Nitro and Diesel Don’t Mix in This Duramax Truck Race
Dmitri Millard is a local celebrity for his racing antics on the speedway. Driving a heavily modified GMC Sierra with a 6.6 L Duramax, this is far from anything to be found at a local dealership. That’s because Dmitri has this souped up Duramax Dyno kicking out nearly 1,400 hp! However, on the drag strip, it’s still not good enough to beat out Jeremiah Montgomery in his twin spooled Duramax without nitro. Is it practical? Is it sustainable? Heck no.
That’s why the other driver, Jeremiah Montgomery, has a respectable twin turbo charged Chevy Silverado 2500HD on the other end. And good sense and mechanics is enough to cross the finish line first. Let’s see what Jeremiah did to this beast to make it rear like it did. Taking the classic 2001 GMC Sierra and putting in a fresh 6.6 L LMM Duramax is a trial in its own right.
Is it practical? Is it sustainable? Heck no. That’s why the other driver, Jeremiah Montgomery, has a respectable twin turbo charged Chevy Silverado 2500HD on the other end. And good sense and mechanics is enough to cross the finish line first. Let’s see what Jeremiah did to this beast to make it rear like it did.
Continue Reading
Taking the classic 2001 GMC Sierra and putting in a fresh 6.6 L LMM Duramax is a trial in its own right. The Duramax LB7 was certainly a brave fresh start with its 32-valve design
Taking the classic 2001 GMC Sierra and putting in a fresh 6.6 L LMM Duramax is a trial in its own right. The Duramax LB7 was certainly a brave fresh start with its 32-valve design and high pressure common-rail direct injection. Unfortunately, General Motors had more than a few issues with people trying to take this engine to the next level. It was designed squarely for its stated spec output – 300 hp and 520 lb-ft of torque. But that never stopped after-market modders from trying to double it. And in Dmitri Millard and Injection Industries’ case, triple it. How did they do it? Step one is upgrading to not just one more turbo charger but two. Yes, that would make the LB7 Duramax engine a triple turbo fueled monster. Output rated conservatively at 900 bhp, it’s more than enough to push any engine past its breaking point. As Injection Industries and Millard discovered – it was!
In the case of the engine itself, GM issued a warranty on the injection system because the engine was found to overheat when pushed beyond its normal limits. Now, normally engineers design an engine for specific parameters. But in the case of commercial and retail trucks, the customer is always right. Still it ended up becoming the inspiration for the LLY Duramax – turbocharged and full of fire without the problems that plagued the 2001 edition.
Where Montgomery went right and Millard didn’t was in the execution. His triple turbo diesel Duramax happened to exhaust out that cooked fuel way better. What is it about dual black smoke stacks in the back? It’s any man’s guess. But it just so happens to be a design that keeps Montgomery in first place.
Second Place is First Loser
Nitro is great for quick boosts of power in an engine. The unfortunate side effect is that it drastically heats up the engine well past its spec range. And when a lot of money is riding beneath the hood, there’s no time to blow gaskets. While Millard has a reputation as being a daring drag and stunt driver of monstrously powerful trucks, he’s also known to throw caution to the wind.
In a classic tortoise and hare case, Jeremiah Montgomery relied upon the steady consistency of his Duramax versus the risky upgrade to a nitrous fed system. Nitrous is a must in the world of tuner cars and street races. On the dragstrip, it can be more of a liability than a help.
However, it is a bit splitting hairs – both trucks came in at 11:37 and 10:32 respectively. That’s clearly much better than any stock racing car like a Corvette or a Mustang. It’s achieved through the perfect balance of understanding how best to optimize a turbo diesel Duramax engine and also configuring the computer systems to work with the mechanics.
And don’t forget the driver. The driver and the team of mechanics behind every single drag race are the fuel for that first place (or any place) run. Plenty of great vehicles either come in over 14 seconds or not at all simply because the right work wasn’t done in advance.
Installing a Great Duramax Twin Turbo Kit
Even seasoned mechanics know that the quality of the truck is dependent on the quality of the parts. While plenty of twin turbo charge kits exist for the Duramax, there needs to be close special attention placed on the quality of those individual pieces. And this is especially true for diesels! A lot of work has to go into them to aerate a much thicker, harder to pump fluid and equally as much to keep it cooled. Different versions of the Duramax have different tolerances – so not all Duramax were created equal. Here, the problematic 2001 LB7 Duramax goes up against a newer, more streamlined LMM is proof positive of that.
While many daily drivers aren’t interested in triple charging their turbo-charge, a good twin turbo diesel kit for the Duramax engine line should easily double the horsepower at a minimum – without jeopardizing the engine itself.
