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Economic Stimul-by-us
In an effort to do our little bit to get the economy going we bought a new
truck today. The old one lasted 18++ years, 276,585 miles and is actually still going strong although it's well past beat up and ugly The new one is a Dodge 4 door short bed 4X4 with the Cummins diesel, it has truly awesome power and I can't wait to hook up my trailer and head over the pass. However, I feel very poor now :-( |
Economic Stimul-by-us
On Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:09:46 GMT, "Larry L" wrote:
In an effort to do our little bit to get the economy going we bought a new truck today. The old one lasted 18++ years, 276,585 miles and is actually still going strong although it's well past beat up and ugly The new one is a Dodge 4 door short bed 4X4 with the Cummins diesel, it has truly awesome power and I can't wait to hook up my trailer and head over the pass. However, I feel very poor now :-( Congrats. FWIW - and speaking only from relayed info, not personal experience - you might wish to look into one of the after-market "chip programmers." From what I've heard, the new models are "tuned up" to provide _significantly_ more HP than the older models (as are all US diesel PUs in the "power wars" - IMO, really, an advertising "numbers" war with little real-world application), which, as you probably know, isn't always a good or even necessary thing with many diesel engine apps. I have a friend who has a 90s model Dodge with the Cummins and he says he gets 25-28 MPG, even when pulling his camper. He looked into replacement with a new model, but didn't because of the fuel mileage difference. IAC, and IMO, regardless of MPG, you can't go wrong with a diesel. TC, R |
Economic Stimul-by-us
"Larry L" wrote in message ... In an effort to do our little bit to get the economy going we bought a new truck today. The old one lasted 18++ years, 276,585 miles and is actually still going strong although it's well past beat up and ugly The new one is a Dodge 4 door short bed 4X4 with the Cummins diesel, it has truly awesome power and I can't wait to hook up my trailer and head over the pass. However, I feel very poor now :-( Nice! I'm guessing you got an amazing deal given the economic situation? They have some great offerings in the area, but I can't get my bride on board for a new one although my '04 still purrs like a kitten. As RD mentioned, the chips/programmers are really nice and will add major hp and additional fuel economy. With the programmers (like Bullydog) you can really dial these motors. The only concern would be the potential of voiding the warranty. Congrats, JT |
Economic Stimul-by-us
wrote Congrats. FWIW - and speaking only from relayed info, not personal experience - you might wish to look into one of the after-market "chip programmers." From what I've heard, the new models are "tuned up" to provide _significantly_ more HP than the older models (as are all US diesel PUs in the "power wars" - IMO, really, an advertising "numbers" war with little real-world application), which, as you probably know, isn't always a good or even necessary thing with many diesel engine apps. Yeah, I looked at used trucks pretty hard just because the new ones get less mileage. This brand new ( '08 ) puts out 194% more HP then my '92 Cummins and 163% more torque !! The power wars are another example of how the Big 3 have let themselves ( and U.S. ) down .... I'd have gotten a new truck years ago IF mileage had improved at those rates . I kinda wanted to get the 5.9L engine not this new 6.7L but similarly equipped used rigs ( say '06) with 80,000 miles on them were only a very few grand less than what I paid for this new one. There are really good incentives available right now on 'in stock' new trucks, employee pricing, 5K ( more at Ford) rebate, 0% financing .... all an effort to lower inventory in tough times. Plus the new one has 36,000 mile bumper to bumper and 100,000 mile Cummins warranty, so I went brand new ... trying to balance all potential cost/ benefit factors. I don't drive a lot these days, well less than 1/4 of what I did pre-retirement travelling to run field trials, so a couple miles/gallon won't add up to such a large yearly figure. It came with a DVD that specifically warns against after market chip mods that increase power and says they 'may' void warranty. As for de-tuning chips, I'd guess they would have that same problem with Cummins/ Dodge, although not with the same real world logic. However, if I am too disappointed with the mileage I might investigate, since this thing really does have very nearly too much power. Larry L ( who has become one of those ol grandpas you youngsters all hate .... the ones going the speed limit ( maybe even less ;-) and taking the time to look around as you tailgate us, cursing, and rushing .... BUT, who, on the 5 mile drive home from the dealer looked in his mirror to wonder how all those people got so far behind, then looked down to see he was doing 78 in a 55 zone, .... a right foot trained by a '92 Cummins is too heavy for this new one ( plus this is SO much quieter the speed sneaks up on ya )) |
