Disappointed in OBS! Talk me in off the ledge!

[parks_pop]

OK guys I'm going to admit it. I might have made a mistake when purchasing my OBS. I have a 1996 CCSB. Auto trans, 35" tires, intake, 3" DP with straight 4" exhaust, upgraded 17* TE hpop.

I sold my 2006 Cummins because I wanted to get out of some debt. I loved the look of the OBS and when I found this truck I had to buy it. Now I've started towing my 29' camp trailer (7,000 lbs) and WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!! My Cummins would smoke this thing. To be honest it doesn't pull my trailer much better than my Denali did. I have to run with OD off most of the time which means at 65 mph I'm turning 2500 RPMs.

Should I be running the PSD at higher RPMs than my cummins. The PSD doesn't really make much power until 2000 RPMs. Is it ok to run it at 2500?

How much money will it take to get my PSD even close to my Cummins? I don't want to throw thousands of dollars into a truck that will never pull like a cummins.

I'm struggling here.

[colo_dually]

The '96 Powerstroke is nothing to compare to the '06 Cummins, completely different generations of diesels. The OBS won't pull like the '06 Dodge, 10 years of R&D and technology to make up for.

As far as building your OBS to more of what you're expecting, I'll let the experts answer that for ya.

[ridiculously_necessary]

thats the problem. here is my opinion

gauges $200-$350
stage 1 injectors $800 - $1800
chip $300 - $500

[superduty4x4]

2500rpm when pulling is about right, I think peak torque is right around there.
You've got to remember the 96 PSD is only rated for 215hp at the flywheel. You'll probably want to look into a set of stage 1 or 2 injectors for it, unless you'd like to upgrade the turbo also. Other recommended mods would be a valve body for the transmission (at a minimum), gauges (boost, pyro, trans temp at a minimum) and custom tunes. That will make a solid tow rig out of her, but it still probably won't pull like your Cummins did.

[ridiculously_necessary]

can the stock turbo hold stage 2's? i was hesitant to suggest it...

[parks_pop]

I have pyro and trans gauges. What about EGTs with those injectors and tunes? I'm already pushing 1200 degrees at times.

[Jarrod B]

you can run this engine at 3k all day and be fine with it. it will just burn diesel like crazy lol

[superduty4x4]

Originally Posted by ridiculously_necessary

can the stock turbo hold stage 2's? i was hesitant to suggest it...

It can, but you have to really watch yourself to keep from popping it.
If you go with stage 2's you'll NEED to intercool your truck. Also make sure you don't have an exhaust leak at the up pipes.

[tracker8wr]

I have stage1s and tow about the same weight but I have a lot more wind resistance. I had to get an IC because the gets just kept spiking. I can run 75-80 all day I do have a 5speed with 3.55s still stock tunes.

[Gruss]

See my sig. below. This is what it took to make my truck tow my 7500lb TT, and be happy about it. I can either tow @ 55 mph in drive, or 72 in OD. Right at 2100 rpms with 3.55 gears. Power band is above 2000 rpms. Before the intercooler I had to drive it by the pyro, now I can't get it over 1300 degs'