Duramax pioneer thread

[Yellow Jacket]

I started pulling summer of 2006 with my less than year old duramax...

I remember watching this guy, Kyle Michaels with CLIMAX on YouTube out in Ohio with twins on a DMAX, it was the hardest running duramax I had ever seen pull. I remember thinking to myself, damn I'll never have anything that badass! Lol!

 

[hondarider552]

My dad bought a 03 cummins in 2005. CC/SB 2wd. Bought intake/exhaust and a bully dog. Started to get hooked on that. He F'd the stock 48RE in that truck and traded it in for the LBZ I used to have in early 2006. Was all stock, then he bought a diablo predator for towing the toyhauler to the dunes. I heard about a guy named Newly that lived in New Mexico at the time, word was he was going to the track at Speedworld so I went the night he did in May of 2007. He had his stock engine LB7 on nitrous running 12.4's with 220k miles. He gave me a ride and I was hooked.

 

[onebaddmaxxx]

For me my dad bought an lly in 04, he wanted to do some power adders and I researched online and found DP. Read till my eyes bleed. I remember reading rob nick Eric bobo etc... Then I found the video of bobo twin everything on YouTube. That's when I seen the power they could make. By 08 all of us had duramax and went in together on efi live and tried learning how to tune. I'm the only one still using it after all these years.

 

[02greysixer]

I was only 16 when I started reading online. I don't even remember where or who I read, all I know was my dad was in the market for a new truck in early 07 and was torn. He liked the power of his 01 half ton but hated the 13 or 14 mpg it got. He was pretty set on a new Tacoma before I showed him posts and videos on the Duramax. We drove a stripper 06 and he had to have one. Had the dealer search around and found the 07 classic ccsb lbz he's had ever since. When he bought it we ordered an xdp bundle with a Diablo preditor, 4" mbrp dual exhaust, and banks intake. And we put a leveling kit and his 35s off the 1/2 ton on it. All installed with less than 300 miles on the clock and cranked up the preditor to extreme. It gave 100k trouble free miles and 19mpg with that setup. That made me want one bad but never could afford one till my old 02/zf6 popped up for sale. After doing all the work to it we split a v2, lift pumps,a transgo jr, some tunes. The lbz has lived on Idaho Rob's dsp tunes for the last 55k miles, 99% of the time on hot street or max effort. After I sold the 02 I had other trucks but wound up back in an 05 lly that I plan to hang on to

 

[TheBac]

The DP was the key. It was magic and it may never happen again.
Never have I seen more enthusiasm by a bunch of smart people working together to make something work.
Some great friendships developed back then and a lot of enemies were made as some people got greedy. Too bad that had to happen.

You aren't kidding about any of that.

Thinking about it, we really should also give credit to Joe @ Suncoast (smoop -- RIP), George (Big Dipper), Michael (SuperDiesel), Opie, Nathan @ MPI (the first set of twins on GotJuice's truck! -- remember that?) and the guys at EFI Live, too. Without their products and original ideas, we wouldnt have the options we have now.

I know we dont give either of them credit because of bridges burned/past arguments/business issues, but Steve Cole and Nick D'Amico do deserve credit for helping kickstart the whole thing.
If Steve hadnt have been such the lightning rod and piss everyone off, would we have ever explored other avenues and come up with alternative ways of making power? Team Salad, anyone? (God, thats still hilarious to this day)
If Nick hadn't started the Place, would you all have found each other and had that collective brain storm? I saw the other day that Nick was selling his white truck. When you think about it, if he didnt own that truck, develop his filter setup, and then get run-off by the Page, then the Place probably would never have come into being. Same for DD.....if Pat and Kat hadn't been bagged on so much by the DP Staff (ironic, huh?), DD would never have been started.

 

[zf>allison]

It was my buddy's 05 lly reg cab with bully dog triple dog and straight pipe and an intake. I later engine swapped my 93 half ton 2wd v6 it had an nv4500. I dropped a turbo 6.2 in. Broke the keyway off the crank for the harmonic balancer a year later. Bought a 93 mechanical 6.5 reg cab 5 speed lifted it 6 inches and put some 36 inch humvee tires on it. Popped the head gaskets pushing 19 pounds of boost lol. That sold cheap, then I got my first d max an 02 zf reg cab with a banks stinger kit. Had it three weeks long enough to get straight piped and get mud tires. I got rear ended in it that third week by a guy texting. Hit me at 60 mph I was sitting still waiting for a semi to turn off onto a narrow drive. Totalled and now I have my zf ccsb. Love it never planning on letting this one go. Maybe when my daughter turns 16 lol I'll never have gas again

 

[Subman]

My first diesel was a 1990 6.2 in Alaska, a bitch to start in the winter, would lay down a smoke screen over the entire neighborhood when I was warming it up to go to work. Needed a tail wind and down hill if you wanted to pass someone. Luckily it burned up in a barn fire in 1995. I never liked the dodge diesels, too noisy and the ride sucked. Did kind of like the late 90's 7.3 Fords, but when the Dmax came out in 01 I knew I had to have one. Bought a new 02 GMC and started playing with it soon after. The guy at the dealership told me there was a fellow who could make more power by adding, "a chip". The guy was Dave Grindstaff and he installed a Quadzilla tuner in my 02, I had already put in a cold air intake and a 4" exhaust. He told me no to go over the 90 hp tune as I might limp the tranny. Well guess who went to the 120 tune and did just that after about 3 full power passes? :woott: Rest is history and many many thousand of dollars and several very fast Dmax's later. Idaho Rob, Nathan Wright, Steve Cole, The Diesel Place, The Diesel Page, all played a big role.:thumb: Been s lot of fun, starting over again with this gasser is so much different.

