Put The (Exhaust) Brakes On!

Light and medium duty exhaust brakes could be one of the most misunderstood products in the DW Performance arsenal.  A couple of years ago I attended the BD Diesel dealer boot camp and dyno days. While there I spoke with many fellow dealers from out west and all of them raved about their exhaust brake sales. Now I realize with mountain ranges like the Rockies and the Cascades there is a definite need to be able to stop your load but we are not exactly flat here in the northeast.

Let me back up for a minute and explain what an exhaust brake is and how it works. There are many vendors out there for exhaust brakes, but aside from each company’s little design changes, they all generally work the same way. Its is a common misconception that an exhaust brake is the same a ”Jake Brake” which is a brand name (Jacobs) that is commonly used on larger over the road trucks. Although the principle is the same, they way they work is very different.  A Jake Brake modifies the timing on the exhaust valves so that, when braking is desired, the exhaust valves open right as the piston reaches the top of the compression stroke. The energy gathered in the compressed air is released, so the compression stroke actually provides braking power. With an exhaust brake nothing is installed internally on the engine, instead it is typically installed on the outlet side of the turbocharger or further downstream in the exhaust . The exhaust brake slows the vehicle by retarding the engine’s ability to push out (exhaust) compression. There is a butterfly valve in the brake that closes when the brake is activated, which causes the back up of compression into the engine, in turn slowing the RPMs. The slowing of the RPMs causes the vehicle to slow thru the attached drive train. The use of an exhaust brake can make your vehicle’s brakes last up to three times longer.

Without an exhaust brake you could end up here

We have sold and installed some exhaust brakes here at D&W but  nowhere near the numbers you see out west. The common misconception I typically hear is “my vehicle has a tow/haul setting, I don’t need an exhaust brake”. Your vehicle’s tow/haul feature works by downshifting the transmission to slow your vehicle, although effective, this method does not stop your vehicle like an exhaust brake. The customers that have had the brake installed love them, with the added stopping power and control they cant imaging towing without them. Not to mention the savings in wear and tear on your vehicle.

Although we do not have the mountains they do out west,  if you do any towing with your diesel pickup I highly suggest you seriously look at installing an exhaust brake on your rig. You will not be disappointed!

UPDATE: The hard work has paid off, as DWPerformance has signed on as a retailer for Pacbrake and MBRP!  These parts will be available on www.dwperformance.com soon, and are available now by calling us at 888.296.8074