Engine Horsepower

What about the Children?

 

Get the truck you are looking for on a dyno and get the rating that way - DO NOT trust the rating and DO NOT get a delete.

 

A 500 caterpillar could always out pull a 500 Detroit because of torque. You might want something built for MPG today to make a profit

 

350 will do the job just fine. It depends on the weight you’ll haul.
425 is plenty.
I’ve had 430,450,500,525,565 and 600.
The ones in the 400 hp range got the best fuel economy.

 

I ran a 430 Detroit and 470 and couldn’t tell much difference. There’s a huge difference in performance from the old school factory 12.7 500 Detroit to the 470. The 500 blew the 470 out of the water in performance and got better economy. The stronger the engine, the less dragonfly trucking you do.

 

Much better to have it and not need it ,than need it and not have it.
It's been my experience that if the engine isn't always maxed out it'll live longer and get better mileage.

 

1- it is illegal, the owners with deletes are getting caught. The fines will match if not exceed the amount of money it takes to 'restore' the emissions. On top of that, I would not be surprised to see this fascist EPA slapping the owner with a cease of use order on every truck without a means to get it back on the road.

2- You can not take it to the dealer, they can not work on it. Some things don't even have to do with the engine or emissions and the dealer may be the only way to get the truck fixed. Also if there is a recall (albeit rare), they won't work on the truck even for a safety recall.

3- Performance isn't always gained. I have seen this firsthand, I don't get why this is even possible other than the shop who did the delete screwed it up but it happened. I have the same year truck with ISX Cummins, they are 60 trucks apart on the assembly line, and the engines are four months apart, but both of them on the dyno gave 60% of the rated power, my mechanic said put the emissions package back on, flashed the ECM with the right program and it made 93% of rated power. WHY? Who knows but it seems to be the case with some trucks.

4- Who does the work matters more than having it done. Too many shops just hack the truck up, just read the threads on this site, there are a lot of people who have issues with it. I think the engineers who design the systems and software engineers who write the code know more about the engine than some moron who can barely spell Emissions that hack their way through the adjustment of the system.

5- there will be a time when the resale value will drop a lot more for deleted trucks, thanks to the states and EPA.