Photography by: Ali Mansour
Since I began modifying my ’06 Dodge Ram 2500 I’ve been battling the dreaded engine drone that can be a bit overbearing and obnoxious at times, especially when the truck is under load at highway speeds. Though the Cummins doesn’t have the widest RPM range there are way’s of dealing with the racket. In the September ’08 issue I talked a bit about exhaust and turbo theory in my Smokehouse section and opted to hold back on the 5-inch Hushpower muffler review. It’s not that I didn’t have faith in the fine exhaust product; it was more for me to get an increased amount of test time with it and see how it battled the drone goblins.
We’ll here’s the good news. It muffled at least 80% of the drone that I was getting before. Now I know that leaves a 20% gap from what I would consider a perfect “drone free Cummins” but I don’t believe that with the series of modifications the truck has and a 5-inch diameter exhaust you will be able to get rid of all the unwanted noise.
So why not go to a smaller exhaust? The short answer is EGT. I want to keep the numbers low and my turbo performing great. I will be playing more with this in the future as I cant keep myself from swapping parts and pulling my diesel apart, but for now the new 5-inch Hushpower will do just fine.