Hello, guys.

I've gotta question here and I'd like you to be as candid as possible.

I was listening to several Duramax trucks as I idled next to them and walking around several at dealerships and I instantly noticed how quiet they are relative to Ford Powerstrokes and Dodge Rams. However, the "traditional turbodiesel sound" is absent or significantly diminished (at least when using a Powerstroke and Ram as a benchmark).

When driving the vehicle it is phenomenal; once on the move the wave of torque erases any concept of "too refined" or "lack of power" ideas one may have and we all are aware of the power of all turbodiesel powerplants, in general.

The Question:

Do you get the impression (based PURELY by the sound at idle - both inside the vehicle and outside of the vehicle) that the Duramax is somehow less powerful and too refined for the type of vehicle it is? Does it fully meet one's expectations for the type of vehicle it is?

Thanks in advance.

Not at all

The Duramax was designed to give a quiet smooth idle something all the current LD manufactures are after. Listen to a old 12 valve Cummins and a Older Powerstroke 7.3. All the current Diesel will out pull out run any of their predecessors and idle quieter than previous models.

Cheers and welcome to the forum.

Wait till you tow with it. You'll realize how completely wrong you are.

This is coming from a ford guy that just bought a gmc.

And speaking of towing, last Saturday I made my longest run yet. Towing my 9000 pound race car trailer I did a 240 mile run, simply select the desired towing speed and relax. It will easily tow much faster than a fellow needs to run.

And about the noise, under different loads and conditions you hear the engine more some times than others. In a hilly drive it sounds off more. It is most quiet on a level run just cruising.

Also, This is one fine rig, I am very pleased.

Larry Woodfin

And speaking of towing, last Saturday I made my longest run yet. Towing my 9000 pound race car trailer I did a 240 mile run, simply select the desired towing speed and relax. It will easily tow much faster than a fellow needs to run.

And about the noise, under different loads and conditions you hear the engine more some times than others. In a hilly drive it sounds off more. It is most quiet on a level run just cruising.

Also, This is one fine rig, I am very pleased.

Larry Woodfin

What til you pull that 9000 lbs trailer with a 4" exhaust and and little programming. Really gets ta sounding off then.

I don't think you will be disappointed. Would like to know what you bought or thinking of buying. Watch your fuel mileage though. Some of us don't get but about 14 (05 3500) stock & some get over 20 stock. Just need to look at some posts here. The LBZ is not showing many problems yet & hopefullly the changes they made from the LLY will prove successful. Good luck & I think you will be much better satisfied with the Dmax than the Powerstroke or the Cummins.

I've got an LLY.

I drove an '06 Powerstroke comparably equipped to my Chevy about 100 miles the other day...mostly highway miles. First thing I noticed was this particular Powerstroke was louder than my LLY at idle -- I'll admit it was not warmed up, but it definitely had a good clatter...much like my LLY with a 100hp Predator tune. Other '05 and '06 Fords I've heard sound at least as quiet as my LLY with a bit of a more pleasing note both in turbo whistle and rumble.

On the highway I noticed that the Ford was remarkably quieter. My initial thoughts were better insulation in the cab -- it was a King Ranch crew-cab, FWIW. I've heard it said that the new Fords have an insulated frame -- I couldn't tell you. The Ford did pull fewer RPMs relative to my LLY and if I could hear anything was the turbo.

I felt the Ford had less power than the Duramax stock for stock. Just SOTP, it does not have the same get-up-and-go and the Duramax. No mistake about it though, going over a certain bridge my Duramax has NEVER downshifted. The Ford, by now at normal operating temperature, down shifted to hold the cruise control.

On the other hand every '04 and up Cummins I've heard with a stock exhaust on it is at least as quiet as the Duramax.

I'm concerned only at idle conditions. Once on the move with different speed-loads things will be different - especially when under high load such as towing...

Do any feel that the sound at idle is too refined?

Personally, I like GM powertrains so I'm not concerned about quality, per se.

I'm considering GM, Ford & Dodge.

Yes it is>>>>>>

The low noise at idle is my least concern. I thank all of us should be more concerned about fuel mileage and emissions, than the noise. All the new Chevy-GMC Duramax Diesels have plenty of power and torque. They need better fuel mileage. If the new Duramax sounded like the old cummins 12v and got 30 mpg and met the 2007 epa standards would you still buy one... yes of course.

What sells... Power, Torque, fuel mileage, Trany and it's ride....not noise

In 2001 I bought a Duramax for a couple reasons. It had the automatic transmission on the market. It was much quiter inside and out side the truck than a Cumins or Power Stroke. It was rated to pull a larger RV.

