madtork

I am new to the forum and hopefully I will soon be an avid member of the community but I would really appreciate some help on which truck and year I should get. I love dodge and cummins diesels and i think I want a newer 2500 or 3500 single axle 4x4 extended cab with either a manual or auto. My question is does dodge have the best diesel out for strength and ability to upgrade and mod? I looked a while back at getting one in 2004 and everyone was telling me to get a 04.5 but I don't know why. I plan getting a diesel and lifting it with 35-40 inch tires and I would love to mod it out to make it eat up mustangs and vettes so I really need to know what year and what combo tranny/motor/axle/running gear is the best for strength and upgrade ability. I noticed that the big three including dodge came out with bigger diesels this year and was wondering what you all think about the new cummins and its power train. Any help would be greatly appreciated and I look foward to becoming part of the community.
Thanks
Dave

turbo dreams

the fastest diesel trucks on the planet are cummins powered. if you want to race buy an auto. although i would stick with the 35" tire because it would be hard on parts to move 40's off the line. plus the 35's are cheaper and don't require much lift. look for a CR cummins. basic plug n play electronics and they are making some serious numbers here as of late.

rootremblay

Cummins baby, Its where the torques at!!

Joe T

Yeah, get a 2500 with an auto since autos are faster. In 04.5 they got more power... Plan to mod the transmission/converter if you go big on the power mods.

The 6.7 has lots of new emissions junk on it and costs a few grand more over the 5.9 if you can still find one... But they have a nice 6 speed auto that the verdict is still out on and no mods that I know of yet.

Go no bigger than 35's in my opinion.

madtork

So is the consensus to stay away from the new 6.7? I don't want something that won't have a lot of mod options, but if the 6.7 is better than I'll take it anyway. Is there any year between 04.5 and 08 that is better or worse? Does it make a difference if I get a 2500 or 3500? I thought that the manual tranny would be stronger than an auto if i decide to due a lot of mods? I would like to have an auto especially for resale purposes but if the manual can withstand much more torque and power I don't see the point?
Thanks in advance everyone.
Dave

bigredBCS

a standard is a bit cheaper to make hold more power than an auto.....but autos put out faster e/t's compared to a standard w/ the same mods

6.7's are gonna ave a few mods availible, but not enough to keep up with 5.9's

Joe T

You really have to hammer on a manual to get it to move out of it's way... this is stock vs stock. Drive one and you'll see.

As for the 6.7, I'm sure they'll have mods out for them soon enough but I see some of the emissions regen stuff getting into the way possibly... So IMO you'll have a lot more freedom with the 5.9 especially if you mod the trans/converter. The big plus on the 6.7 trucks is the way superior auto...

The auto in the 5.9 is more than adequate, it just doesn't keep up when mods get serious and doesn't keep up with the competition stock vs stock.

grantx5

The fastest Cummins out there are the 12 valves not the new 24 valves. So be careful what you buy. If you want to be the fastest you may not want to buy the newest truck.

This site has tons of info on going fast and you'll find that the 12 valve rules.

madtork

The auto in the 5.9 is more than adequate, it just doesn't keep up when mods get serious and doesn't keep up with the competition stock vs stock.[/QUOTE]

Are you saying that Ford or GM may have a better auto tranny matched up to their diesels?

Robs_Ram

If your thinking of getting a Powerchoke, go to youtube and search Cummins vs Powerstroke and watch the Cummins pull the Ford around like a toy. Actually snaps one F350's front driveshaft, my new 07 is only the 2nd Cummins I have personally owned i had a 2nd gen years ago, but we had them growing up on the Ranch also and they just keep going and going if taken care of.

Joe T

Yup, compared to the auto behind the 5.9 when ford/GM went to newer designs but they are not heavier duty exactly, they have an extra gear and downhill decent downshifting stuff etc.. But you have to live with the rest of the truck if that is ok with you. If it's a deal breaker go with the GM.

I don't care too much about an extra gear and downhill downshifting etc. since I live in flat country and my truck gets better MPG than either Ford or GM without an extra gear.

dieselfuelonly

Is that the video of the 4BT Hummer? LOL that one gave me a good laugh. And our Cummins has two more cylinders!

If I were you I would go with a nice 12v and spend that extra money on the fun stuff!

Robs_Ram

These 2 videos are my favorite

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zSJbkLIBIJI

http://youtube.com/watch?v=FmofbFuJo...elated&search=

madtork

So is there any difference from 04.5 to 07? Are all the auto's the same? Do all the 2500 and 3500's come sandard with LSD rear ends? Can you get an electronic lock or anything like that from the factory?