2013 ISX450ST Cummins information

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by The Challenger, Aug 29, 2012.

  1. Sportster2000

    Sportster2000 Road Train Member

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    The only two 389's that I drove had a 11.9 liter ISX and the other was an 07 ISX 15 at 600hp. I drove one in a T660 for almost 6 months straight. If he is going to get a ST rating I would suggest getting a 10 speed transmission. The reason being if you have to go up a bigger hill and you have to downshift twice you are already at the lower torque rating. The ten speed will give him a better speed difference at the higher torque rating. Think of it this way, on a 13 speed the half split from 13 to 12 is the same as a full gear on the ten speed.
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2012
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  3. Tank33

    Tank33 Medium Load Member

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    Depending where you run, most of the time, dropping half a gear is enough. I would still opt for a 13 speed, and if you want to, you could run the truck in direct instead of an OD gear. As I mentioned before, think of resale value. I drove a 10 speed behind a 500 Series 60 Detroit for 3 years. I didn't mind it, but 8th, 9th, and 10th gear were sure long tall gears. If you grabbed one of those it took a long time to get the RPM up to where you could grab the next shift. More times than not, trying to climb on ramps and such, you get into one of these tall gears, and it's enough for a few seconds and then the truck bogs down and you have to drop down. Once you drop down, it's more than enough power, but your stuck there because the gear change is so drastic the engine doesn't have the power. If you had a big power engine behind a 10 speed, sure, it will likely push through, but 10 speeds were not built for big power.

    As I was saying, resale. Selling a truck without a 13 or 18 speed can be a task in itself. The truck might be perfect for you, but always assume you will have to sell it, and chances are very good whoever is looking will be doing different work than you are. Order the truck to work good for you, but also work good in other general applications.

    What I mean is order with at least 3 way lockers. Don't just order the truck with a power divider lock and no locking diffs, this is a huge deterrent, at least up here in Canada. One day you may be stuck in a parking lot, and 9 times out of 10, locking diffs are the difference between getting out on your own, or paying a $500 tow bill. Full gauge packages go a long way. When I go truck shopping, if I can't get every gauge or almost every gauge, I don't want the truck, I need to see what is going on with as many systems as I can watch. A lightweight 38,000LB suspension might do the job for you, but not for anyone else. Spec 40,000 rear ends or even super 40's. Don't order small fuel tanks. No one wants a truck where you have to fuel up every day because you have 90 gallon tanks on each side. I wouldn't order with anything less than 120 gallons per side. Kenworth offers huge 160 gallon tanks, not sure about Peterbilt, I think they offer 150 gallons max. Weight is no concern, if you know you are going to be heavy, simply do not take on so much fuel. When you are light, you will appreciate being able to load up on fuel and go a long ways without finding a pump. In the end this saves you time, which is money. Instead of pulling off and wasting 25 minutes fueling, you could be 25 miles down the road. You might have REALLY bad luck and pull into a stop with an hour long wait at the pump. When your sitting there waiting, you will wish you had that extra 100 gallons of fuel on board. For the small extra cost, I always suggest leather seats. This is a HUGE selling feature considering how much time a driver spends in the seat. It blows my mind that people will spend $150,000 on a truck, but they won't opt to spend $1,000 more for comfortable leather seats. You will spend thousands of hours in that seat, money should be no object when it comes to interior options. Order a sliding fifth wheel with a long slide. Fixed fifth wheels offer no room for moving weight forward if you need to. Short slides are good but obviously have there limits. Order a sliding fifth wheel with a long slide and you can move weight all over the place if you need to in a pinch. A few last things, disc brakes are a must have nowadays as far as I am concerned. Disc brakes cannot get you a ticket. You cannot legally be held accountable for any part of a disc brake system. There are no slack adjusters, so adjusting brakes is a thing of the past with disc brakes. Brake changes are incredibly easy, you could do it on the side of the road if you had a way to get the truck off the ground. Power mirrors and windows are your best friend. With powered mirrors you can adjust the passenger one as your reversing if you have to blind side in somewhere. Power windows. I see a lot of trucks with a powered drivers window, but a manual passenger window. If your in cold weather, and this window is fogged up or iced up, you can't be jumping over there to roll it down when you need to pay close attention to the bad conditions outside. Make sure at least the passenger window is power. Air ride front axle, if you can spec it, get it. You won't believe how much smoother the ride is up front. Last but not least, sliding bunk windows with screens. If you can get them, order them. 8 times out of 10, they will provide enough ventilation that you will not need to idle for A/C when it is just barely to warm outside. The small bunk vents that trucks come with don't do anything at all, it's way to small of an opening. My sliding windows saved me thousands in fuel over a few years because it was just enough that I could sleep without having to idle the truck.

