So my brother picked up a stock 2002 D-Max the other day, I couldn't convince him to go for a Cummins. Needless to say, the smack talk has already begun, and I need to figure out how, or if I can, beat him down. I've got a smarty, with no other power mods or tranny. While we're waiting for some level weather, what setting should I run to beat him, or can I with the stock tranny? I've put it on lvl 5 for a quick sprint without noticing a problem with the tranny, other than that, it stays on fuel saver (for the timing response). The other problem I've got (I'm sure my tranny loves it too) is I have 33's on the truck. I know it numerically lowers my rear end ratio, but don't know by how much.

I'm saving for a tranny build late spring but once I get that done, what can I add to beat a d-max with a PPE box (assuming he gets one) ony, no other mods?

Or am I just barking up a tree I can't climb?

 

your gonna need more than a trans and smarty to beat a dmax with ppe....

 

Have my doubts that you can beat a stock d-max with just a smarty.

 

in a race...doubt it.

pulling a trailer up a hill...you'll blow past him

 

arnt the 2002 dmaxes the ones with the overheating problems? there is a good video of an 02 dmax trying to hang with a cummins that was hauling a bigger load but kept overheating. i believe it was used in a court case against chevy for building junk.

 

I dont think you will have tranny problems with just a smarty i have the edge comp on mine and she stays on level 4x4 and i have 35s on and i deffinatly dont have the lightest foot. but even wide open on the floor my tranny never acts up. the only thing is that i bought the truck from a woman whos husband was in jail and had no clue what had been done to it but i believe the tranny is all stock but not sure.

 

you gonna need more than the smarty and a stock to beat the dmax.Good Luck

 

I would say with experience you will need a fueling box with a wire tap as well as a boost elbow on your turbo to bring the boost up. That might be enough, I would throw a set of 90hp sticks in just to make sure.
As for the tranny I would get that fixed ASAP!! I was lucky enough when I killed mine I just broke the intermediate band so I had no second gear, and was still able to limp it to Iowa to get the tranny I wanted. Many people called me crazy for trying to make the trip but it was defenitly worth it.
Good luck and if all else fails, just tell him to launch it at full boost and watch his front end come apart!!

 

Once these transmissions start to go they seem to go fast, especially if you have some go-fast goodies already on it. I knew my transmission was going out, but I decided to get on it hard anyways at a stop light (had a ricer next to me wanting to race). I pulled into the movie parking lot, parked, and went inside to watch the movie with some friends. When we came back out, the transmission wouldn't shift into gear. It took quite a few tries for it to finally get into gear. It didn't last too much longer after that!

In other words, like 19Fury69 said, get that fixed ASAP!

 

since ull probably lose to him as those allisons are soo much stronger and shift soo much harder then your trucks (not to mention the diff. in power even w/ a smarty) just keep runing him till his injectors go out.. i work at a gm dealer and those d-maxs r going through injectors like hot cakes even if they've never had a programmer on em

 

Well, if you are asking about beating a stock duramax with your stock CTD, you probably should. IF you use the smarty, YES, you should beat him. IF he gets PPE, it will probably take more than Smarty I think.

Dmaxs run good, I like the transmission. They have had thier share of problems. but hey....who hasn't.

 

sorry buts hes going to eat your lunch

 

Race him on the Hwy ... starting around 40 mph, with your OD locked out till you hit 2700 rpm. You'll need Smarty on #9..... and just maybe??
From a stop, you may run into your Tq Mgmt system on your tranny. The Smarty eliminates most of it but you may still get some defueling.

If your CTD came with 245's you're 7% off on your speedometer. If 265's, it's 4%.

After doing the tranny, stack the Smarty on a TST PM3 and add turbo and injectors. But against the PPE......?

 

I'll be sure to post the results when we can make it out on the road. Thanks for making me feel better about eventually getting smoked. I'll put in a high pressure valve body sooner than a rebuild if that will hold the power through the tranny for a while. I might have to make him race with a couple of cars loaded on our trailers. Of course I don't want him to break it, that means I have to help work on it when he fixes it, then again I do get paid in beer.

I take it I should advise him to never run in a pull? Sounds like he would be at the edge of a lot of expensive failures.

 

The stock DM's in 02 were 300/520. They have some jump with the 5 speed tranny being able to keep it above 2K rpm. Its hard to race one even with your uploader on big tires as he will get out of the hole fast. I wouldn't be terribly confident. It would be a close race however once you get over the 50mph mark.