Hi I'm a bombaholic

Im with you all the way ..

Whats your opinion on a safe place to stop ,,, or a goal thats reasonable to maintain the abillity to use it as a daily driver ?

DM

[Radio Flyer]

My '99 4x4 has been from stock to 450RWHP and back plenty of times while I was 'testing' to see where I wanted to end up.

Fortunately I never had a "BOMB" induced breakdown, but still think that, for my situation at least, where the truck is now is more than plenty for a daily driver.

Right now it has a CaTCHER ECM, AFE filter, modified HX35, and 275 injectors. I even put a muffler back on it LOL. More than plenty for what I do with it.

Others may want more but for me at least it's way too easy to get overboard and end up with a truck that is nearly undriveable. Sure there are guys who claim to drive 800hp back & forth to work in town, but you'll find those kind of people anywhere......LOL

A given amount of power can be gotten in so many different ways it's impossible to say that one set amount of horsepower/torque is the limit--I've driven 400RWHP trucks that were a PITA to keep square and have been in 650RWHP trucks that are relatively mild for daily driving.

Then you have to factor in how much you're willing to do with the transmission, etc to handle what the engine is putting out. I mean the stock Dodge automatic is NOT that bad, actually it's a quite good unit, but the low rpm torque is stressful and the stock converter is designed to keep that stress out of the rest of the powertrain. Unfortunately that builds heat in the trans, then by adding more power in front of it, well.....you get the idea. Manuals, the same deal--the stock clutch has a limit, mostly for driveability, NVH, and to protect the drivetrain behind it.

Man I'm rambling now but I guess a person really has to decide how much money they want to spend, how comfortable they are working on their truck, maintaining their truck, etc and then look at mods from there.

All that yapping for not even a clear answer, huh? LOL

your post sums up what people really need to know but no one will say it ....

Thanks ... I too have had a truck bombed to a point where it was undrivable

my bad combination was

Stock Sticks
Special Mad Catcher
hx35 with a 21 cm ext housing

I hated it I didnt even want to drive my truck

well 3 Comp boxes and 2 ecms later and another mcharger swap and im good ....then I put in the boiso's and it wants to die when its real cold out and you first fire it up and put it in gear ,,, My way of battleing this was a remote start so its warmed up by the time i get to it ...was it a fix ...NO does it do the job yes ,,,

I think my VB is too bombed i got the full built Suncoast High Performance Pro lock heavy duty Valve body ,,,,,lol,,, I think its pressures are too high or something ...this is its first winter so the injectors may not have anything to do with it .... one of those kind of things

DM

DM

[Radio Flyer]

Originally Posted by

your post sums up what people really need to know but no one will say it ....

Which is a damn shame because guys & gals get all hot & bothered & ready to go build their truck, then run into trouble because they THOUGHT they had all the pertinant info but in all reality only had a little of it, then when they get stuck, they've got no where to turn....sucks really.

Anyways, guess that's why we're all here together at Bombers Not So Anonymous right?

Yep.... and thats why there is so many cummins forums ... after hanging around the forum folk its taken me a while to find the right group of guys ,,, and im glad they are on here ... as They have done what they can to help me I will do the same for them ,,

and when honestly prevails over pride ...the ture colors really shine threw ,,

hey Ill be honest with what I have done and didnt like the same as I will be with things Ive done and liked the road travels both ways least we forget like so many have .

If I was starting from scratch knowing what I know now ...

lets see ...

2002 24V Auto would be a 1998 12V Manual

Thats a pretty big stinker right there LOL

Kind of the platform there

but I didnt join forums before I bought my truck like so many of the newbies I see ,,,,there smart ,,,but they will have to cruize forums for a year before they find there group of people who they trust...... so they really are not getting any where if you think about it ...LOL

I would say 20% of people on forums are strait shooters .... sitting in front of a computer screen gives many a false sence of security and they say things they may not in real life ,,, that gets construde as facts and ends up bad ,,,many of these people hate 3D and flame me for links on "there" site I could list many .... I want facts not opinons when Im bombing ...Facts are hard to come by

DM

[Radio Flyer]

Because the facts don't make for a good story, sell parts, or make overnight sensations out of people. LOL

[R-N-R]

Well I started out looking for a little more towing power, so I suppose I qualify for being afflicted with Bombaholicism. When I started, the question of that era was "how much power do you want?" I had no idea what 350hp or any other hp felt like or what it would take to fit my purpose. Then I stumbled down the long path of getting good deals from other bombers. I would go to buy a part, like injectors and get a great deal on a comp box, etc... At this point I have tasted the fun and I am gone!

RF hit the nail on the head with this adventure! I also agree with DM, 450hp is the best balance of dependability, longevity, and performance.