I bought my 2005 Duramax cause the 01 treated me so well.

The 06 Is by far the quitest Duramax yet, just love the quiet. It is also the most powerful.

The 01 loaded to 21500 combination going up a 6% grade was much quiter than the 96 big block was on the same grade and load.

It nice to not wake the campgound when you start your truck for an early start in the morning. The old cumins would wake everyone around.

A co-worker is taking a 3-day test drive in a new Ram to replace his old 6.5L Chevy. My first impression when I walked out to look at it after he fired it up was how quiet it was standing next to it. It's every bit as quiet as the Duramax and may even be quieter. I'm thinking about giving my truck a mufflerectomy because I can barely hear the turbo whistle going down the road with the A/C on and the radio at a reasonable volume.

Wow. The truck's sound at idle sounds like it's very important to you. I would offer that there are many other and much more important qualities to be considering between these trucks.

I don't suspect that you would be disappointed with any choice unless you got a "problem child".

If you've done all of your homework and driven all of them and the sound at idle is the deciding factor between the 3, then wow, it's a crap shoot. I'll offer my personal opinion that the Dmax idle, to me, is quieter and more refined than the ford and only slightly over the cummins. I like that, I wanted the quietest diesel I could have. I don't make any connections to the quality, strength or power based on it's sound though.

It's common consensus here and the prevailing results of the shootouts that the Dmax is the more powerful Engine.

FWIW, I did 3 months of research, spent countless hours on the Ford, Dodge and GM forums and drove all 3 twice. I chose the Dmax and the Gm package around it.

...ever been in a travel trailer park and HEAR the cummins or powerstrokes early in the morning. Try sleeping late with that racket. The D-MAX being quiet has no relationship to power. If it's the turbo sound your after, you might consider a cold air induction system.

Yes, TD powerplants are typically loud, clatterboxes (from the outside at idle and low load conditions). I'm curious about the core customer (You Guys) awareness of this and your opinion of it.

I can state that listening to sound files at idle the Duramax sounds "odd" (i.e., atypical); but driving the vehicle it's very, very nice in that the impulsiveness just isn't there.

I know many will not mind that, but many also "like" the obtrusive nature of previous generation TD engines.

Thanks for the feedback.

At idle I blast a homemade CD of a Power Stroke through the stereo. I cant stand the fact that the drive up teller at the bank can hear my voice at stock idle!:lol:

wow,, i wonder what my LBZ will sound like when i get my 5" twin stacks:beerchug:

whats wrong with having class leading hp and tourue, being the quietest, and having the smoothest ride. its called innovation and i think its awesome cuz my old 6.5l was a loud, slow, underpowered slug.

whats wrong with having class leading hp and tourue, being the quietest, and having the smoothest ride. its called innovation and i think its awesome cuz my old 6.5l was a loud, slow, underpowered slug.

Who implied that I had an issue (i.e., negative concern) with the sound of the vehicle? I never implied that I didn't care for it. I'm canvassing owners to see what ACTUAL owner opinions are of the sound at idle... You know, does it meet your expectations of what a turbodiesel pickup truck will sound like; do you prefer the more "traditional sound", etc, etc., ad nauseum.

Once moving do you like the turbine whine? Would you want more or less?

Look at this as cheap marketing for something you may be interested in later.

As a "car guy" I think the sound of a vehicle is a very important aspect of the driving experience. That would explain my love of my Shelby Cobra replica.:muahaha: I love the sound of the side pipes.

My new D-max is too quiet. A diesel should make some more noise. Removing the muffler helped but it still doesn't sound like something is broken under the hood and the neighbors haven't started to complain complaining......yet.:lol:

A friend of mine has one of the 7.3 powerstrokes and it sounds like a thrashing machine. He was amazed at how quiet my Duramax was. Since I bought mine back in the winter I never really heard the turbo much with the windows up. Since spring and summer have arrived and I have rode around with the windows down I have heard that great turbo whistle. It is nice to have a truck that you can hear your passengers talking in while traveling down the road, but have the power to kick a-$ when the time comes.


:grd:

One other caveat I didn't add before. In the winter on high idle, this thing sounds like an angry hair dryer even when I'm in the house. There's no real clatter to it like you would expect from a diesel. It sounds more like it is getting ready for a catapult launch off a carrier deck! I'm still not used to the lack of an exhaust note. It doesn't rumble at normal idle; you just hear a whirring sound if you're near the tailpipe.