 

[05smoker]

I had a 6.0 gasser until my brother bought his 03 (Importkilla). The sickness began. :roflmao:

 

[LWATSON]

I feel fortunate to have know most of the people mentioned so far, most people that have just started messing with diesels over the last couple years don't realize the blood, sweat and tears that went into the evolution of the performance dmax. Back in the early to mid 2000's allot of stuff was broke, burnt up and twisted experimenting on different setups. No one really knew if something was safe or would work, they just tried it and reported back. No telling how much money Mike L. spent figuring out how to get an Allison to hold just 500 hp. Also all the people stacking programers and tuners, that was interesting to say the least, but it worked. It was risky but worked.

 

[LWATSON]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XrW5WdUyD8c

 

[TheBac]

:roflmao: You just made me remember the "Triple Stack of Doom". Yet another of Pat's funny names for mods.

 

[SmokeShow]

Local guy Ryan Uptegraf was pushing a Dmax as hard or harder than just about anyone back in about 05-06? Tomac was also a top end guy & Kyle michaels was making more power than any of them. It was fun seeing local guy (Ryan) compete with the nationally known red Dmax of tomac. Believe kyle was the first to put an aftermarket turbo on a Dmax? Then there was merchant, guy, cole, buck, orange crush, pat, neens, Nathan and so many more.

I got a Dmax bc I've always been chevy. Couldn't afford one while in college so had a dodge 12v. Graduated & almost immediately bought the 02 I still have. I've shopped around for fords lately but when it actually comes time to purchase another truck, I doubt I leave GM.

 

[LWATSON]

:roflmao: You just made me remember the "Triple Stack of Doom". Yet another of Pat's funny names for mods.

And don't forget about juice grips lol.

 

[TheBac]

I still have one of those shirts. :rofl:

 

[Pure Diesel]

The Diesel Place...That introduced me to Dan Grant and John Hamlin, then John informed me SoCal Diesel was 5 min from my house...Guy told me about some trans "expert" named Mike L...In the meantime, I had been reading posts about EFILive from this maniac that called himself "McRat"...After spending an hour on the phone with Pat, I purchased EFILive from him and got my LLY race tune...The rest is history, I won't bore you with details

I had a 93' Suburban and the motor had just gone out on me. Purchased a new motor and told the wife lets get rid of this. Did a lot of reading about the Duramax and told the wife this is the truck to buy.:thumb:

That's when it all started, like Chris said above. Met John Hamlin, then Guy, Tony(Moonshine), Mike L., and the McRat's. Thanks to Guy and Tony, EFI was the thing to have and still is. Most of us met up at LACR once a week or every other week for test and tune. Had some really good times back then.

 

[Vrabel]

Always had chevys. My 91 Z71 was totaled in 03. Shortly after the article in Hotrod magazine claiming 12sec truck with the Banks kit. Prior to that I was accustomed to diesels being slow. So I bought an 01 with 20k on it, got let down by my 6gun and progressed from there. and never looked back.

 

[superswamper003]

Thank you for posting this thread LWATSON, I read everyones posts and its awesome!

My story is that I was really into the toyota 4x4 trucks when I was in high school and when I started going to college. At school one day I asked a friend about his truck, who has a 2001 lb7. I really liked his truck right away! I also had/have a friend who has a 1999 ram2500 24v with an edge juice with attitude and told myself I need a diesel.. A little after that I went to a religious gathering and met a guy (Ppedmax) who has a 2006 lbz with a PPE standard which was set on the 225 tune. I got to take a ride in it and I was shocked at the power it put out, I then told myself Im going to sell my trd tacoma and get a Dmax!! I searched but couldnt find one cheap enough for my broke budget.. I found a sweet 2000 f250 7.3 but it ended up selling the day it was posted on craigslist. The next day I found the ad of the truck I now own and I have loved it ever since! 261,000 and going strong.. Although ive only owned it for a year and 3 months

 

[Dozerboy]

I liked the Dmax since it can out in 01 us being a GM family. I pulled up next to one in my 81 1500 with 383 stroker rattling away and could even hear the new diesel sitting next to me. I fell victim to the morons bad mouthing the alu. cylinder heads. In 02-03 I decided I was going to start looking for a diesel Ford most likely since I had driven several for work. I found the Page and the new DP. I did a lot of reading and quickly decided to get a Dmax, but waited until 06 to be able to buy a new one.

I like to sit on the sidelines and live vicariously through the guys on-line that want to push the boundaries and find the path for me. I fondly remember all of guys mentioned on here. Mackin doing the burnouts in his dually and his trans trouble. Also a member that hasn't been around in a long time Jim656(?)...

 

[RichLMM]

was always a gm guy my whole life always thought it was so badass what D'Amico pat and tomac were doing in diesel power got my first dmax in late 06 rclb lbz and haven't looked back since!got into pulling in late 08 because of a shit talking friend with a cummins 6 years later I've gone from the local fair pulls with my stock truck to a 2.6 truck that I purchased from Garrick gay from KY a few years ago

 

[dmaxman06]

well have to say my mom got me started with diesels hahaha i had a 90s chevy that the trans split the trans case on when i just started full time after graduation so i had no money and i asked her for a loan to fix the truck she said no that i had a job and to figure it out on my own so i picked up a 6.5 for cheap had it about a year and a buddy bought a nice 03 dmax that i fell in love in it so i found my 06 dmax and still have it