The Black Mamba- Ruben Angeles’ ’09 GMC LMM Duramax

The Black Mamba is a snake in Africa that is one of the most dangerous and feared in the world because of its speed, unpredictable aggression, and the potent venom it delivers. One can say the same thing about Ruben Angeles’ 2009 GMC. People have come to call his truck The Black Mamba and it seems fitting as the truck hauls butt on the track and surprises plenty of competitors with its aggression and venom.

Speaking of speed, it’s kind of a funny story how Ruben got involved in the diesel performance world in the first place. He was playing around with Hondas, tuning and driving them for quite a few years. Then he got the idea to get a diesel truck. He’s not exactly sure why a truck sounded like a good idea, but he bought the ’09 GMC Sierra 2500 you see here brand new in 2009. Then he made the “mistake” of Google-ing “Diesel Performance.” The truth is he really knew nothing about the performance gains that were available until that moment. “I was amazed,” Ruben said.

Well, you know where all of his money went from that moment on, don’t you? Let’s start with the engine. He put Carillo rods in the 6.6L LMM Duramax, Mahle Motorsports pistons, and secured everything with ARP fasteners. We should mention that all of his engine parts were bought at PPE through Dan Grant and everything was assembled by Robert Miller at his house (everyone knows him from MK Chevrolet in Chino, CA and as a crew member of McRat Racing). A 75 mm high pressure turbocharger from Bullseye Power is paired with a Phat Bastard Killer 98 (PBK98) from Gillett Diesel which is feed by the PPE manifolds and up-pipes.

A 75 mm Bullseye Power turbo was combined with PPE manifolds and up-pipes to increase the airflow. A PBK 98 mm turbo is part of the compound turbo speed equation that Ruben put together with the help of the PPE staff.

Fast trucks don’t have to be beaters. This 2500 is beautiful and quick. Ruben Angeles’ ’09 GMC sits about three inches lower compared to the factory height thanks to DJM lower control arms in the front and some missing leaf springs in the back.

Frank Arcis at WTB Muffler & Automotive in Vista, California built the turbo kit and it’s a beauty. The exhaust is a true five-inch system all the way back; you don’t see that every day. A Diamond Eye exhaust kit was modified to fit between the transmission and the frame and an MBRP tip was welded on. The injectors are Exergy Performance 250% over and that goes a long way to building horsepower. Not only do the injectors provide more fuel, but also they are completely matched throughout their range and provide shot-to-shot consistency.

Recently, Ruben ran a 10.62 E.T. at 134 mph at the famed Famosa Raceway in McFarland (near Bakersfield), California while competing at the NHRDA event held there. That kind of speed doesn’t come easily.

Everything comes together with the EFI Live tune. Kory Willis of PPEI (through Will Petty at Troll Performance Tuning) custom tuned the EFI Live.

Ruben hasn’t been able to get a dyno to hold his truck. The tires keep spinning, but he says the E.T. Calculator estimates his horsepower at 1,200. If his truck really does weight 7,200 pounds (like he told us), then our spin on the E.T. calculator says the truck has more horsepower than that. Either way, it’s good enough to get him in the Top 50 of the Duramax 10-second list on Duramaxdiesels.com. Ruben tries to stay socially connected with the diesel performance family and he is an active member of SoCal Diesel Trucks for just that reason.

In order to get all the power to the rear wheels, Ruben went to Inglewood Transmission (actually in Fullerton, California) and had Mike Lovrich fully build the transmission and put an MLG-K convertor in the Allison transmission. That converter has a stall speed of 2,800 rpm.

(Left) Calvert Racing traction bars keep the tires planted at the track. (Right) An Oasis differential cover helps cool the gear lube. You can just see the QA1 shocks poking into the photo on the left.

Twenty-inch American Eagle alloy 014 wheels are protected by Nitto 420S tires.

Other items helping ensure that all the available power gets to the asphalt are the Calvert Racing traction bars and QA1 shocks on all four corners. Giving the truck the right stance, Ruben opted to install a DJM lower control arm kit that drops the front three inches followed by the removal of the overload springs as well as the extra leafs in the rear. With that much power, the rear end can get hot and Ruben opted to add an Oasis differential cover with cooling fins.

The interior of the truck is spruced up with a suede headliner and plenty of carbon fiber laid over the factory plastic dash and various panels. There’s not a lot of gauges or clutter, but a DSP switch for the EFI Live is just left of the steering wheel…and another switch controls the strobe lights. In the rear, he added Farenheit monitors in the rear headrests.

Back seat passengers get to watch the TV on the back of the headrests. Those knobs and switches help Ruben go faster.

Ruben doesn’t pull a trailer with his truck, he doesn’t take it out to the sand dunes on weekends and he doesn’t use it in his line of work (he has an exterminator company). Ruben just drives the hell out of this truck all week long and then pushes it to the max on weekends at the drag strip.

That’s what he does. He’s unpredictably aggressive in The Black Mamba when the green light flashes at the drag strip and before you know it he has his fangs in you and you’re starting to feel the paralysis set in.

Want a taste of the action? Watch this video of Ruben’s 10.62@134 run.

(Left) Custom taillights dress up the rear corners of the truck. (Right) A rear roll pan cleans up the look of this ’09 GMC.

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