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All purpose tow rig, drag racer, truck puller, and daily driver

Leadfoot

Leadfoot

1/2 ton status
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I was doing some research on truck pulling for our club and came across this.
http://duramaxracing.com/

I thought it was pretty cool considering it's pretty much a stock motor.

The cool thing is he has fun with it, but also uses as a daily driver.:thumb:

I know the same can be done with Ford or Dodge, but considering this is a GM site.

Plus it shows that a locker can be used in the front end of the newer truck. Granted it's in a straight line, but there is enough drag on the truck that all 4 wheels spin (full weight of truck, engine, and tranny) over front wheels with pulling tires and all the torque (well as much can reach the front wheels) and the shafts show no signs of breaking or giving up. Yes I would like to see how they would do when turned, but considering this abuse, I'm sure they could take more than a D44 offroad (just my speculation, I have no hard facts to back that up other than having seen lighter trucks blow fresh u-joints in the front axle when locked up and pulling).

Anywho, just a gratuitous GM diesel post.

Some year I will have my own.:blush:
 
I have heard horror stories of the front IFS system breaking while pulling in the new HD's, but I have never seen an HD pull yet in person. I have seen the front D60 pumpkin explode under an '00 dodge cummins while pulling but in it's defence it had TSL's hanging off it with a 1600ft lbs torque happy cummins pushing it. :D
 
I have seen the new HD's pull with the IFS front, but not locked up. No-one around here has bothered to try and lock one yet. I'm hoping one of the locals will try it.


Non Biased factual statement: We have guys running modded (chips, exhaust, air intakes, injectors, etc.) diesels (no turbo mods allowed). In years past it was NO competition, as the Cummin's walked all over the old GM's and 7.3 powerstrokes. In the past two years, the Duramax has come out on top, followed by Cummin's, then followed by Ford 6.0

Edit: Most Gassers do better with manual trannies without shifting and letting rev. In the Diesel class the Automatics rule when allowed to shift in Tow/Haul mode (it seems to keep power to the wheels more consistantly and keep the motor in the powerband better). The Duramax might not have the most "rated output", but the Duramax/Allison combo seems to be the best at putting power to the ground when pulling the sled.

Edit 2: The most powerful rig I have personally seen was a Cummin's equipped Dodge but it had a modified turbo. Our club forbids turbo mods as there just not as many turbo's or mods available for the GM or Ford yet (trying to keep the playing field as level as possible).

Until recently the only bombed diesels I saw were Cummin's as there were alot of aftermarket (and alternative OEM) parts available. I am now hearing (not seen or proven yet) twin turbo 6.0's and 6.6's. Who makes the absolute strongest? I would have to say the Cummin's, but is it really an issue for a street driven rig??

Here's an upgraded Ford for viewing

http://www.diesel-central.com/Video/Movies/CalifPulls/Psycho%20first%20pull%20Sanora.WMV

My .02 and you can keep the change :grin: :D
 
Watching an IFS GM in a pull hurts just to watch. Imagine instant 10+ degree toe in as soon as its put under load:eek:
 
BlueBlazer62 said:
Watching an IFS GM in a pull hurts just to watch. Imagine instant 10+ degree toe in as soon as its put under load:eek:
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Maybe I haven't been that observant, but the new HD's don't seem to toe in. Also most of the weight is in the back so actually it usually unloads when pulling (reason for suitcase weights up front).


I know the 88 to late 90's had issues with camber changes when pulling as the front end unloaded, but not much different than lifted Ford TTB's.
 
He most likely has done something to his front end to combat the problems I have seen in the local pulls. There are two 2500HDs that are there every year, one with an 8.1 and the other a Duramax, both have huge changes in toe when the front end starts to pick up a little bit. Perhaps just adding weight to the front to keep it down is enough to fix it.
 
Yea, it does not seem to hurt the pulling, but it has to be hard on the steering linkage. I think the weight he has on the front makes a big difference because his front end does not pick up near as much as the rigs I have seen.
 
