Fuzzy about Fuzzy Logic and Other Duramax???

[Linda]

Hi,

It's time to lay my 93 6.5 3500 CC to rest. I've been pulling a 36' horse trailer for 10 years. The truck only has 60,000 miles on it but I added another horse last year and with the extra wt and age of the truck, it truck just won't make the Ozark hills. GVW (without any horses) is 17600. I'm also wanting to start going to WY and the Dakotas. (I can just see myself rolling backwards down those hills with horses kicking out the side of the trailer!)

I've test driven three Duramax 03's that had odometer rating between 8 and 42. There was a night and day power difference in the trucks. The salesman told me it was the fuzzy logic and that once I had the truck and drove it my way, the power would pick up.

The last one I drove had 8 miles on it and the power was awesome. I'm tempted to buy this one even though it's not the color I want just because the power was so great.

Does anyone know about this fuzzy logic having any effect on the power or was this a line from the salesman?

What's the heaviest wt you folks pull with your 03 Duramax? Do you do the hills well? (My friend owns a 02 F3500 Power Stroke and she believes she'll leave me sitting on the side of the road going up those WY hills. But I think her truck is just too rough for everyday driving.)
Do you still love your truck?

Will I need to add a Banks or anything after market to pull this weight well?

What was the % off the sticker price?

You can call me Wendy instead of KC. Sorry this was so long. This is a major purchase with no refund available if I'm wrong.

KC

[jbplock]

Wendy,

Welcome to the forum! You came to the right place for Duramax info.

Regarding Fuzzy Logic, the salesman may have been trying to describe the Allison's adaptive shifting, learn mode. When I first drove my 2003 it had 1 mile on the odometer and the shifts were VERY hard at first. After a few hundred miles they became very smooth. The transmission will learn your driving style and adapt to it. There have also been comments that some new trucks feel stronger than others. All I know is that there was a night and day difference between my 98 6.5 and my Dmax. I liked the 6.5 but the Dmax is awesome!


I haven't towed with mine yet but judging from what other members have posted, you won't be disappointed with the power of a stock truck. I'm sure more will chime in here soon.

(Also, regarding price, I got mine for 12% off MSRP minus $2k more for incentives using the GM supplier discount program.)

smile.gif

[ 04-21-2003: Message edited by: jbplock ]</p>

[Husker Fan]

Wendy,

I just towed 19,200 #s over 1,900 miles. Truck had all the power in the world. You will have not problems.

[Linda]

Thanks folks.

The "Wendy" was because my post was so long. KCFilley is my e-mail addy and Linda my name.

Thanks again.

Linda aka KCFilley aka Wendy

[Kennedy]

You will not be disappointed in the pulling power. Stock it is a bit neutered in OD towing, but still light years ahead of most 6.5s.

[CanadaKev]

Linda.
Nice to have you on board.
You really still a filly ;)
Haven't graduated to the 'mare' status yet eh? :D
I'd buy the truck that exibited the most power.(as long as it's black) ;)
Quite a few of the folks on here are pulling goosenecks that run GVW's between 25K and 30K. The truck handles the load quite nicely, but an exhaust brake, juice and gauges are reccomended to pull heavy loads.
Happy 'horsin' around!

Kev

[gardnerteam]

I pull up to 30,000gcvw with no problems and no power enhancements. Runs cool, does California's famous southern "Grapevine" with no sweat and goes up and down the Cascades with ease. 40,000 trouble free miles. As to fuzzy logic, the demo I drove seemed gutless, and so did my truck when I drove it home. By the end of the first 2,000 miles, it was a different truck with all the reasonable power I needed.

[FisHn2DMax]

Welcome Linda,

I can tell you from experience the WY 6% to 8% mountain passes for the DMax are no problem with that kind of WT. After owning both a Ford Super Duty and the DuraMax there is no comparison in the drivibility! After a long trip in my Fo$d, I thought I would need new kidneys! The ride and comfort is much nicer in the GM. To be honest, the power was about the same between the two. Your friend with the Ford will NOT be leaving very far behind, in fact, she may be watching you trailer tail lights!

There are a number of aftermarket goodies you can easily add to the the DuraMax that significantly increase your power and braking; if you decide later that it's needed.

As far pricing, you should be able to negotiate a $500 or less over actual Dealer invoice for a GM truck right now. GM Dealer truck inventories are as high as they've ever been! You really should consider ordering a truck exactly the way you want it. Wait times for new trucks are now only 6 - 8 weeks if the dealer has an open DuraMax allocation. You can verify actual dealer invoice cost at a number of sites on the net. I used Priceline.com and Edmunds.com If you want to see other dealers inventory in your area, go to GM.com and look under GM buypower. It gives you the location of all trucks (per your requirements)in stock at your area dealers. You just might find the color your looking for? By the time you add in the current $3000 incentive you should be able to really drop that sticker price!!! In my case, I dropped it over $8000 with just a $2000 incentive applied.