:ro) Ditto!!!!!!!!!!!!Yes it is>>>>>>

The low noise at idle is my least concern. I thank all of us should be more concerned about fuel mileage and emissions, than the noise. All the new Chevy-GMC Duramax Diesels have plenty of power and torque. They need better fuel mileage. If the new Duramax sounded like the old cummins 12v and got 30 mpg and met the 2007 epa standards would you still buy one... yes of course.

What sells... Power, Torque, fuel mileage, Trany and it's ride....not noise

If I were looking for traditional diesel sound I would have bought the real thing, a 6 cyl. I feel that a truck this nice and driveable doesn't need to make its presence known any more then it has too. When its driven as a car I do not need to be out disturbing the peace. I did enough of that with the cummin's over the years. I since grew up and don't feel the need to have something that has overbaring sound. As for the turbo, it has a pretty good whine running down the highway. One thing is for sure when driving these trucks they sure don't let you forget how powerful, refined and that under the hood it burning fuel not gas.

So exactly what kind of marketing study are you conducting here?




Who implied that I had an issue (i.e., negative concern) with the sound of the vehicle? I never implied that I didn't care for it. I'm canvassing owners to see what ACTUAL owner opinions are of the sound at idle... You know, does it meet your expectations of what a turbodiesel pickup truck will sound like; do you prefer the more "traditional sound", etc, etc., ad nauseum.

Once moving do you like the turbine whine? Would you want more or less?

Look at this as cheap marketing for something you may be interested in later.

I kind of liked the clatter of the old late 90's era 7.3. There was no mistaking what you were driving. Stock, they had no turbo whistle at all though.
If you stand at the front of the Dmax, you can't even hear the rattle. My father didn't even realize it was a diesel the first time I pulled up in my truck until we started talking about it.

Well, many people do prefer the "clattering" sound of the older diesels [my father included and myself to a limited extent], just as many will state that a proper diesel engine is an inline six.

I've seen data that suggests two camps: "I don't want to hear it" and "the more the better"; just like grand touring and sports car enthusiasts. This is a good thing (both sides of the argument). It seems that GM has taken the "Lexus" route (quieter is better - and it indeed is, for some).

Perhaps a poll would have been a better avenue for this, but more comments would be appreciated. Thanks for all that have participated.

Do any feel that the sound at idle is too refined?



What exactly does too refined mean? My truck is very quiet at idle, so much so that non-car type people don't even know its a diesel. I LOVE that, I would LOVE for it to be even quieter.

Try taking a Ford PS through a drive through.... They ask you to shut it off. If thats cool, then I'm getting old. I bought a 45K dollar truck, not a farm tractor.

I'm guess I'm in the Lexus style camp, give me power everything with all the bells and whistles, give me a quiet drivetrain and I want 400hp with 700ft/lbs of TQ. :D

I just traded my 2003 Duramax for a 2006 Duramax and it is very quite compared to the 03 Chevy. I got a little over 200 miles on it so far and I am really impressed. I just wonder if it will be quite towing my fiver. I weight the truck today and with me it it 225 lbs and half a tank of fuel it weights 6940 for a crew cab 4wd. I am towing a 12,000 Arcitc Fox, veery close to the weight limit.
Tom

What exactly does too refined mean?

Too refined would imply that the sound doesn't best fit the powerful image of the vehicle. It's kinda like a Corvette Z06 sounding like a Cadillac. Not that the Caddy sounds bad, but the sound would not fit a Z06. Or perhaps a BMW 540i sounding like a Lexus LS430. Not good; however, an LS430 sounding like a Beemer wouldn't fit Lexus' image, either. Different horses for different courses. Or something like that.

You guys put a lot of thought into it. I just bought the truck, that had no bearing on my decision. I do like it though.

Unbelievable...

The '04.5 and up Duramaxs are especially quiet due to having a CAT, which the Cummins does not.
High pressure injection is quieter -- they all have that.
Cummins uses a different injection philosophy instead of EGR for emissions...a third pulse I believe for pilot injection. Pilot injection on all make 'em quieter.
Lowering the compression on the LBZ should make it quieter.
No matter what you do to a Cummins they sound like a dump truck because it's a "medium duty," 6-cylinder diesel...just varying degress of dump-truckedness depending of the exhaust -- some are quiet obnoxious.

They all sound like diesels to me -- plenty of clackety clack no matter how much you try to convince other people or yourself that it's quiet...not a gasser. They will never sound as good as a 500+ HP V-8. Even Vipers sound like overgrown Hoover vacuum cleaners to me -- V-10; firing order.