Unfortunately, I have had the 600 number rolling around in my head lately.
What's my goal? Make as much power as possible while retaining daily drivability, tow my camper along my typical route, put out respectable numbers on the dyno, occassionally bracket race at the drag strip, and rarely street race. No sled pulling for me! Perhaps the one and only godsend for me buying a 2wd truck. I know, I know, I want my cake and to eat it too. But why not?? A few years ago 500hp was reserved for the smaller top % of bombers, and it was the absolute limit for towing, ....until twins became a viable option. 500hp is a lot more common today and you can tow do with 600hp, as long as you can turn it back down to 500. RF was 100% correct, how the power is made is critical to the goal! Smooth balanced power is my target.

Right now my truck is around 501-520hp, which I use numerous times a year. But I certainly do not drive around stomping on that power on a daily basis. Shutting the comp off will theorectically cut me around 100hp. Add that to not pushing much more that 30psi of boost on a normal drive and I am in my safety range for a daily driver. And the truck is still a lot of fun to drive!

Yeah, maintenance is an issue and longevity will suffer, but this part of the game. I am also much more carefull with the truck these days as well. The comp box is off when I start it. It runs for a decent time (depends on OAT) before it rolls. The comp stays off and I don't push much boost (>25psi) until I have 160* coolant temp. Additionally, I am very careful who I let drive my truck, there are very few people who get this opportunity. My wife could, but does not drive it anymore (it scared her). These are the examples that come to mind at 2:00am. Did I sacrafice drivability, yeppers! However these are sacrafices that I am willing to make, my main drivablilty concern is it's behaivor while driving, that is what I am trying to protect.

I too have jacked up drivability while trying parts. Live and learn, I am a lot smarter about this these days. And, I would be a fool if I did not consider some level of responsibility in that valve seat deal. If nothing else, I could not immediately drop it at any dealer and have it repaired under warrenty. Well alright, so I came close to that in the end, but I sweated it out and was prepared to bit the bullet right up until my dealership angle happened to appear. This incident scared the livin' crap out of me and most certainly "changed" my respect for the truck. This truck being my daily driver is a risk I am currently willing to take. Fortunately I live close enough to work that I could walk if necessary and can uausally muster up the assistance when necessary, albeit a major PITA.

Why, why, why???? Because I can, it is my hobby, and I love it! At the same time, I sincerely admire those who can control themselves with this addiction!

R-N-R

[R-N-R]

Originally Posted by

I would say 20% of people on forums are strait shooters .... sitting in front of a computer screen gives many a false sence of security and they say things they may not in real life ,,, that gets construde as facts and ends up bad ,,,many of these people hate 3D and flame me for links on "there" site I could list many .... I want facts not opinons when Im bombing ...Facts are hard to come by

Excellent insight!

[Radio Flyer]

Originally Posted by R-N-R

Why, why, why???? Because I can, it is my hobby, and I love it! At the same time, I sincerely admire those who can control themselves with this addiction!

R-N-R

Thanks for the post R-N-R......glad to have you here to tell your story.

My best advice to help the recovery? Get a sprint car---once you've driven one, even the fastest diesel pickup is sort of an anti-climatic letdown. Plus even if you wanted more, you'll be broke & couldn't afford it anyways. LMAO

story of my life....

Great Post bill,, And you sound like you really have your head on strait about your truck ...

It sums up alot of the bombers life ,,,now that we all have came to peace with what we are im sure it will fly even further out of control

BTW Bill how do i keep a valve seat from trashing my motor??? syntetics ???



DM

[R-N-R]

I spent a lot of time at dirt tracks in Oklahoma when I was a kid. The sprint cars always facinated me, I call them pocket rockets. The funny thing is that I was actually tooling up for a circle jerk when I came across the diesel world. 1 trip to Scheids Diesel Extravaganza where I saw what people were doing with their daily drivers just simply amazed me.

It is interesting, take somebody who is not familar with the diesel truck world for a ride and they can be like ho-hum, especially if they are a hot rodder. I can only imagine what your persception is after having driven sprint cars! I joke that my family bought me the 1st R/C truck for father's day, to distract me from the big truck. Little did they know how much could be sunk into this hobby! At this point in my life, when the R/C truck flips, my body recovers very quickly, so I have resigned myself to being a sprint car racing spectator.

[R-N-R]

Originally Posted by

Bill how do i keep a valve seat from trashing my motor??? syntetics ???

Speculation from my Dodge mechanic and TDR friend was that nothing I did should have caused this. It was most likely cracks in the head, just bad luck of the draw. However, these days I am making sure that I have heat in the motor before I put any drive pressure to it. Other than that, I recommend chicken bones/chants, prayers, etc....

btw, knowing what I know now, I will never run the motor trying to diagnose a problem when I have a knocking noise.