Duramax LB7 Mods Q&A

[fishfurlife]

Hey guys, I am new around here. I have visited the forum on and off fora while and finally decided to join up.

I have a few questions about my ride for some of those more knowledgeable than I. 2003 LB7 GMC

Short history on the truck. Bought it 2 years ago with 60K and it now has 98K. I don't drive it a whole lot and don't treat it like a highschool kid with no regrets. The truck came with a hypetech tuner and a silverline exhaust. Thee programer has been run on the medium setting and has always been. The front torsion bolts had also been turned to bring it up in the front. I have also added 285/75/16 tires to the rig and had to do minimal trimming to the front fender.
I have since replaced some front end parts because of the prior owners inability to realign the truck after his front end mod. I have also had to do the notorious t-case swap about 5 thousand miles ago (which still has me worked up because all the dealers know it is going to happen to them all).

Now my question to all those of knowledge. The programmer and the exhaust - how are they going to affect my ride in the long run? Are they alright or going to shorten its life? I am not the guy that swaps rides as often as possible. Also, is there anything else I could do that is not major to help the life of the truck out?

Thanks for any and all advice

 

[Kat]

Anytime you add power to a truck you are more then likely going to shorten it's life. How much? That is the unknown.

 

[Team Overkill]

Welcome aboard! Some guys say any power adders will hurt and some say that adding a little power will make your truck live longer. My opinion is that it depends on how you drive it.

 

[Big Block 88]

Running the tuner you are, and with the way you say you drive I would not worry about it killin your truck... Hypertech is VERY conservative from what I have seen.

 

[MadMaxx61]

add in better fuel and oil filters you could also add a W/M kit and run only water or small amounts of meth.

 

[Mike_S]

Running the tuner you are, and with the way you say you drive I would not worry about it killin your truck... Hypertech is VERY conservative from what I have seen.

I agree. Most tuners only afect the total output of the engine, and if you don't use that increased output (IE full throttle) often, there is minimal difference in engine wear or loading. The exhaust will definately NOT hram the engine longevity, matter of fact the larger exhuast and resulting lower exhaust gas temperature should increase the life span of your engine.

 

[BadDually]

Putting 19k a year on it (if it isnt too early for math in my foggy brain) I really wouldnt worry.. even if you knock 20,000 miles off the life of the truck, it'll take you a lot of years to get to 250-300k anyhow... plus as mentioned above, your tuner is so conservative that I wouldnt expect it to do much harm in the first place. just my 2 cents!

 

[fishfurlife]

Sorry about that MAdmaxx, I also run Amsoil with the associated filters.

Thanks for the comments guys, I really appreciate them. From what I had found, I had decided that the Hypertech was not a wild and crazy tuner as well. I had decided that I was probably not killing the truck to bad but I figured that it wouldn't hurt to ask. I had used this forum to help me out with my T-case problem when it came about because I was having a tough time figuring out where the slack seemed to be coming from when I started and stopped.

The fuel economy on this my truck is 16ish. I have seen as high as 20 but I average a solid 16. I have talked to guys that say they average in the 20's and guys that average in the low teens on fuel economy as well with this same engine. What would you guys consider a normal fuel economy for the LB7.

I know these are all petty questions, but I though it wouldn't hurt to throw them out there.

 

[jmaz268]

I get about 16-17....but then again I do drive like a pissed off teenager too.

 

[Mike_S]

16-18 seems about average for the first gen engine (LB7) for most people. You can irk more from it without tuning by driving like a grandpa, and keeping the RPM below 2100 overall, and around 1800-1900 cruising. Beyond that a good EFI Live tune will be your best bet for the best mileage possibilities.

 

[S Phinney]

Unless you're abusive I don't think the added power will have a negative effect on the longevity of your truck. I've seen several trucks with a lot more done to them that are getting as good of miles on them as completely stock ones.