Ever wonder Which Diesel Pickup is Faster.........................

[Tom Welch]

Stopped by the local GMC dealer this morning to drop off my wife's suburban for service. My new 2003 Dodge Ram 3500 Cummins diesel catches the eye of all of the "lot lizards" who proceed to check it out. The manager comes over and starts gaggling about the GMC "Duramax" diesel and how much better it is than the Dodge. We joked back and forth for a minute or two and he then made the ultimate incorrect statment--"I'd like to see how that Dodge would hold up in a drag race against this 300 hp duramax"...ending the sentence with a laugh. I told him he didn't have to ask me but once and to pull that piece of **** off the podium. You should have seen the look on his face when I accepted his challenge.

They then pulled the truck up along side of mine in the parking lot to compare which one was louder...the Dodge was very noticalby quieter and the Cummins sounded so much more like what a diesel should sound like. I pointed out the 4" downpipe and 4" full factory exhaust, giant intercooler and the such and begged him to back down. He couldn't bring himself to back down in front of his lizards, and picked a driver. We headed out onto the 4 lane highway in front of the store, I gave the GMC the GO and proceeded to devistate him! It wasn't even close.

Afterwards, it looked like that night in Jersey when Cooney got knocked out, dropped jaws and silence from the crew there as their sales/driver pointed at the Dodge that just laid the cut straight on his machine.

In a nutshell, it made for a fun morning. I got a feeling a few of the lizards are crawling to the local dodge store looking for a job.

Tom

 

[Nexus-6]

I'll race ya in my little ol' pickup...

Just a slow red truck...

 

[Dave T (BADVENM)]

You may want to check out pickuptruck.com

They just did an extended article on the new 6.0L Ford, H.O. Cummins and Duramax, both on the 1/4 mile, 7%, and 15% grades. The test was also done with no cargo, and a 12K trailer. Needless to say, and I'm kinda upset, the Ford takes it in every category I believe. Its a great article though.

 

[1TONY1]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Nexus-6:
I'll race ya in my little ol' pickup...

Just a slow red truck...

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Ok, lets go....but you will need to find a 17,000 lb trailer to match the weight that I will be towing.

1997 Dodge dually

Tom, obviously they didn't realize they were calling out a true drag racer.

 

[Tom Welch]

Tony,

Funniest part was that I had already loaded my 20 month old daughter into her car seat that I had taken from the suburban and put into the truck. I had to unload her for my wife to hold. It was a blast for sure....slowest race ive been part of in a while, but the result felt the same.

As for the magazine and road tests....what can we say. I question the validity of some of these things, especially with the palm grease that oozes from these events.

I will say this; the last 4 trucks that I have owned have been 1999 or newer Ford Powerstroke Diesels and they have all performed flawlessly. They make good power and pull great. The most recent Ford that I just sold to my Brother (2001 Lariat with 80hp Chip) is barely a match for the 03' Dodge in its bone stock form.

I hope to have a few thousand break-in miles on this truck before the Powerfest in Texas and will probably add the 135 hp, 375 Ft/Lb torque adjustable chip(new power will be 385 HP @ 835 Torque) for the cruise to the Event..so maybe a try against that Red truck will be on tap...Oh, hook a 37 ft trailer on that thing or hang back with the lightweights...nice Viper by the way.

Tom

 

[Nexus-6]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Ok, lets go....but you will need to find a 17,000 lb trailer to match the weight that I will be towing.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


I may have to make that a 25,000lb trailer - she's not very stock.

 

[1TONY1]

Mine should be about 360/820 or so....and remember, torque moves weight...not horsepower. Lightnings are cool though...even if they are furds.

 

[Nexus-6]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Nexus-6:

I may have to make that a 25,000lb trailer - she's not very stock.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yup it's about the only Ford (out of their current line up) that I'd own. I wantd a daily driver that wasn't boring and it does the trick. I'm relatively mild compared to some other L's out there - as of last month she's putting down 383/479 to the wheels.

I do love walking 'vettes and other unsuspecting victims in it...it's getting harder and harder to find em though. If they know what it is, they usually know it's pretty simple to get these trucks into the mid twelves with just a chip + pulley and they won't bite. On the other hand if they don't know what it is they just never know what hit em!

I gotta tell ya though it's the most satisfying "kill" in the world in the Lightning though. It's expected in the other cars - but it's just plain fun in the Lightning!

Sorry - I'm taking this way OT now...

 

[Russ M]

Tom,

You were most likely racing an amateur who did not know how to drive the new Cummins may be a great engine but stock vs. stock the Dmax trucks out accelerate them period. And you do not have to take my word for it the reviews on pickuptruck.com do all the tests and the dodge is by far the slowest loaded or not.

That being said, I was never one to really care about which truck is faster. Speed is NOT something I look at when I buy a 7000lb truck.

I do own a Dmax truck and I love it, the Dmax/allison combo is great, but they very much lack the low end grunt of the Cummins which is something that I miss.

PS&gt; And yes I do agree with you on the sound the new Cummins is VERY quiet.