lbz or what else

[silverdmax]

i love my truck its and awsome truck, but i sometimes think i should of bought a new ram cummings cuz it a sweet looking truck or a new super duty because it has a very nice ride and interior and then i think my truck looks sweet and has an awsome interior aswell. Just wanted your thoughts on the other guys because i get a lot of slack from my buddies cuz i drive a dmax.

[01LB7]

the cummins trucks look nice and run great, have nothing bad to say about the motor, it's the dodge part that gets me, and as for a superduty, -:t, jmo, i hate those gutless ugly trucks, had a 95 obs ford w/ the 7.3, loved it, then descovered that the dmax is by far, hands down the s@#$):h, plus if they're pokin fun it because they're jealous:thumb:, wouldn't you be if you didn't have one?

[hondarider552]

Dont judge a book by its cover, and dont also buy a truck because it looks good or rides good ;)

[silverdmax]

in my opinon i love my dmax. its my second and all the time i had never even once went to test drive the other guys diesels because i like mine so much. just was wondering why so many guys on here and every where else decided to get rid of their other trucks to buy dmaxs.

[blksmok]

Everytime I buy a new truck, I drive them all. (ford, dodge, gm) I always end up buying a GM. If you do a pros and cons list, the GM always wins IMO.

[OTHRGRL]

When I started to look for a diesel truck I originally was looking for a Ford, Dodge or GM and knew I wanted to slowly build it up into a fast, fun daily driver. There was no way I would have ever bought a 6.0L Ford, and the 6.4L was unproven and out of my price range - so my Ford search was limited to the 7.3L. I quickly realized the 7.3L was extremely expensive to get good power out of so Ford was ruled out. As I researched adding power to the Cummins I started to narrow my search to 03+ Dodges, which I also liked the look of better. The more I researched and looked at trucks the more I was leaning towards a Duramax as I searched for a truck, but I hadn't ruled out 03+ Dodges. I happened to find a good deal on a Duramax before a Dodge and looking back I am so glad that I did.

The things that sell me on a Duramax are:


Ability to custom tune with EFI Live or HP tuners.
Ability to easily get over 520hp out of a nearly stock truck
Ability to run 12s with a nearly stock truck
Interior's nicer than the Dodge
Better ride and handling than the solid axle trucks
They look good lifted, lowered, or leveled.
They are more versatile - you don't see many BIG power Dodges or Fords that still do it all - they start being put on the trailer more and focusing on either pulling or racing.


The negatives of the Ford are:


The 7.3L is the only reliable engine IMO and it takes tons of money to get power out of one.
The 6.0L isn't much cheaper to get good power out of and with their suseptable injectors, glow plugs, EGR systems, and head gaskets they just aren't reliable enough for what I expect from a diesel.
The 6.4L is already done being produced - not many aftermarket companies are going to continue to develop products for an engine with such a short production time.
Four torque to yield head bolts per cylinder is the biggest design flaw I know of on a modern diesel engine.
They wheel hop and bounce while racing and pulling.
They don't have any end user custom tuning.
They don't handle well at high speeds.
They need at the very least 33s to look right.
They are so damn heavy - it takes 600hp to get most of them in the 12s, while a Duramax would be flirting with 11s.
One positive of owning a Ford would be that running low 11s and high 10s would make me a hero among Fords, while with a Duramax I'm not in the top 25 anymore - then again to have a high 10 second Ford I would need to have much deeper pockets.


For the Dodge:

Trucks aren't as nicely appointed.
No end user custom tuning - "let's play find the right stacked settings to have it run decent without blowing up"
Transmissions - the hard parts are smaller and weaker and the valve bodies are typically purpose built.
Death wobble
Need an aftermarket charger and bigger injectors to get in the 12s.
Aren't nearly as streetable with a big single.

[silverdmax]

thats how i felt when i wanted to buy my dmax love the old 7.3 but they are tanks and the dodge drive like a wheelbarrel. so thanks for the input and reasurense.

[ghostrider01]

Sold my LB7 which was a mistake thinking there was better stuff out there and had other plans in the future but figured out nothing is better then a good ole Dmax :thumb:

[wojo312]

The only way that I will get rid of my LBZ is to move up to a Freightliner M2 and with a wife and 1 in college that won't happen soon. I ONLY drove Fords and still like them but my 07 Sierra Classic runs, sounds, modify's and is the most comfortable truck this 6' 7" 280lb body has felt. Truck wise that is:)):h