Tim G.

Going to go try to wring the brains out of two trucks.
One with 6.0 and one with D Max. Both are pretty much equipped the same.
$33475 and $39668
That difference is basically just the Dmax and Allison ($6100)
6.0 has 4.10 locker
D max is 3.73, and might be open rear...

We'll see which will lay more rubber.

26scarab

Gordo,
Come to the dark side !! Some day you will see the light
You sound like a friend of mine did. He is an NHRA racer and tows a 30ft enclosed trailer. And NOTHING could tow better than his 454 Dually.
The day I bought my diesel I let him drive it. Within one week he had one. He hasn't raced in two years and he's on his second diesel. His current one runs 15.20@98 and he went from that Chevy to a Dodge!

stevel

Question:

Anyone ever have any issues starting a Duramax Diesel when it is cold outside. Well below freezing. I have a 6.5 turbodiesel and it smokes and coughs for a good 20 seconds before I can drive off if it is 15 degrees. (I don't plug it in.) Does anyone have any issues with the new Diesels?

Steve

stevel

Tim G.

Calculate torque at the rear wheels. That is your seat of the pants acceleration and power. A 6.0 with a 4.1 has 10% more torque at the rear wheels than the same truck with a 3.73. Only downside is that the cruising RPM will also be about 10% higher. Not a big concern.

Steve

Gordo

Tim,
I was a certified GM dealership technician for 9 years.
A word of advice, Never tow anything of any weight in overdrive, regardless of type, brand, or fuel. The reason for overheating the trans was also probably due to towing in OD, which builds a buttload of heat in the torque converter. Since the rpm's are so low, it also slows down the coolant volume, which doesn't help disipate heat from the trans cooler. Since drive is still a 1-1 ratio, the trans doesn't build as much heat internally either. I could pull my boat in OD, but as you said, it would be shifting all the time. Besides, When I'm towing more than 2000lbs, I get better fuel economy in "Drive" than in "OD". This is probably true for most trucks out there.
As for coming to the dark side, not anytime soon. It's probably because of those days at the dealership. I learned real quick to hate diesels when it seemed that every 6.2 diesel in the world would be at our front door every morning in the winter. The 6.5 was better, but They still stank, they still sucked in the winter and they were still noisy. Granted, The new Duramax Diesel is a world of difference. In fact it is probably the first true diesel to honestly outperform the Powerstork But I'm still hooked on gas.

Griff

It could be a lot to do with the driving I do. I generally set the trip meter when I fill up and go about 240-250 miles. That puts me at about an 1/8 of a tank. I put in 21-23 gallons.
I'm in very little stop and go traffic for the most part. On my 34 mile round trip to work, I'm on the interstate for 30 miles and when I leave work, there's 0 traffic and all the lights are flashing.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the #'s also, especially since I used to get 8mpg with my 454 dually. I also have a fiberglass bed cover that may help a little too.

Tim G.

I drove them both last night. The I was good enough to convince the sales guy to let me run the trucks without him...
I do believe I've set the record time for the test loop in a truck...

The two trucks were nearly identical other than the power. Same chassis, same tires (junk).
The 6.0 clearly has very weak bottom end torque. However, she really scoots when you let it rev through to 4500-5000. The trans and shift points seemed very good.
The DMax was nice. The trans was certainly busy, but when I moved the shifter back to 3 things got better. It had good torque ans ran pretty good once you learned when to let it shift.
Both had lockers in the rear axle. neither truck could spin the tires without doing the "brake stand".
The tires were absolute trash, as well as the stock shocks, so both will need tires and decent shocks. They were so bad that it made what is potentially a nice truck feel like a marshmellow.
Throttle control on the 6.0 was obviously much better than the Max...

I found the two trucks that fit the bill pretty well.
There is a $5500 difference in the end...
I think I'm leaning toward the 6.0, but the D max would be the choice if I needed to pull more than 10,000. But, then you'd be smart to get the dually if you're dragging that weight.

I also threw one at the salesman when I told him I had a coupon for the GM Supplier price... then I whip out a coupon for another $500 fro GM suppliers, and then $1000 from a coupon that GM sent me as a loyalty thing...
They allowed way too little for my trade, so I told him that I'd get back to him...

BRUCE SEROFF

Damn Tim...you should be a test drive reporter for Car and Driver Magazine. Or consumer reports.

Way to go, do your homework

MIAMIBOYZ

I WANT TO TAKE TIM WITH ME WHEN I BUY MY NEW TRUCK LOL

TIM ARE YOU SELLING YOUR GAS DUALLY,IF YOU ARE LET ME KNOW I HAVE SOMEONE IN THE LOOKOUT FOR ONE.

BajaRunner

I thought the 8.1 only came with the allison.