OK, here is some info on my first pull with the X-monitor installed.
Pyro; POST Turbo only got to 778 degrees Max; Crusing around 550 degrees:

Tranny Temp: Cruising and hill pulling 154 degrees; Around town stop & Go 190 degrees;

Boost: 24psi max

I had the cruise control and would only take it out of O/D manually when it was obvious that I needed to. The 5VR is 27 ft long and weighs in @8800lbs as loaded.

I got a smile a mile as I passed alot people going up the mountin sides and picking up speed

All this from a STOCK 2003 235hp 47RE QC SRW CTD. Oh, yeah the fluids, BY-PASS and Air Filter are all AMSOIL

As son as I get back the dealer trying to fix the dash vibration I'm adding the Banks Six Gun w/Speed Loader

 

Your EGTs seem low, I can hit 800 empty on a warm day pulling a long grade from a dead stop. My trans temps are pretty close to yours, slightly less but I was only towing about 5500 lbs, empty it rarely gets over 165. Boost is right on. My guages are Autometer, post turbo in the elbow, trans in one of the test ports, boost through a boost bolt. I also have an engine oil temp gauge, I have hit 230 towing at 2600 rpm, drop into overdrive and it goes down to 215, but the EGTs are 150 higher, not sure which is worse?

 

The Pyro is in tailpipe down section. I had the local muffler shop weld the bung in there. It was much easier than putting it in the elbow. The Tranny temp is comming off the ECM so it's wherever DC decided to get it from and yes the Boost is coming from a boost intake bolt supplied by X-Monitor.
The difference in exhaust temps may be the engine programing, the filter (AMSOIL), or the difference in where the pyro's are located. The Exhaust pipe will run cooler than that cast iron elbow
My EGT's have never gone above 800, I have the alarm set at 850. Maybe it's the AMSOIL oil that makes the engine run cooler thus haveing a cooler exhaust
Thanks for the info, I'm glad mine appears to running about normal.[

 

Amsoil making your EGTs lower... that's funny. Good to know the trans temps are close as you must be using the factory sender. My truck has the same programing as yours, MA was a 235HP state in '03 as well.

 

Your truck is not running cooler, nor can amsoil work miricles. You are getting post turbo readings which can be 3 to 500 below the pre turbo which are the ones most people use. This is a much better indicater and I would highly reccommend you move your sender pre turbo before you put a box on so you know what your real egts are hitting at. Do this now without changing anything else and you will see your egts up in the 1100 to 1300 range on the same pull. This is of course what everyone else is getting in similar conditions with the stock truck and it will be going up with the box.

 

When you say most people you mean most people with pickup trucks, check the big rigs they are all post turbo, as are the majority of other diesel powered vehicles and equipment. Ask cummins, they reconmend post turbo. Not everyone is going to put a box on, post turbo provides a good indication of how hard the engine is working on a stock truck, it also is better for indicating turbo temp for monitoring when to shut the engine down after a hard run.
Pre turbo may be better for a modified truck with a box that you have to be worried about damaging the motor because the box fuels and times the engine at a rate that can damage it if not watched closely. For a stock truck post turbo is a better choice.

 

I see much the same on my X-mon for boost and EGT
I also chose post-turbo.

One difference on my 48RE... towing 10,000# I routinely hit 220 trans temp in stop/go traffic. The other night I hit 270 while maneuvering around trying to back into a tight spot. I've been wondering what I should do for my trans... if anything.

 

The first time I pulled the 5VR with the X-Monitor going thru traffic the Tranny Temps got way up there also, but I know that's from not being able to get any air flow accross the coolers. All I can say is to keep a close eye on it when doing parking manuevers and going thru town

 

Its common practice in the commercial arena for Cummins, Cat, whoever, to reccommend things like putting a pyro on the exhaust because thats an accecessory and hence not their problem and one less thing to worry about or have to warranty. Combine this with the fact that its easier and less expensive to place them post and you get an idea of why you see them there in many applications. You have to remember that the manufacturers have tested the engine extensively and they know that their egts are acceptable in the stock or intended usage. In many cases the egt gauge is thrown in just to make the end user feel good, they dont care what it says or thats its in the best location. You should read up on the guages in our trucks if you want to learn more about gauges and what they are really telling you. Nowdays, often nothing. Pre turbo is a far better indicator of what is happening with your engine. On shut down it works just the same as post turbo and will acutally catch up (although be a little higher due to heat retention in the manifold) to the post turbo reading quickly since there is near 0 drive pressure. In the commercial marine industry where I work we are often in the position of loading an engine with literally as much load as it can stand and we always mount them pre turbo. I have run more than 300 engines, more than 50 different model engines and log between 15 and 20000 engine hours a year. Have for 20 years. I am not saying this to claim expertise. Im no mechanical engineer or other highly educated type person. I do however have some experiance in the field of operating a diesel engine. More than one person has sustained engine damage due to believing they had acceptable egts based on their post turbo placement. And lastly the poster DID indicate his intentions to mount a box.

