farmer13

what would be the best engine brake to put on my truck?
thanks in advance

birddoctor

I've had a Banks brake on mine for 4 yrs now.Has never given me any problems and works good.It really helped coming through the rockies,with our 5th wheel.

u.s mma

ive got a pacbrake. its great. my dad has a bd on his 01 3500, its good too. neither has had any problems other than than sticking, and thats just lack of maintenance.

carl48

the bd is the best. the bd and pac have the same and most bhp if you go pac do not mount the compressor on the engine, this is why the bd is better than the pac. the engine heat and vibration shorten the life of the pac compressor. the jake and banks have the lowest brake horse power and not constant over the rpm range

Reelay

Got a jake on mine came with the truck from former owner. The switch is mounted on the shifter very convinient. Never had a problem we have towed our fifthwheel from OR to VA over all the Mt. ranges several times. Can't compare it to anything else except a newer truck my buddy has that came with his 07 Ram. Having an exhaust brake is a plus sure helps slow you down. But these guys on here alot of them have more experince with different brands in their trucks so I am sure they can give you good insight. Don't know what Carl48 is talking about being constant bhp I have never felt any pause, delay, or skip.

infidel

I like Pac but whatever brand you go with get an inline style.
The type that replace the elbow and attach directly to the turbo severely limit your choices if you ever want to upgrade your turbo in the future.
Most all of the different brands offer inline versions.

u.s mma

what he said. i didnt have the forsight to get the 4" brake, now im kicking myself. and i have the pac that runs on vacuum, not the compressor, been flawless 4.5 years except in the cold it will stick on or off till good and hot. my fault, lack of maintenance.

LongBlackRam

I've had the Jake for 90k+ miles, no problems. Keeps the speed in check going down the mountain passes, even with a heavy trailer.

The life of the wheel brakes is greatly extended with regular use. I had to replace the front brakes after 113k miles but only because one caliper stuck after a panic stop. There was plenty of pad left.

Infidel is correct in that a inline brake allows more choices for the turbo and exhaust. Just have to make sure there are no exhaust leaks before the inline brake.

Homestead

250,000 miles on my BD with zero issues. Used everyday to the point I get over 100,000 miles to a set of brakes.

Best money you will spend.

Jeff

Dieselbuilder

http://www.pacbrakeoem.com/home/weeper-engine-brakes
this is going to be the norn when it realy hits the market no reason why it would not fit a 5'9

01RAMer

I have the new computer controlled exhaust brake from Banks. If you consider this one, ask about the 5/15 program.

Normally the brake activates above 30 mph and holds down to 15 mph as long as you don't tap the throttle. It disengages when you tap the throttle and doesn't reactivate for a couple of seconds to allow time for shifting. Works nice.

The gotcha here is if you downshift below 30 mph using your throttle to match the engine to the transmission. The brake won't come on if you're under 30 mph.

Contacting Banks, the resolve is to get the 5/15 program. This comes on above 15 mph and goes off at 5. I didn't know about this when I got the brake, and had to send the computer module back to be re-programmed to a tune of 90 bucks.

Get the 5/15 program up front, you'll be glad you did. There is no manual switches with this system. It's pretty nice. The brake offers some extra HP through its design, but because of the design, it does require you to cut the exhaust pipe for installation.

nkennedy

I have a Jake too. Bought it off EBay new from a dealer for $700. Took about 4 hours to install. Not saying the other don't work, but mine does too. Even when towing heavy. What ever brand you buy put a switch on the shifter handle. It gives you a lot of controll right at your finger tips.

mattk50

I have the usgear de-cellerator for 230,000 miles no issues and works great

totalloser

If you don't plan on going over 400hp, I say turbo mount BD and GET THE TOGGLE for the shifter you won't know how you did without it.

BD is full closure which means it pulls right down to idle. The ones with a hole in the butterfly will not. Banks copied the design (offset eccentric full closure setup) but the programming neuters the device. They may have done this because theirs is designed to hold back about 1/3 more hp, but I don't think it's worth it, and having it come on when it feels like it is unacceptable to me.

The BD comes on instantly because the control is from the apps (tps) sensor so there is no latency from the computer "thinking".

ANY brake is WAY better than no brake though. And +1 to thinking about the inline if you might do a turbo upgrade. But the braking response will be quicker with a turbo mount due to exhaust volume, so if you don't want to go bigger turbo it will be slightly superior. Pretty easy install, too.

totalloser

At first I thought this was a Jake brake, but it's not. Just holds the exhaust open. The real Jakes crack the exhaust after the compression cycle to release the pressure that would be pushing the piston back down.

Sure would be awesome if they made a true Jake for the 5.9!