ISX 550 & Detroit 60 500 HP with 1650 Torque

Get the Series 60, have it tuned. Look at Cowpie's posts and you will find info on his glider, a Freightliner Columbia with 12.7 Detroit (DDEC 4 I believe) and an 18 speed with 2.64, 500 HP rating. He has discussed getting it tuned for higher HP and fuel economy. The N14 would be the only one I would consider, not the ISX, I think up to 2002 the N14 is the same as an ISX? I'm not to familiar with those as you can tell.

 

The N-14 is based off the NTC series basically, the ISX uses a dual overhead cam, so you can't really compare the two

 

Ok, thanks. I guess they made the N14 till 2003 and introduced the ISX as a new model. The L10, M11 and ISM all seemed to evolve from the same thing. Wasn't sure on the N14/ISX. Thanks for clearing it up.

 

You could get an isx as early as 2000, I think it went by the name "signature 600" during that time though

 

My 07 Pete has a 550hp/1850tq isx with 3.36 gears and an 18 speed and it pulls pretty good, I rarely have to drop into the basement on hills here in the northwest and I gross 105,500-107,000 all the time. I regularly pass 80,000 pound trucks on hills with very little trouble at all.

 

Cowpie has made it clear, he can pull 80k up a hill past most any truck with his 2.64. I believe at 63 MPH he is in 16th gear, if he needs more pull he can drop a gear, or maybe that was 15 direct? I thought 16 would be the over drive...Anyways, if you have the 18 speed as he proved and the power, a 2.56 works great. He proved your stereotype of low gears wrong.

 

This week I have been pulling steel coils and bulk products... all putting me near gross. Had very strong cross winds to boot. So far this week, just over 7 mpg. And on winter diesel to boot. On a couple of stretches, I was pacing about 70 mph with occasional bumps to 75 to get around someone. Most of the time though, I was running between 62 and 65. And when in hilly areas, never dropped more than 1 gear. No mountains. So the 2.64 tied to an 18 speed behind the 500 hp DDEC 4 60 is not a bad setup. True, not for every situation as there is no "one size fits all" combination. I am primarily in 16th (direct drive) at regular road speeds. I don't hit 17th until I get to 75, unless I am lighter. The truck has never seen the top hole. Only a couple of times on a real problem start up have I started in granny low. Probably would had to start that low anyways on those pulls even with 3.55's. I usually start out, when heavy in 1st high. When light, in 2nd Low. When MT in 3rd High. Lots of time, I skip on startup from 1st High to 3rd High, then to 5th Low. On tougher pulls I may make full shifts on the bottom thru each one. I rarely have to split the bottom end. When light, I usually don't split the top going from 5th L/H to 6th L/H. Not that bad of a deal. So even with the very tall 2.64 rears, I am not having to use each and every gear except in very rare situations. And the number of times I have had to run thru all the splits from start to road speed in 6 months I can count on one hand. Some might say the 18 is overkill, but it is sure nice to have a selection of gears to choose from that fit each situation. Just because I don't use each gear of that 18 speed each and every time doesn't mean that each gear hasn't gotten used. Only one that has never gotten used is the top hole. And by running in direct (16th) at road speed, the tranny stays nice and cool even on hot days under very tough pulls. On these colder days, the temp gauge hardly budges.

But that doesn't mean it won't work serious hills. It gets a regular dose of Hwy 20 in NW Illinois and NW Iowa, I540/Hwy71 in NW Arkansas, and hwy 151 and Hwy 61 in Wisconsin. For those not familiar with these routes, don't poo poo them till you give them a try. Especially Hwy 20 from Dubuque, IA to Rockford, IL at night with 46,000 in the box. But it also has gotten a dose of serious hills in South Eastern Ohio, TN, and KY. So it is no slouch on hills.

Regarding OP question on ISX. I had one. And like many others, the cam took a dump at around 780,000 miles. If the ISX has ever had a problem, it is cams. With the EGR and cooler in the running. When it works, it is a strong engine. The jake on the ISX is second to none. Very strong. It is not a terrible engine, but when it has problems, then Cummins is sure proud of their parts and they price them very high. Lost a VGT turbo last February on mine, and it was $3600 dollars just sitting on the parts counter (not counting core charge). And the ISX's above 500 hp have had various issues. Maybe they have been worked out now, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with one above 500 hp from the factory. Some, I am sure, have had decent results with over 500 hp versions, but there are a lot of stories out there about those engines having serious problems.

Let's compare that to the Series 60 I have now. I replaced the stupid wastegate turbo on the 60 before we dropped it in the glider. The total cost of a high quality, Borg Warner 171702 non-wastegate turbo, delivered to my front door..... $689 with no core charge. For less cost than the ISX turbo alone, I was able to change out the stock manifold on the 60 with a ported/polished/coated exhaust manifold, replace the turbo and also install a turbo blanket, put Walker Megaflow mufflers on the stacks, put on a higher flowing, washable Fleet Air Filter, put on a crankshaft balancer, and install an oil bypass filtration system. And still have money left over.

I really liked the N-14, but the ISX I have a real disdain for. Would use it if I had few other options, but by getting a glider, I got to avoid that. If I was stuck with only emissions engines, then I might consider the ISX again. Until then, the Series 60 is what I am going to stick with. Once we put a power tune in the ECM, it should really come alive. The engine can go right along with most folks now, once it is putting out 600+ hp, it ought to cause people to rethink that the 60 is not enough engine. And that will be on the easy side. There are 60's out there that are putting down 700+ hp and doing it without blowing up engines and still getting pretty impressive fuel mileage numbers. And the ECM tune is around $950. Easy to recover that ROI. But when we are talking about power like this, you can't drive it like a typical company driver in a company truck. Increased power demands increased responsibility.

 

I was just running with a guy tonight that's got a series 60 crate engine from PDI in a freightliner classic, him a 121,000 gross and me at 110,000 gross pulled a 1 1/2 mile stretch of 5% grade, he pulled away from me like I was standing still lol.