BlueBlazer62 said:
Yea, it does not seem to hurt the pulling, but it has to be hard on the steering linkage. I think the weight he has on the front makes a big difference because his front end does not pick up near as much as the rigs I have seen.
Click to expand...
I don't know about you, but when I pull it's in a straight line (not much steering involved)..........:D

J/K, I'm sure he has to make a slight turn to get on/off the track. I can't imagine it weighs more than a plow (considering plow, pump, hydraulics, frame, etc) and he probably doesn't go down the road with it. Again, I am at truck pulls all the time (see my sig), and go to quite few others pulls. At the end of the day pulling (for points in each class), we have a "run what you brung" show. Anybody can enter with a hitch and a helmet (and a quick look over the vehicle for any obvious concerns). We have lots of guys running stock diesel trucks from the big 3 (no front end weights allowed). I have not noticed excessive caster/camber/toe changes with the GM's even as the front end picks up (especially compared to the 90's IFS).

I will agree that the steering components aren't the beefiest, but luckily there is already aftermarket support and changing the components is a simple task (and with good measurements shouldn't require a realignment). I'd rather be swapping steering components than tranny's or front unitized hub assemblies.

To each his own though. I just put this post up because I thought it was cool, not because it (or GM) necessarily has the best truck out there......
 
Well, I guess they are the only two GMs in the world that do this then.

I don't know about you, but when I pull it's in a straight line (not much steering involved)..........:D

J/K, I'm sure he has to make a slight turn to get on/off the track. I can't imagine it weighs more than a plow (considering plow, pump, hydraulics, frame, etc) and he probably doesn't go down the road with it
Click to expand...
Not quite sure where you are going with this, neither truck was turning at the time. There was someone here with a video of an H2, which AFAIK has the same front end design, that shows the change in toe I am talking about and it ended up snapping a tie rod. It really does not matter to me what you pull with and I am not putting down any vehicle, just pointing out what I saw with my own two eyes.
 
Not quite sure where you are going with this
Click to expand...
You had made a comment about the steering linkage and the stress put on it while pulling. I was joking around saying when I pull it's in a straight line (i.e. very little steering involved. I was just joking around so I made sure to put the :D and "J/K" (for Just Kidding) as to show I was not being too serious/literal.

I'm not saying that you didn't see what you saw either. I realize that just because I don't see it, doesn't make it impossible or wrong. I realize that the IFS acts differently when loaded/unloaded than a straight axle does but that is due to the physics in the difference inherent in the different designs. I know what you are talking about as they definitely look different (comparing one tire to the other) when unloaded than a straight axle truck, I was just saying that it didn't seem excessive or a flaw.

Again, you may feel it is and that is cool. I know I think some things are wrong/weird while others think they are normal/acceptable. Again to each his own (within reason). I was just trying to keep the post "light hearted" as it was intended to be an FYI and eye candy (for GM fans, or fans of trucks, and or pulling), and show that the D-Max is able to be hodrodded. I realize there might be other trucks that can be hopped up more/better, but I thought it was appropriate as this was a GM site. I think the biggest thing to hit me too, was that this is not a trailer queen. I know guys that hop up their trucks big time, but then can't drive them on the road (a lot of the guys I pull with do this). I like to be able to drive mine to the pulls, pull, then drive home rather than load it on a trailer, and I respect others who do the same. I saw this guy doing the same with a newer truck (one that some say you couldn't do it with) and thought it was cool enough to post.

I don't mine debating (as I can be real good at it..........as well as putting my foot in my mouth :blush: ), but for the most part people are cool about it (a reason I like this site), but that was not the "intention" of the post. Sorry if I sounded (or came off) as saying you were wrong....

Chris
 
Huh....

After checking out the pics of the cutaway Allison on that site, I just realized we had one in the customer pickup area at work last week...
 
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