Good Luck! ;)

[Dmaxin]

I noticed you live in Kansas City, as do I, and i heard that all 03 Duramax trucks are 9k off sticker right off the bat. Good luck with your decesion.

[Amianthus]

Wendy, congrats on your purchase. May you have many trouble-free miles with it. I have no doubt that you will have plenty enough power for what you are wanting to do. Not to mention the warranty considerations that come into play from modifications.

As far as modifications go. Break it in first. Get about 15,000 miles on it and see if you want more. During this time, keep following along on this board and learn about all the mod options there are out there. Contrary to popular opinion, Banks is not the be-all end-all. There are several other options. Not that Banks stuff is bad, but there are many more options. Some of them offer considerably more power than Banks. Although, I don't know why you would want more power. I mean who wants that?

[Jomar]

Wendy, your Gvw is almost the same as mine when I pull my 5er and I`ve pulled the hills and mountains in Tx,OK, NM.,AR.,CA.,NV.,UT.,CO.,WY.,MT
and ID. Believe me the dmax will pull it. The longest grade (6 to 7%) in which I used the tow/haul braking was Monarch Pass in CO. and I actually had to give it a little throttle to keep from holding up traffic. As for the PSD leaving you along the road, I previously owned a 2000 PSD and it ain`t gonna happen!!! When you factor in the driveability and comfort, the dmax wins hand down.HAPPY TRUCKING

Jomar

[Woody1]

Linda,
I have been a watcher or onlooker here for quite some time, and your post seemed to me a good place to begin posting. Our family has numerous PSD's and Cummings powered 3/4 and 1ton trucks. We own a trucking / Hotshot company in Wyoming - giving me the chance to backup more miles in most other products than many have driven. If your friends truck is stock - I would be willing to bet that after y'all had your 4 horse living quarters trailers pulling side by side up the hill, her excuse would be that something is wrong with the pickup and she needs to find a dealer. My father - in - law is a die hard PSD man and has owned 1 or 2 new ones every year, after driving my truck under load this last month HE WILL BE BUYING A GM PRODUCT.

[Linda]

Thank you folks so much. I'm reading as many of the other posts as I can and soaking up the info like a sponge.

I'm looking for new posts here several times a day.

Last night my girlfriend told me she was going to take her 02 PS in and see what they would give her for it and buy a new one since they have the 0% right now.

I could tell she really like the Duramax when she test drove it the other day but you know, people can be funny. I personally think there is no other ride than a Chevy. If Chevy has added power to match the PS or even if it was slightly less, why would someone just be so stubborn not to even look elsewhere. When I get in her truck, it's like I need a ladder. I don't even use my running boards to step up into mine.

Also, I certainly am not one to give any advice to all you folks but I do have to say I think there's something to some of the posts that talk about running a truck with a heavier load than spec'd. When my 6.5 was new, it would pull the wheels off my trailer. I never had a problem. I didn't have any modifications to the engine but I change the oil every 3000 miles with synthetic. I change the fuel filter every year whether I've put miles on the truck or not. I use that K&S (?? right name) filter. When it stopped pulling the hills like it used to, I took it to two dealers, a turbo shop, transmission shop and a respected diesel mechanic. A not so respected shop replaced the lift pump which did absolutely nothing for the truck's power but it skinnied my wallet a bit. I can only surmise that I pulled too heavy a load for 9 years and wore out the truck.

I had an electric window put in the back and my two dobes, Smokie and Bandit (horses) and I head on down the road. It's great.

I still love my truck so I know I'll love the new one.

Thanks again for all your advise. It's appreciated.

KCFilley aka Linda

[DuramaxDicko]

Linda,

I too will love the truck once it gets here, have drove a few and ohhh baby, what a feeling.

Anywho, seen in your last post that you put in a electric window in the back.... eeeehaaw, that is what I have been looking for to put in when i get the truck. What is the name of the manf of the window? (want to check out here in ca to see if there is a place/shop that has them, but don't know who or the where's yet)

thanks much
dick ;) ;) smile.gif smile.gif

[pontiac_m18]

HI DICKO & if you want to see where your "BABY" is, e-mail me with the S.O.N.(sales order number) & the T.P.W. (targeted production week) at = howard_m18@yahoo.com We can keep track of it on it's long journey home! Howard :D :D :D

[Linda]

Hi Dicko,

I think the window is called a "Slider". I remember that because the dealer who was looking at the truck as a trade in said "Oh you have a Slider." It may be spelled Slyder--I'm not sure. I had the original dealer put it in when I bought the truck so I'm not sure who the mfg is. I will look on the truck when I get it back and send the info to you.

What kind of pricing did you get for your new truck? I'm still negotiating. The sticker is $48,060. Carsdirect.com says the target price is $39,802 but they also list the sticker price $520 less than the dealer.

I'll let you know about the slider window. You can e-mail me at kcfilley@yahoo.com and I'll e-mail you the telephone number.

Thanks.

Linda