Downshift or exhaust brake?
I was just thinking after reading a post about gas vs diesel trucks where somebody mentioned they liked diesel because of the exhaust brake. I've never had a diesel, always gas. If I come up to a long...
Forum Discussion
rhagfo wrote:
Well with the 2001 Ram and PacBrake I always had the exhaust brake on, with or without load. With the new 2016 I do the same thing, get in start engine and put Exhaust brake on FULL. Now after reading the attached article feel even better about it.
Why VGT Turbo’s Fail—And How You Can Prevent It
Yeah, I wish they didn't have to go to VG turbos, but with the ever increasing emissions requirements it was a must. The stock HE351VE is very restrictive on the exhaust side. It is a bottleneck that reduces air flow and gets pretty hot at higher rpms. Replacing it with a Borg Warner S363 if you are running stock tuning or an S364.5 if you have custom tuning on stock fuel will increase reliability considerably and drop exhaust temps down for much much higher sustainable power especially when towing.
Big difference in how much you can keep your foot in it going up grades without reaching dangerous temps or the computer needing to defuel. It can also achieve better results with less boost that the stock unit. VGT's also lead to high drive pressures which means higher chance of blowing a head gasket later on.
