If you think 8-Lug's gone to the dogs, you're half right. In the last issue we featured Steve Raney's '04 Chevy Duramax, a work truck that was driven six days a week to transport hunting dogs and hauled 20x24 culvert pipes around a 90-acre ranch better suited for an ATV.
| The Chevy Silverado had 108,000 miles on the odometer, but the 6.6L Duramax and Allison transmission seemed mechanically sound. Even a truck with these miles proved to be the perfect candidate for an upgrade using simple power enhancers.
For a time, the rig handled these aspects of the job with ease. But as Raney's business grew, so did the demands placed on the truck. After the odometer passed 100,000 miles, the ole girl started to show some signs of middle age. At least that's what we initially thought.
What we knew about the 6.6L Duramax (LLY) with the Allison automatic transmission told us it's stout and reliable and could easily go another 100,000 miles in stock trim. Towing capacity was about 11,000 pounds, and Raney's trailer weighed only 7,000 pounds. So why was the Chevy already maxed out of power?
We determined that it has much to do with Raney's expectations of the rig through its transformations from lightweight runabout to heavyweight work truck. Raney was accustomed to a routine level of performance, and when he lost that familiar powerband, he naturally figured the truck wasn't capable of doing anything more. Add to that the dirt roads he was driving on also scrubbed power. We knew a limited slip up front would help him in that regard, but what the truck really needed was a more responsive power curve that could be adjusted according to the workload.
In stock trim, the Chevy had 185 peak hp and 307 lb-ft of torque at the wheel. That was good enough to tow a modest trailer, but it wasn't enough to keep up with Raney's expanding ranch demands. After we saw the truck and trailer stumbling up a small grade, we decided to step in and lend a hand where we could.
Bert Heck from K&N Filters read about 8-Lug's Adopt-A-Truck in an earlier issue and liked the concept-where we took an average work truck and brought it back to life thanks to the generosity of certain aftermarket manufacturers. So on our behalf, Heck placed a few phone calls to the folks at MBRP and Hypertech, and within days offered his technical shop as the installation facility, where we'd have access to in-ground dynos and his staff of installers. Heck's advice was to test Hypertech's Max Energy Power Programmer, an MBRP Pro Series cat-back exhaust system, and K&N's Generation II FIPK intake on the Chevy.
| Bert Heck of K&N Filters talked to (left to right) Steve Raney and Scott Wood about how the Hypertech programmer, K&N air intake, and MBRP exhaust system would work in convert. As a complete package, he predicted big gains in power.
Since we had the facility to ourselves for the day, we needed to find another working stiff who wouldn't mind lending us his truck. It didn't take long before we ran into Scott Wood's '07 Ford F-350 with 58,000 miles on it. As a brass foundry worker, Wood used his truck daily to haul heavy irrigation equipment. On the weekends, he used it to go ATV riding in the local sand dunes. It was a daily driver with a stock baseline of 144.85 hp and 253 lb-ft of torque that was probably due for some mild tweaks in performance.
On the way to K&N, Raney told us his Chevy's turbo had sucked in a shop rag a while back, and although he got it out in one piece, he feared it might have damaged the impeller. Wood too, confessed he hadn't changed the stock filter element since buying the truck new, and when we opened it, out poured the evidence. So the two trucks were a challenge right from the start.
The following photos depict the changes we made using over-the-counter products from MBRP, Hypertech, and K&N Filters to gain power, lower exhaust temps, and if we were lucky, improve fuel economy. As a package, that's what these products can do. The installations shown here can be handled in your garage with minimal tools, and limited know-how.
As you can see from the dyno charts, our simple installation netted some big-time results. Wood and Raney now swear by this reliable fuel, air, and exhaust package and said that along with the extra power came some noticeable gains in fuel economy. Makes sense, when you realize that by using the correct sampling of products, you get complete fuel burn/combustion with little soot leaving the exhaust...only the sounds of all that new power!
Product Profile:
Hypertech
901/382-8888
www.hypertech.com
K&N Filters
800/858-3333
www.knfilters.com
MBRP
888/636-7223
www.mbrp.com