I bought mine because "price sells cars" and am quite pleased to have such a powerful, capable vehicle that gets 18-20mpg just cruising.

If I want to listen to a really sweet sounding motor I will just drive my 73 GMC. The one with the 454, full cam, REAL headers and 11 to 1 pistons. Of course I can't tow anything and can't pass any gas stations.

Mjolnir, what the heck man? Are you serious taking sound into consideration enough to help you decide on a truck? If so, you probably are buying too much truck for your needs. Seriously, give me a break........"is it too quiet to make you feel tough like a big bad man?"

Unbelievable...

The '04.5 and up Duramaxs are especially quiet due to having a CAT, which the Cummins does not.
High pressure injection is quieter -- they all have that.
Cummins uses a different injection philosophy instead of EGR for emissions...a third pulse I believe for pilot injection. Pilot injection on all make 'em quieter.
Lowering the compression on the LBZ should make it quieter.
No matter what you do to a Cummins they sound like a dump truck because it's a "medium duty," 6-cylinder diesel...just varying degress of dump-truckedness depending of the exhaust -- some are quiet obnoxious.

Actually, the '05 & up Cummins has EGR and uses the same HPCR Bosch injection system as our beloved Duramax. Yes, the old 12V and early 24V Cummins engines sound like a dump truck. The new ones are every bit as quiet as a Duramax.

I drove a new '05 two years ago at the dealer. It was nto as quiet as my duramax, but quite a bit quieter than the 94-98.5 with the bosch pump.

Actually, the '05 & up Cummins has EGR and uses the same HPCR Bosch injection system as our beloved Duramax. Yes, the old 12V and early 24V Cummins engines sound like a dump truck. The new ones are every bit as quiet as a Duramax.No doubt...

I'm pretty sure that the '04-'04.5 Cummins used a third injection pulse rather than EGR. The same injection system, but at the time a different philosophy and application of HPCR. Maybe even the '03.


The Cummins 600 Turbo Diesel is not only more powerful, it's also cleaner. Particulates and nitrogen oxides have been reduced to meet the 2004 emission standards. Now the Cummins 600 meets all US federal and state emission requirements.
To meet the new emission standards, Cummins applied its technology to provide an in-cylinder solution along with a diesel oxidation catalyst. Cummins developed a new piston combustion bowl and a high flow electronically-controlled wastegated turbocharger to better match boost pressure to engine needs to reduce emissions. This solution does not require exhaust gas recirculation, saving over 50 components.

I know the Cummins as early as the '03 was just as quiet as my LLY if not quieter. All Cummins sound like 6-cylinder diesels with a performance exhaust -- like a dump truck -- there is no mistaking that.

I was disappointed for a friend of mine who put an MBRP on his '04 Cummins. I asked him if it always sounded like that and if he minded the drone. He said it always sounded like that and the drone was significant while towing -- his wife didn't like it. I thought, "Well it probably WAS quieter than my LLY at first -- now it sounds like a dump truck." He's happy; I can't relate.

I guess I should have said "used" instead of "uses."
...like it's some kind of cosmic offense worth taking someone to task over...

I'll go ahead and qualify where applicable with a - IMO.

...beating a dead horse.

The 03 cummins was the first cummins with common rail and had two injection events with no EGR and no CAT. the 04.5 and up (600&610), has 3 injection events and a CAT with no EGR. The third injection event is to make the CAT hot enough to where it will do its job.

like stated earlier. 04.5 and up-dodge cummins have a cat. i actually don't like the fact that diesel are getting as quiet as gas engines!! i want people to know i have a diesel! i have done all that i can to get my 04.5 cummins louder!! (intake,exhaust) i guess i am lucky- the cummins gets alittle louder as the miles rack up. you can tell it is a diesel. obviously not as loud as the 12v-but louder than a d-max.

I've had a diesel for years. I was tired of it and all the things that come with it.

Think about it - people don't want turbo lag, low HP desels, even if they can pull, smoke is bad, and the noise. Most people want gas engines, but want a diesel sticker on the side. I like it, they are becoming more sophisticated and MUCH more driveable. Come drive my old one and you'll see what i mean.

That IDI can't be compared to the newer engines. I've got a 4.3L V6 that puts more torque to the ground than the IDI's.

I like how the Duramax is quietier than the rest. It adds to the bad *** factor of the trucks. I bought the for a these reasons, It's a GM, It had/has more power, is faster and I can hear the voices in my head as Im smoking out a dodge or f*rd and they are standing still with nothing more then exhaust barking.