I am brand new to this forum/blogging stuff. I have a '95 dodge dually, cummins, used as a rec vehicle purchased new many moons ago. Why did the Dept of Energy select cummins, way back when, to develop a diesel V6 and V8?  Why did cummins go with the V eng rather than stay with the inline configuration?  Why do you see GMC and Ford guys modifying their rides with the cummins engine? Is cummins that much more superior? The GMC V8 is 4.5, the Ford V8 is 4.4, but the cummins is a V6 4.2, all about the same horse and torque. The cummins V8 5.6 is rated just under the present day GMC/Ford/Cummins diesels, what does cummins know that the others do not?  Will the new 2010 federal regs put the SEMA guys out of business?
With the economy tanking as it is, these questions may be moot.  

The exact specs of the '10 half-ton Cummins are yet to be revealed. It's looking like the final displacement is going to be about 5.0 liters.

Generally, with diesel engines, you trade off power for durability, at least when it comes to commercial-grade engines. The lower-power ones have the highest-mileage overhaul intervals, and the higher-power ones have lower mileage intervals. I mean, we're still talking about a lot of miles, like the difference between 250,000 and 450,000.

Dodge may come in slightly below the Chevy and Ford in power, but claim a higher-mileage service life. But my guess is they're going to try to be at the top of the heap in terms of power output, and if they're going to be a little higher displacement, they can probably afford to without sacrificing too much in terms of durability.

In terms of the 2010 regs being the "end of the aftermarket as we know it." It's just people's fear of the unknown. Banks (whether you're a fan of 'em or not) has taken the most progressive stance toward clean diesel performance, and rather than trying to defeat the emissions systems, is trying to give you as much power as possible within the parameters of the factory emissions control hardware.

Granted, this approach is going to limit the amount of ulimate power you'll be able to get out of these engines, but it seems like testing and compliance is only going to get tougher in the coming years, so I think Banks' approach is probably a smart one.

If you think about it, the diesel performance scene has only become really big within the past 10 years. It's a rapidly-evolving market in terms of technology.

Just to lay out a scenario for you. Back in the musclecar heyday of the late '60s-early '70s, engines were making around the 1 hp/cubic inch benchmark, sometimes more. Keep in mind most of these engines were tested under the "gross" horsepower rating. A lot of them averaged around 8-10 mpg. All of a sudden, the EPA cracked down, and almost overnight, horsepower ratings were literally cut in half.

Fast-forward to 1997. That's the year when the LS1 engine came out. This engine ran clean as a whistle, developed 1 hp/cubic inch, and delivered upward of 25 miles per gallon on the highway in the Corvette. So, it took about 25 years, but performance came back, cleaner than ever, more efficient than ever, and more powerful than ever (look at the Z06's 7.0L 505-hp (net rating!) that gets 24 mpg.  

I'm not saying you're going to have to wait another 25 years before diesel performance comes back, but I'm just making the parallel between the rapid regulatory change with diesels, much like with gasoline engines in the 1970s, but that over time, engineers were able to figure out how to deliver high performance with high efficiency and good reliability.  

i was just wondering i have a 6.7 07 3500 i have strait pipes it and put an edge juice with attitude and AFE intake. it black smokes but i would like it to smoke more how or what would i buy to make it smoke more ive been told to buy injectors or bigger turbo any ideas?  

you cant get injectors for the 6.7 yet, aint been out long enough, bigger turbo wont hepl you without the injectors, best bet is the edge juice with attitude or tst powermax programers  

you will run that cat and dpf filter with that the dpf is $1800 and the cat is get this $3800 dollars from the dealer still want to back smoke i would pm e2 the rock he has a new 6.7 what i was told from a guy the had his in the shop 7 times with exhuast problems and than they put a new turbo on still under warranty they will be  a lot of pissed off people when these go out of warranty