Economic Stimul-by-us
On Mar 13, 8:07*am, "Larry L" wrote:
wrote Congrats. *FWIW - and speaking only from relayed info, not personal experience - you might wish to look into one of the after-market "chip programmers." From what I've heard, the new models are "tuned up" to provide _significantly_ more HP than the older models (as are all US diesel PUs in the "power wars" - IMO, really, an advertising "numbers" war with little real-world application), which, as you probably know, isn't always a good or even necessary thing with many diesel engine apps. Yeah, I looked at used trucks pretty hard just because the new ones get less mileage. This brand new ( '08 ) puts out 194% more HP then my '92 Cummins and 163% more torque !! * The power wars are another example of how the Big 3 have let themselves ( and U.S. ) down .... I'd have gotten a new truck years ago IF mileage had improved *at those rates . I've never really understood the fixation on HP/Torque. If you had the choice between two vehicles: 1.0x HP/Torque and 1.5x MPG vs 1.5x HP/Torque and 1.0x MPG Is there some level when HP/Torque is just sufficient for what you need? I would have thought for 99% of people we would have long since hit that point. - Ken |
Economic Stimul-by-us
"Outdoors in Oregon" wrote I've never really understood the fixation on HP/Torque. If you had the choice between two vehicles: 1.0x HP/Torque and 1.5x MPG vs 1.5x HP/Torque and 1.0x MPG Is there some level when HP/Torque is just sufficient for what you need? I would have thought for 99% of people we would have long since hit that point. - Ken Well, as a guy that loaded 900 lbs of dog and probably another 700 of misc in the bed and THEN hooked up the travel trailer and headed over Donner Summit, several times a year .... I understand wanting adequate 'ability' in a truck .... but truth be told I don't have a clue what torque really is and I can imagine it actually taking 350 healthy horses to pull my truck, either g Truck buyers seem to fall into two broad categories .... those that have almost zero real need for a truck, but think they are 'way cool' in one ... and people that actually need a truck to do truck work. Oddly, I'd bet many bucks that it's the first group, not the second, that has fueled the 'power wars' that have misguided Detroit lately. All that said .... when I'm towing the trailer to Montahoming this year I'm going to be glad to have the extra muscle ..... NOT, because I really want or need to go faster than the old truck would take me .... mainly because it's such an impatient world out there now, especially on two lane roads, that 'comfortable pace' is likely to trigger extremely stupid behavior in those behind you ... even if they only have to be back there 3 miles .... so I 'try to go fast as I can' on two lane roads more than freeways !! Larry L ( who thinks everyone should be required to tow a heavy trailer 200 miles in a wide variety of terrain and traffic before being licensed to drive ANY vehicle ... ) |
Economic Stimul-by-us
On Mar 13, 4:50*pm, "Larry L" wrote:
( who thinks everyone should be required to tow a heavy trailer 200 miles in a wide variety of terrain and traffic before being licensed to drive ANY vehicle ... ) And they should be required to know how to back one up before being allowed to tow one forward. Joe F. |
Economic Stimul-by-us
"rb608" wrote in message ... On Mar 13, 4:50 pm, "Larry L" wrote: ( who thinks everyone should be required to tow a heavy trailer 200 miles in a wide variety of terrain and traffic before being licensed to drive ANY vehicle ... ) And they should be required to know how to back one up before being allowed to tow one forward. Joe F True reminded me of the first half dozen paragraphs of this http://www.kimshew.com/flyfish/displ...php?log_id=295 |
Economic Stimul-by-us
On Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:07:01 GMT, "Larry L" wrote:
