Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
There is a lot more going on behind deletes:
1. Awful fuel economy
My auto RAM went from a 13 MPG truck to a solid 22 MPG truck just by pulling the EGR. Deleting entirely has kept it at 22, but with a butt load more power. I just made 23 MPG on the highway towing a 5500 lb. boat.
2. Durability
Look in the Diesel UOA forum, and you'll see the high fuel dilution that comes into play from those DPF regenerations. Is fuel dilution good for an engine? No.
Soot loading from eating it's own exhaust is not either.
3. OEM just can't figure it out
I've helped a friend of mine delete two of his fleet trucks. Why? He spent $90,000 each, and his trucks kept shutting down over phantom DPF and DEF issues. He proceeded to spend another $16,000 paying the dealer to address these issues. They gave up on him and told him to try spending another $11,000 on each truck to try and fix the issues. A total of 9 repairs had already been done. On every occasion, the trucks went about 50 miles and got locked into limp mode.
Faced with the choice of either throwing $180,000 of equipment in the garbage or doing deletes, he made the only choice he had in order to keep his business going and not end up living on the street. He deleted.
If you Google this problem, it happens with Ford, GM, and Ram. Codes start, limp home comes in, and all the kings men can't put it back together again.
People do not realize how many deleted trucks are out there, because 90% of the delete tunes are not "smoke tunes". Smoke tunes do the same thing as a DPF: Throw your money into the garbage by wasting fuel. The majority deletes want the best fuel economy possible. The most powerful tunes make the least smoke.
Stage 2 (tow tune) engaged, and my truck throws a little smoke under WOT (still less than stock). Stage 4 (+175 HP) and there isn't anything to be seen at all. Not even with high beams on my tail at night.
I would absolutely love to have an emissions system that works and is durable. I use emissions for as long as it's willing to work. If it has a serious and expensive problem, it's gone.
There have been some problems with the emissions systems on newer Diesel vehicles, but I think it's only a small percentage of trucks that actually have issues. Of course those are the ones that get mentioned on forums.
Your truck didn't have the DEF system, and relied heavily on EGR, and the DPF (as you are well aware). The newer trucks with DEF, actually get much better MPG than your era of RAM truck did in stock form, and the trucks today are heavier due to beefier construction, mainly of the chassis.
An example: I bought a '17 Dually 4x4 with the high output Cummins, and Aisin transmission, with 4.10 gears. I had more aggressive A/T tires installed before I took delivery, so it would've done better MPG wise with the stock Highway tread tires. On the 500 mile drive home from the dealer, I got 19-20 MPG at 70-80 MPH, on a brand new engine, in a 9000 lb truck. As the engine continues to break-in, it will do better.
If I could delete without running afoul of the annual emissions test, I might consider it if I ever have trouble with the emissions system. So far I haven't, and I'm happy with how it pulls the toy hauler, which is it's primary job.
There is a lot more going on behind deletes:
1. Awful fuel economy
My auto RAM went from a 13 MPG truck to a solid 22 MPG truck just by pulling the EGR. Deleting entirely has kept it at 22, but with a butt load more power. I just made 23 MPG on the highway towing a 5500 lb. boat.
2. Durability
Look in the Diesel UOA forum, and you'll see the high fuel dilution that comes into play from those DPF regenerations. Is fuel dilution good for an engine? No.
Soot loading from eating it's own exhaust is not either.
3. OEM just can't figure it out
I've helped a friend of mine delete two of his fleet trucks. Why? He spent $90,000 each, and his trucks kept shutting down over phantom DPF and DEF issues. He proceeded to spend another $16,000 paying the dealer to address these issues. They gave up on him and told him to try spending another $11,000 on each truck to try and fix the issues. A total of 9 repairs had already been done. On every occasion, the trucks went about 50 miles and got locked into limp mode.
Faced with the choice of either throwing $180,000 of equipment in the garbage or doing deletes, he made the only choice he had in order to keep his business going and not end up living on the street. He deleted.
If you Google this problem, it happens with Ford, GM, and Ram. Codes start, limp home comes in, and all the kings men can't put it back together again.
People do not realize how many deleted trucks are out there, because 90% of the delete tunes are not "smoke tunes". Smoke tunes do the same thing as a DPF: Throw your money into the garbage by wasting fuel. The majority deletes want the best fuel economy possible. The most powerful tunes make the least smoke.
Stage 2 (tow tune) engaged, and my truck throws a little smoke under WOT (still less than stock). Stage 4 (+175 HP) and there isn't anything to be seen at all. Not even with high beams on my tail at night.
I would absolutely love to have an emissions system that works and is durable. I use emissions for as long as it's willing to work. If it has a serious and expensive problem, it's gone.
There have been some problems with the emissions systems on newer Diesel vehicles, but I think it's only a small percentage of trucks that actually have issues. Of course those are the ones that get mentioned on forums.
Your truck didn't have the DEF system, and relied heavily on EGR, and the DPF (as you are well aware). The newer trucks with DEF, actually get much better MPG than your era of RAM truck did in stock form, and the trucks today are heavier due to beefier construction, mainly of the chassis.
An example: I bought a '17 Dually 4x4 with the high output Cummins, and Aisin transmission, with 4.10 gears. I had more aggressive A/T tires installed before I took delivery, so it would've done better MPG wise with the stock Highway tread tires. On the 500 mile drive home from the dealer, I got 19-20 MPG at 70-80 MPH, on a brand new engine, in a 9000 lb truck. As the engine continues to break-in, it will do better.
If I could delete without running afoul of the annual emissions test, I might consider it if I ever have trouble with the emissions system. So far I haven't, and I'm happy with how it pulls the toy hauler, which is it's primary job.
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