 

There have been numerous post from guys running both pre and post, pre shows a safe shut down temps much sooner than post after a long run, the turbo holds heat longer than the exhaust manifold as it is not only heated from the exhaust but from compressing air. You may work in the industry but what I stated is fact, almost all diesel engines that come with a EGT gauge are post turbo, and post is better for monitoring when it is safe to shut down. If pre was better the big engines would come with it as the larger engines are often more expensive than an entire pickup truck, many of the large engines use the pyro info as part of the data logging and engine managment.
You would have a hard time finding a stock engine with damage that could have been prevented if the operator had a pyro pre instead of post.
I agree that pre is better for modified trucks, idealy you would have both, as a few people do. If you are going to have a modified truck and only one then pre is the way to go, I did not see that in the orgional post.

 

On the stuff I work on the turbo alone costs several times what one of our trucks does. And its all pre turbo. In fact we pyro each cylinder individually and the manifold, and post turbo. I am quite familiar with electronic engines and their management and ours use the pre turbo data. The only thing the post turbo is used for is to guard against a stack fire. Even the small stuff like 3406's are all pre. They come this way because we need to know. As I said there are reasons why you see many post turbo installations but because it is a better placement is not one of them. There have been many disscussions on this here and elsewhere. You can of course take this information in any way you want. As far as shutting down, your not measuring temps in the turbo either way and both can be used as an indicator for shut down equally well. While this is an important use of the data obtained it is not the most important use. That would be to insure that you dont see continuous duty or transient peak temps beyond the operating paramaters of the individual engine. A turbo is much cheaper than the engine work. BTW, we are not the only folks that run pre-turbo. Its also common in airplanes. To me the bottom line is simple. If you tow heavy or bomb your truck you will get your temps up to a level that I would be concerned about. If it would make you feel better call one of the experts in the industry such as Keith at DD and ask him what he thinks. I believe you will get a strong reccommendation for a pre turbo installation.

 

Good posts!!! crabman, I agree completely.

 

Crabman, a couple of comments on your last post. Also keep in mind I am talking for stock trucks here. For knowing when you can safely shut down based on turbo temp the post turbo is superior, as you obviously have read quite a bit on the subject I find it hard to believe you have not seen the numerous posts that prove this by guys who have both pre and post. Pre will show a lower temp first, the turbo holds heat longer and you cannot measure the turbo temp pre turbo, on a stock truck the turbo is most likely to be the part of the motor that is damaged. I am pretty sure if you are talking airplanes you are not talking diesel so it is not really relivent, gas motors have much higher EGTs and usually EGT guages are used to detect lean conditions.
No one is more of an expert on the engines in the Dodge trucks than Cummins, so in my opinion what they say carries more weight than anyone else.

 

OK guys, can we all just get along
Both cases are valid, IMO.
I placed it POST Turbo due to being cheap and knowing I was going to install a Banks Six Gun w/Speed Loader, which requires the pyro to be installed Pre-Turbo. I don't plan on installing another Pyro gauge for the Pryometer that is installed Pre-Turbo. For now I'm just letting the Banks Box use the data. I thinks I may install a new exhaust but I'm not sure if I want to remove the CAT. I will keep the PYRO in the exhaust no matter which way I go.
Do any of you have any other suggestions I'm just looking for a little more power but I love the fact the truck is QUIET, and I don't want a rice rocket. 65 -70 mph is fast enough pullling my 5VR

 

Yes, I have read that the post turbo placement cools down faster. Having had both installed together I have seen it for myself. How much quicker did my post cool? I never measured. It wasnt hours, wasnt minutes, it would have been a measurement made in seconds. I guess I just dont see those seconds as being all that important when balanced against the ability to get a more accurate egt picture pre turbo. Take it for what its worth. As I said I am no expert.