road. Again, economy and reliabilty are his main concerns so he doesn't want to go overboard. Thoughts? Opinions? What works for you?

We are both new to the diesel game, so please go easy on us :)

There are no O2 sensors on most diesel engines. Turbo back deletes the cat- The muffer is an option on most kits. They also make a Cat back kit which keeps the factory cat. Be sure you check if the vehicle will be inspected for emissions- CA starts next year.

The LBZ mouth piece is a great mod -- just keep the stock intake, it works fine!

A canned tuner like PPE is the best if you want "Plug and Play"

Many Vendors on this site can help you select and provide what ever you need.

Hope this helps.

Will the exhaust help without adding an intake and programmer? He doesn't want to drop a lot of coin right now.
Probably not, no real performance gains by just adding exhaust, until you're in the 500hp neighborhood. However, deleting the cat would cool down your EGTs, and possibly gain some MPGs, but only if you can get away it.
He also wants to add an intake and programmer down the road. Again, economy and reliabilty are his main concerns so he doesn't want to go overboard. Thoughts? Opinions? What works for you? I think it's obvious which company I trust. I love my intake, others see it as being too pricey. TxC (texas chris) makes a nice CAI that is reasonably priced, and easily adapts to the LBZ mouthpiece, which I/we highly recommend. Try searching by using keywords, you'll have 2 days of reading before long. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I will start reading.

One question about a programmer...Does anyone run and Edge with the Attitude monitor? He found a good deal on one and was thinking about picking it up. He likes the thought of having the monitor and not having to install more gauges.

Typically someone is selling a used Edge Juice because of a problem they had with it, like the truck shutting off while driving, or running irregularly. I would stick with programmers like PPE or Diablosport, as they are more reliable, shift better, and have speed limiter and tire size adjustments.

Typically someone is selling a used Edge Juice because of a problem they had with it, like the truck shutting off while driving, or running irregularly. I would stick with programmers like PPE or Diablosport, as they are more reliable, shift better, and have speed limiter and tire size adjustments.

AlligatorPerformance,

What would you recommend for entry level mods, like pipes, intake, and programmer? Do you offer any package deals?

Typically someone is selling a used Edge Juice because of a problem they had with it, like the truck shutting off while driving, or running irregularly. I would stick with programmers like PPE or Diablosport, as they are more reliable, shift better, and have speed limiter and tire size adjustments.

Not always true about the Edge. I sold mine because I wanted to get the EGR delete feature of the Predator but I never had a problem with my Edge. Having said that, I agree with Chad that there are better programmers out there than Edge. Once I get back from Afghanistan next year I'm going to be going with a PPE myself. I like my predator, but PPE has more tuning capabilities.