DD15 from Cat C15

I'm in a 2006 Pete 386 with a c15 acert. The truck is no hotshot but actually has a really effective Jake. I would say it does ok with power but not great. It has an 18 speed and that helps allot.

I have some steep grades on my route. I like that the truck doesn't have Def or Regen. I was driving a 2010 t660 Cummings isx but the truck was constantly in and out of the dealer with emissions issues. Our own shop couldn't fix it. I don't want to keep slip seating so the boss said I could just stay in the Pete if I wanted. The pete also has two fuel tanks means I have to fuel less often. I drive around 100 miles per day. Part of my job is driving the other part is loading milk

 

Some of the excuses a dealer thinks up !! LOL

 

Yeah, but if he worded it as "you'll burn up the tires if you have a heavy foot." someone, somewhere, would get offended!

OP, what you'll find is that the Detroit will pull like a big truck if you're willing to run a half gear lower. The power peak is up a bit higher than the others. They do just fine at lower RPM, they just feel like they aren't a strong as they should be for the rating. Look at the power curves on the websites and you'll see what I mean.

 

I drive an 18 Coronado with dd15 505/1850....I routinely gross 195k all over Can/USA n it does fine running the mountains.

 

I'm so sorry.

 

Boy you gonna hate your job for awhile, going from a yellow motor to the boat anchor dd15 is gonna hurt.. folks who have good things to say about dd15 just haven’t driven anything else and just don’t know any better, kind of like the eld cheerleaders, just not smart enough to know better.. the dd13 and dd15 I got stuck driving for a little bit put a bad taste in my mouth with Detroit, shameful what’s coming out of that factory today. wish you the best of luck

 

I have a yellow motor and an ELD (and like it), what does that make me?

 

Too bad I can’t get a Pete 389 with a dd15

 

. . and the DT12 automatic to go with it.

A far cry from the earlier autos I’ve been stuck with for short periods.

At 79-81k with a smoothbore behind a 2019 Freightliner it’s been a great experience thus far. Give it what it wants. Let it handle that end. Excellent jake and downshift programming (which gets more serious with each step).

Not quite an ISX15 Cummins quality jake, but nothing else is.

May not matter for the OP, but I’m sold on using an auto. Fuel mileage is great as well.

The DD15 and DT12 is impressive.

Nothing at all like a Detroit and auto I drove in a 2015 Cascadia.

 

I have a 550/1850 Cat, an ISX600/1850 Cummins and the DD15 505/1650 in my Star. Went the smaller power in the newest Star because it gave you a 7 year warranty for pretty cheap and thinking the engine has to work harder would be better for the DPF.

I've driven all three on the same day, same route grossing 80,000 pounds (dump trucks not pulling my pony.)
Compared to the Cat the ISX is 10 KPH slower on the hills and the DD15 is 15 KPH slower.

I hate driving the ISX. It has a very strange throttle to me. Although it got better after an update. The Detroit feels closest to the Cat. Throttle response is similar, and it will also pull down to 900 RPM if you let it. And the engine brake is almost as strong as the ISX.....but the ISX still might have a slight edge.

When running with our driver in the ISX pulling our ponies at 140,000 pounds in rolling 8 to 10% hills, my little Detroit can stay with the ISX until you have to start dropping gears. Once you are down into low range on the 18 speed the ISX disappears. But as soon as you can start upshifting, I can reel him back in because the DD15 seems to be able to grab gears faster. From a standing start I on lever ground I can walk away from him. And they are both geared identical on same tires.

And yes there was a 560/1850 DD15 at the start up until about 2013?, but no longer. Now the biggest rating is 505/1750 which is odd because they will give you a DD13 at 1850 torque.