A Couple LB7 ?'s

[Truckie174]

Hey all, I am doing some research for my father in law on this one. He owns a '02 CCSB with 101k on it. He has never had an issue with the engine, though the truck does have some interesting electrical quirks.

He wants to open it up a bit, he has a 26' Travel Trailer that he has pulled alot. He has mainly pulled it close to home, so fuel mileage hasn't been in the forefront of his mind until now. The Inlaws are looking at making a pretty long camping trip this summer, and he asked me what he should do to the truck to improve the mileage.

I own a 94 and dont have much knowledge on the duramax engines. Therefore I don't know the best options for the newer engines. I know an intake and exhaust will help a bit, but tuners are where the bigger gains are found. Keep in mind, its not gonna be pulling a sled, or making huge power, he's looking for mileage. What tuner would be a good fit for him? Exhaust? Is there much advantage to a 5" exhaust over a 4"? for the duramax?

Thanks in advance, Jack

 

[Unit453]

No advantage a 5" over a 4". Some say the sound is deeper but there's really no gains to be had. 5" systems are quite a bit more expensive though. Its mostly for bragging rights.

The stock intake boxes can be opened up a bit. Someone here with a first generation can tell you exactly how I'm sure as all the generation engines are very different. Aftermarket intakes are a good thing but they dont provide any more power at stock levels. It'll breathe better but it may give him 1-2 more mpg or it may not. Some people have had great luck with them.

For a hand held programmer, the Diablo Sport Predator or Hypertech are the two biggest bangs for the buck when it comes to tunes in a box. Both work excellent on all generation motors but again, some people like them and some dont. Each tune does very different things and the trucks feel completely different right off the bat. Programmers as well are worth 1-2 mpg increases when driven sensibly. There are lots of opinions on this because there are many tuning devices out there and everyone has a different experience.

 

[Dura-Ration]

Diablo

Before I had EFi Live tunes I had a Diablosport Predator tuner and it gave me 1 to 2 mpg increase at 72 mph. But when I drove it at 66 mph I got 2 to 3 mpg increase. Now these are when I could keep my foot out of it and my wife off of my back. ):h In my opinion it is the best bang for the buck for a begining Dmaxer. I don't know what I have now for mpg, due to rightfootitous.

 

[D.Camilleri]

I have a hypertech on the wifes 01 and it picked up 2 to 3 mpg, I also got one for Dads 02 and he picked up a little also, but he has a cabover camper on all the time. I have run an edge juice, a hypertech and now the ppe on my 02 and I like the PPE stacked with the edge. This is not for a rver however, I had to beef my tranny and I tow heavy relying on my gauges. I would suggest a used hypertech. They can be bought for a reasonable price on ebay.