    Sorry to ramble on, but if your going to spend the money, get all the features you can, and spend it right the first time. Even if it costs you $20,000 more, when spending $130,000, $150,000 is really no different, it amounts to a very small difference in your payment, but makes a world of difference in your enjoyment as an owner/driver, and your resale value.
     
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  4. The Challenger

    The Challenger Kinghunter

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    Thank you for sharing the information. He is indeed getting a 10spd tranny model FRO16210. Not too sure if it has a B or C at the end. How did it perform in the T660 and how heavy of a load did you have in the trailer behind you.

    Tank,

    It is not my operation. I am not going to tell him how to spec his trucks. However you do have a point on doing it right the first time.

    KH
     
  5. Sportster2000

    Sportster2000 Road Train Member

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    I ran a constant 67,000 lbs 100% of the time. I ran I-64 in Kentucky to I-75 south to Corbin then back north. The trailer was a van trailer with no side skirts. I was getting 7.2 mpg. If I got less than 7 mpg it was because I got stopped in a traffic jam for an hour or more in Louisville. I was happy with the performance. There were three hills on the run where I would have to go below 9th gear. Other wise I just put it in 10th gear, put the cruise on, and let it go. Sometimes it does feel like it takes forever to get up to speed with the ten speed. AS long as he relizes that it isn't going to have the performance of a 600 hp truck he should like it.

    The FRO16210C looks to have a lower first gear than the B model and a higher overdrive by a .01 ratio.
     
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  6. KLAUDEC

    KLAUDEC Bobtail Member

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    I will go with 2.64 gears and direct drive trans it will do lot better on hills then 3,55 for egzmp. and mpg will go up to.
     
  7. Oram

    Oram Medium Load Member

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    I plan to have the same engine, ST2, 1550/1750, with direct drive transmission, with 2.5 ratio, to keep RPM down.
     
  8. The Challenger

    The Challenger Kinghunter

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    Call me crazy, but I would prefer a 2:64 or 2:79 with an 18spd. I think you will get better fuel mileage since this engine is targeted to get good mpg's while maintaining decent torque. One member here did a glider kit with a 2:64 ratio, 18spd and a 12.7 500HP detroit and gets good mileage.

    KH
     
  9. KLAUDEC

    KLAUDEC Bobtail Member

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    I own 2012 kw with isx 550 /600 i put 85000 miles on and so far the ac compresor fail this is it, i hope stay that way for ' long time'
     
  10. Oram

    Oram Medium Load Member

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    Direct drive transmission bring 2-3% fuel saving and available only with 10 speed. These ratios with overdrive would be crazy low RPM with no torque at my cruising speed, at 60.
     
  11. KLAUDEC

    KLAUDEC Bobtail Member

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    I OWND 99 VOLVO WITH 425HP 13 SPD AND 2,64 AND 1550 OR 1650 WAS TOP TORQUE AND I DID MID 7 ALL YEAR LONG. TRUCK WAS VERY GOD BACK THEN. PULLING POWER WAS COMPERESON TO 550 CATS WE HAD IN FLEET BACK THEN AND WHAY ???? THE GEARS DID THE TRICK.WHEN MINE WARRANTY EXPIRE IM GONA SWITCH GEARS ON MINE W900 to 2.64 IT WILL WORK GOD WITH MINE 18 SPEED.
     
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