wrote Congrats. FWIW - and speaking only from relayed info, not personal experience - you might wish to look into one of the after-market "chip programmers." From what I've heard, the new models are "tuned up" to provide _significantly_ more HP than the older models (as are all US diesel PUs in the "power wars" - IMO, really, an advertising "numbers" war with little real-world application), which, as you probably know, isn't always a good or even necessary thing with many diesel engine apps. Yeah, I looked at used trucks pretty hard just because the new ones get less mileage. This brand new ( '08 ) puts out 194% more HP then my '92 Cummins and 163% more torque !! The power wars are another example of how the Big 3 have let themselves ( and U.S. ) down .... I'd have gotten a new truck years ago IF mileage had improved at those rates . I kinda wanted to get the 5.9L engine not this new 6.7L but similarly equipped used rigs ( say '06) with 80,000 miles on them were only a very few grand less than what I paid for this new one. There are really good incentives available right now on 'in stock' new trucks, employee pricing, 5K ( more at Ford) rebate, 0% financing .... all an effort to lower inventory in tough times. Plus the new one has 36,000 mile bumper to bumper and 100,000 mile Cummins warranty, so I went brand new ... trying to balance all potential cost/ benefit factors. I don't drive a lot these days, well less than 1/4 of what I did pre-retirement travelling to run field trials, so a couple miles/gallon won't add up to such a large yearly figure. It came with a DVD that specifically warns against after market chip mods that increase power and says they 'may' void warranty. From everything I know, "may" actually means "you can bet your sweet ass it will." However, the more modern types are not "chips," but rather, little computers that plug into the OBD port under the dash - in fact, they look a lot like the larger OBD scanners you now see everywhere from auto parts chain stores to Wal-Mart to Horrible Freight...actually, that's not fair - some of the stuff at Harbor Freight is actually decent enough for the price, I'm just not getting under anything heavy supported by HF jackstands or anything like that. IAC, if/when you take it to the dealer for _ANYTHING_, you restore the factory programming, and when you pick it up, you re-program your custom settings. And the ones I have and are familiar with are not "power-up" or "power-down," they will set whatever you want, from torque curves to shift points to.... - IOW, you can use them to tune for mileage when not towing and tune for whatever you are towing. As for de-tuning chips, I'd guess they would have that same problem with Cummins/ Dodge, although not with the same real world logic. However, if I am too disappointed with the mileage I might investigate, since this thing really does have very nearly too much power. I regularly pull all sorts of _VERY_ heavy stuff (in pickup terms, even 1-ton) and all of the new (post- about 2003 or so) have WAY more power than all but a VERY small handful of folks need. TC, R Larry L ( who has become one of those ol grandpas you youngsters all hate ... the ones going the speed limit ( maybe even less ;-) and taking the time to look around as you tailgate us, cursing, and rushing .... BUT, who, on the 5 mile drive home from the dealer looked in his mirror to wonder how all those people got so far behind, then looked down to see he was doing 78 in a 55 zone, .... a right foot trained by a '92 Cummins is too heavy for this new one ( plus this is SO much quieter the speed sneaks up on ya )) |
Economic Stimul-by-us
"JT" wrote in message ... "Larry L" wrote in message ... In an effort to do our little bit to get the economy going we bought a new truck today. The old one lasted 18++ years, 276,585 miles and is actually still going strong although it's well past beat up and ugly The new one is a Dodge 4 door short bed 4X4 with the Cummins diesel, it has truly awesome power and I can't wait to hook up my trailer and head over the pass. However, I feel very poor now :-( Nice! I'm guessing you got an amazing deal given the economic situation? They have some great offerings in the area, but I can't get my bride on board for a new one although my '04 still purrs like a kitten. As RD mentioned, the chips/programmers are really nice and will add major hp and additional fuel economy. With the programmers (like Bullydog) you can really dial these motors. The only concern would be the potential of voiding the warranty. Congrats, JT Some of the dealers may not be selling as they will not deal. Looking for a new vehicle for wife. Looked at a Vensa at the local Toyota dealer. Sales guy says window sticker is the price. I told him I do not pay window sticker during good times, why would I when no one is buying and Toyota lost $40mm. |
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