Pyrometer and diesel trucks

EGT is good but a fuel pressure gauge is more important to me of the two. A good set of gauges in my mind is FP, EGT, and boost. I don't have a auto tran. so don't know how important a temp gauge is.

tranny temp, pyrometer, and boost are all good to have.

Tamnative wrote:

12V Cummins wrote:
stock, no worries. Not stock get gauges

This pretty much says it but they do help after a long haul to let you know when you can shut down,or just let it idle for 5 or so min. before shutting down.

I always shut my trucks down when egts are <300 which doesn't take long to get to. Don't want to stop cooling a toasty hot turbo after use. Thats why some vehicles with turbos have a turbo cooler which cools it down even after shutoff.

12V Cummins wrote:
stock, no worries. Not stock get gauges

This pretty much says it but they do help after a long haul to let you know when you can shut down,or just let it idle for 5 or so min. before shutting down.

stock, no worries. Not stock get gauges

I have a CTS Insight on my diesel and wouldn't have anything else. It is clean and very accurate. Plugs in to my OBD port and monitors anything I want. I have found my factory trans gauge is very accurate so no need to monitor that one through an additional gauge. I would want to know my egt's just to be safe but I doubt a stock truck will get too warm.

If you uave a smart phone, download the torque app. It allows you via themODBii port to monitor all sorts of things. The only expense is the ODB dongle, which you can buy on ebay for around 10-15 dollars delivered

If towing with the cruise control set, the throttle is in the "idle" position so it's hard to tell how hard it's pushing the truck. I like having a EGT/Boost gauge because it lets me know at a glance how hard it's working.

Bionic Man wrote:
They are very nice to have, but not imperative if you are running your truck stock. If you are going to get gauges, I would look at a fuel pressure, EGT, tranny temp (if auto) and boost. IMO, EGT and tranny temp are the most important, though the others are useful as well.

I agree with Bionic Man. With the third generation Dodges, I am not sure how critical they all are.

From 1995 through 1998 (12-valve), I would want at least an EGT and tranny temp (if auto). The boost will be of value if you understand it. The fuel pressure is nice to give you a warning of fuel issues, but not critical on a 12-valve.

From 1998 through 2003 (24-valve), I would want at least an EGT, tranny temp (if auto), and Fuel pressure. The boost will be of value if you understand it. The fuel pressure is nice to give you a warning of fuel issues from the lift pump, which in turn can destroy your injector pump.

I have very little knowledge on your 2006 Dodge. I will say if it is an auto transmission, I would want a tranny temp gauge, especially if I tow in the mountains.

With the older Dodge transmissions, you build up heat real quick backing up for any length of time. You cool the transmission in neutral, not park or in gear while parked.

I have a highly modified 1996 (12-valve). I have fuel pressure, EGT (two), transmission temp (two, pan & torque converter) and boost. I use them all with my TC loaded, especially when flat towing my Samurai in the mountains. I have over 257,000 miles on my truck, with the original engine. It has not been in the shop, except transmission, since 2003.

Wayne

Freeborn530 wrote:
I have a 2006 Dodge 2500 with the CTD, since I will be towing my boat (boat and trailer are about 3200 pounds) and the campers about 2600 pounds I was wondering should I install a Pyrometer. Here in the Northwest I will be traveling over the mountain passes so I'm interested does anyone else have these gauges?

I have a set of EGT(pyrometer), tranny temp, and boost gauges. It is nice to see what is happening when you tow heavy like I do. When I pull off at rest areas, I watch the egt temps until they are less than 300 degress before I shut off the engine. Just my .02 worth.