Duramax How Quiet?

[86gmc]

On the Dodge Turbo Diesel site they are saying the new 2003 diesel is 82.9 dba decible with the measuring device on top of front tire. What is a Duramax for decibles?

[mackin]

86,

Not sure but I seen an heard a GMC 5500 Duramax today....Owned by a fence company and it was so QUIET that I couldn't hear it running ......He must of thought my truck was loud side by side at a light.......

MAC

[Vette Racer]

Do you really think that D??ge or anybody else is going to put on the market anything that will be any less quiet than the duramax??? They can't afford to now that GM has the Duramax. Look for all the new and improved hp and torque specs plus the noise factor in the coming months. Just understand that you are driving the best money can buy at the moment!

[Jeffrey Shaffer]

I read that that Dodge was comming out with a new Diesel or a re Diesel that was Quiet trying to match the Duramax I read about it in the Mopar Magazine. It sounded to me that they took the Duramax and copied it!!!! With the direct rail injection etc. It took a real truck so they could copy and try to make there truck as good as the duramax also they are now trying to go with a frame that is the same as the Gmc/Chevy they are now claiming that there Diesel is 300 Hp and 550ft pounds of torque trying to get over on the Duramax, the only problem is that it isnt an automatic its a stick shift. WoW they still cant come even close to the Duramax/Allison in a quailty truck that rides and proves it self time and time again. I am so glad I drive the best truck around a GMC/Chevy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[chevmeister]

Is this new DOdGe Diesel happen to be the Benz Diesel they were talking about? since its now diamler-benz they have a few years at making diesels behind them. Dont get me wrong you can put a vette motor in a F**D and i wouldnt drive it. But this new diesel might be something to watch out for.

[kbrowns]

86gmc,

you beat me to it. I had the same question. It appears that new Cummins is definitely quiter. It's not a MB diesel. It's called the "ECHO". I've always liked the Cummins and they have a proven reliability record, I just can't get over the look and unreliability of the rest of the truck. I wonder if they can make the Duramax quiter(never thought I'd be asking that question!!) without any detrimental effects on performance? I would also like to know how quiet the 6.0L PS is. It appears their new VGT turbo makes a noticeable difference on the low end for quicker get-up and go. When it all come down the rubber hitting the road you have to look at the whole package and GM still has the best package!

[Rebel_Horseman]

Folks I have seen and heard the "new" Dodge. It's still the 5.9B Cummins they have always had but it is just as quiet or even quieter than a Duramax. The deler in town has several of them and I stood about 5 feet form him, hood opened, truck idling, and still had a normal conversation with him. Power #'s are supposed to be 300 & 555 with the 6-speed & HO option. I think the quietness comes from a new injection system but I'm not totally sure. It's supposed to have even fewer moving parts than the previous 5.9, but that's salesman talk.

Reb [><]

[hoot]

They also moved the gear train to the back of the engine just to make it quieter. A mechanix nightmare.

[SoCalDMAX]

I don't know what the noise levels are on the Dmax, but I'll measure with a meter this weekend. it all depends on which way you point the meter, even if it is sitting on the tire. I don't think they're gonna sell too many of those CTDs. According to the TDR posts, the reliability and noise levels are what the owners wanted and they'd NEVER buy a quiet diesel. :rolleyes:

If you want to quiet the noise level in the fender well even further on the Dmax, just extend the fender liner down past the top the frame. One of our members has already done that, it looks and sounds better.

Regards, Steve

[ 09-06-2002: Message edited by: SoCalDMAX ]</p>

[SoCalDMAX]

OK everyone,

Here are the sound levels measured from my truck at idle. The meter was placed on top of the tire and rotated to 4 different directions relative to the front of the truck. The engine was warmed up to operating temp. The meter used was the Radio Shack Digital Sound Level Meter. It was set to "A" weighting scale and slow response. Your mileage may vary.


Front Inward Rear Outward
Driver's Side: 84 85 83 81

Pass. Side: 85 86 85 82

I then added a small flap of rubber to cover the shock absorber area. It was held up by hand. This lowered the inward readings on the Driver's Side to 82 (3dB lower) and Pass. Side to 84 (2 dB lower).

The noise level measured directly in front of the grill at a distance of 1 foot and just below the grill emblem was 81dB.

Since we don't know the method used to measure the new CTD, we can't directly compare. Marketing depts. have been known to do some strange things in order to make a point that was difficult to make in reality. They may have pointed it outward, averaged the results, used an extra thick wind screen, etc.

Anywho, it's quiet enough for me. I'd still like to see one of the new CTDs in person.

Regards, Steve

[MountainMax]

You asked " How quiet??" and You asked " how many decibels?". The real question should be "How quiet is it going down the road in the cab?" I have a db meter and couldn't care what the reading is on top of the tire. While driving, most of the time, in the cab you wouldn't know its a diesel. At highway speed, the road noise is greater than the engine. I've not previously had that pleasure in a Dodge. Add to that an Allison transmission so I don't have to shift.... question?...Why are you even considering the Dodge?

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I rode in a new '03 Dodge with the Cummins this past weekend and was able to see what it sounded like in the cab. It was only a brief jaunt though and only up to 60mph. I thought the sound in the cab was very good, no louder than the '00 and '01 DMax powered GMC and Chevys I have ridden in, and still with the nice basso of the big 6. Of course it is much quieter than my '01 Dodge Cummins.

I would say the tone quality coming into the cab on the new Dodge is deeper than the DMax, due to it being a 6, but there seems to be less injection noise finding its way into the cab. The '00 GMC I drove, while being very quiet, had a noticeable amount of tinny injection noise making its way into the cab which could get annoying on a long road trip. The '01 Chevy I rode in though was noticeably better in this regard so there may have been a problem with the '00 I drove.

The stoplight contests will be interesting once a few of the '03 Dodge Cummins find their way onto the streets. The DMax should still take these though with the Allison tranny, and the Automatic Cummins will only be 255hp.

Vaughn

[ 09-09-2002: Message edited by: Vaughn MacKenzie ]</p>

[More Power]

The Duramax 6600 "can" be quieter.

The prototypes we drove in the fall of '99 were very much quieter than the production trucks. These early trucks were the ones tested and driven by the press, and is where the "quiet as a gas engine" comments came from. As we all know, the production trucks are producing somewhat more noise, but still very quiet. It'll be interesting to see if the noise level of the new DC changes once the intro hype fades.

MP

[ 09-09-2002: Message edited by: More Power ]</p>