Hey guys new to the board, I pull a 30ft horse trailer and I need more power going through the mountains back to florida really sucked. Can you let me know the first think you would add. I am not gonna be at the tractor pulls or anything but I really need more power. Oh the truck 02 3500 4x4 5.9l cummings stock.  

programer!!! smarty seems popular with the guys on here i myself have a predator diablo sport the tow tune gives u 60rwhp and 120ft lbstq for towing and 100 rwhp and 170ft lbstq in the performance economy setting and 160 rwhp and 230ft lbstq in the extreme setting but the tranny in the extreme setting takes a beating and i added a aftermarket air filter and some exhaust and i pull a 32 ft camper without having a problem  

what about Quadzilla XZT+ w/Pulse  along with air intake upgrade  

i have an 02 myself, is it a auto or manual? if its a manual edge juice w attitude will do you just as good as the smarty will with not fuel changing needed (can be adjusted if needed). or you can stack the smarty and edge for magimum pressure. the auto, CHANGE THE TURBO! welcome to my world, in 02' cummins changed the turbo from hx35 to hy35, from 12cm to 9cm, its a piece of *** but beter fuel mileage. but anyways, edge w 4 inch cone filter from k&n would be fine, you dont need an entire intake, we got stock 4 inch on the 02'  

yes it is a auto. who has a decent turbo for it. do i need to cange anything with the fuel pump if i change the air filter/intake, turbo, and add a chip (edge juice/w attitude)?  

yes!!!!!! when you get all those upgrades your motor will need more fuel to get it going. especially with the edge, trust me, from experience you need a new lift pump. the factory lift pump is a piece of *** i went with the air dog raptor 150 gph. about $370 bills but the fuel pressure can be regulated through an external adjuster. i just upgraded my turbo to an hx50, a little over kill, more for like a pulling truck but produces monster boost. go with holset and i know this sounds weird but look on ebay. they got some nice hx40 35 and 50 on there, that is where i got mine. my turbo and yours sucks, it is 9cm, small  

looking at your specs what is the silencer ring?  

or an s400  

A silencer ring just makes the turbo whine not so loud.  If you're okay with hearing your turbo sing then remove it, otherwise keep it in.




Kris  

take that *** out! the silencer ring is nothing but i metal ring that forces the noices out the turbo in a spiral pattern making it quiet. when you take it off, the turbo wines loud! makes no difference in power just sounds bad as hell. especially on my new turbo, ITS LOUD!  

The '02, IIRC, ran about 235hp so you're really in need of more power.

I would start with an AEM Brute Force HD intake and filter, a CFM intake manifold drilled and tapped for water-meth, add the Snow Performance water-meth injection kit, and slap a 5 inch exhaust on it.  Getting the engine to breath easier will be the first step, then add the Smarty.

Since it's an auto, I would really recommend getting the VB (transmission valve body) job done to it and a deeper pan.  I would also consider getting a set of gauges (pyro\EGT temp, tranny temp, and boost) since you are towing through the mountains.  Heck, towing in general you need these 3 gauges at a minimum.

After that, I'd start looking at the TC (torque converter) because this is where some of your power loss will happen when it slips.  Getting a better TC will help keep the power to the ground and your truck will drive much better once you replace this single piece alone.

You could go with bigger injectors, but with that you'll need a turbo upgrade to get even more air moving in and out of that engine.  I'm not sure what your budget is like, so here's the way I'd put the upgrades on in order:

Deeper tranny pan, new TC and VB job, then gauges.
AEM Brute Force HD intake, CFM manifold, and 5 inch exhaust.
Snow water-meth injection.
Smarty.

If at this point you still need more power you're looking to spend a bit of cash.  A set of 90hp injectors, either the AirDog or FASS 150 lift pump for more fuel, and a hotrod VP44 injector pump will be needed.  After this upgrade then you can start looking for a turbo, like the HX35.


This should help on those mountain passes.



Kris  

wow all these engine mods are getting pretty extensive, i just wounder what size tires are you running and what the axle gear ratios?  

It's really not that expensive if you do most of the work yourself, or until you get into fueling upgrades.  Then it gets expensive.

The most you're going to spend on an intake and manifold is in the 700 to 800 dollar range, but shopping around online or getting a combo deal will lower that.  It took me a Sunday afternoon to install the new manifold and AEM intake.  No labor costs there (not counting the 3 beers I drank).

A decent TC upgrade will run about $600 - $700, and the labor cost goes down if you've got a buddy with a garage or combine it with the other tranny work.

The VB job will run about the same, but that's when you combine the deeper pan for the tranny.  The old pan has to come off, so a fluid/filter change can be thrown in and have them put the new pan on at the end.

An exhaust can be done in your buddy's garage, or your own for that matter.  Its a good excuse to get a set of jack stands.  Some places will even let you rent them (places like AutoZone, Schuck's, PepBoys, etc.).

Gauges can be put in real easily, it would be another Sunday afternoon project.



And besides, it's always nice to say, "Yeah I put that on there." to a group of your buddies.



Kris  

yeah im wiht you on the installing your own mods, i do all i can on my truck, i was just woundering if maybe his lack of power was also coming from larger then stock tires and too tall gear ratios in the axles, like running 35 inc tires with 3:73 gear ratio it would really make truck even slower than a stock 245 hp cummins is  

For pulling yeah those tires are a bit too tall for 3.73 rears, but he didn't say if he was running bigger shoes.

I was running stock sized shoes on my '03 and it had a heck of a time pulling 9,000 pounds with 3.73 rears, which is why it got traded in.



Kris