Looking for more towing power
06-01-2004, 12:50 PM
#16
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Neal:
I tow a 9k 5th wheel with my truck. My truck struggled to hold speed in overdrive on any type of grade on the interstate and I had EGT problems on steep grades until I did the following: 1) Edge EZ. 2) Scotty II air intake 3) Shift kit for auto tranny. Now, I can tow in OD on interstate with power to spare. Problems with EGT's are gone due to increased boost with Edge EZ and turnbuckle on turbo wastegate. Transmission is holding up well so far
. This has proven to be the perfect towing setup for me. Average mpg's while towing are 10-11.
I tow a 9k 5th wheel with my truck. My truck struggled to hold speed in overdrive on any type of grade on the interstate and I had EGT problems on steep grades until I did the following: 1) Edge EZ. 2) Scotty II air intake 3) Shift kit for auto tranny. Now, I can tow in OD on interstate with power to spare. Problems with EGT's are gone due to increased boost with Edge EZ and turnbuckle on turbo wastegate. Transmission is holding up well so far
. This has proven to be the perfect towing setup for me. Average mpg's while towing are 10-11.
06-01-2004, 09:40 PM
#17
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Thanks, fellas, for all the great constructive feedback.
AFTER I get my gauges installed, my plan of attack is to install a free-er (is that a word?) flowing intake (Scott II seems to be the one everybody likes, but I need to look into that more), some exhast work (at least ripping out the resonator, possibly going to an entirely new 4" system) and an Edge EZ box (or equivilent - again more research to be done here). If that doesn't satisfy me, I'll see about some different injectors. Oh, and I'll definitely be getting some kind of a shift kit for the tranny.
Again, thanks all.
AFTER I get my gauges installed, my plan of attack is to install a free-er (is that a word?) flowing intake (Scott II seems to be the one everybody likes, but I need to look into that more), some exhast work (at least ripping out the resonator, possibly going to an entirely new 4" system) and an Edge EZ box (or equivilent - again more research to be done here). If that doesn't satisfy me, I'll see about some different injectors. Oh, and I'll definitely be getting some kind of a shift kit for the tranny.
Again, thanks all.
06-02-2004, 01:20 PM
#18
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Originally posted by turbo thom
You say the truck is bone stock but you expect it to pull 4500 lbs up a 7 degree grade at over 60 mph. What did you think you were buying? My old truck tows 15K up a 6 degree grade at 55 and I'm happy as can be. I'm at 305 HP and I watch the gauges very closely. But the funniest part is the tires. The rear end is 3:55 and the tires are lowering that a good bit, but you won't get rid of the tires because you like the looks of them. I would say no matter what power level you are going to you will not like the results. You are going to build way to much heat and strain on the drivetrain.
I've found if you want to tow then setup the truck for that scenario. If you want to set up high off the ground and look cool then that's what you got. Just don't be upset when the cool look does not tow well. You can tow with the tall setup, but the strain on the truck is not worth it.
..Preston..
You say the truck is bone stock but you expect it to pull 4500 lbs up a 7 degree grade at over 60 mph. What did you think you were buying? My old truck tows 15K up a 6 degree grade at 55 and I'm happy as can be. I'm at 305 HP and I watch the gauges very closely. But the funniest part is the tires. The rear end is 3:55 and the tires are lowering that a good bit, but you won't get rid of the tires because you like the looks of them. I would say no matter what power level you are going to you will not like the results. You are going to build way to much heat and strain on the drivetrain.
I've found if you want to tow then setup the truck for that scenario. If you want to set up high off the ground and look cool then that's what you got. Just don't be upset when the cool look does not tow well. You can tow with the tall setup, but the strain on the truck is not worth it.
..Preston..
Preston,
I care to differ on that perspective, i ditched my 4.10's and stock tires and upgraded to 3.55's and 285s then 315's to get my cruising rpms down while towing. I used to pull 20k lbs regularly and the increased tire size and gear swap allowed me to maintain more speed on hills and take advantage of my torque curve longer. Amazingly enough teh lowered Rpms yielded a 1 mpg increase while towing and a 3 mpg empty increase.
On steep long grades, 8% or so ... White bird Idaho I would gross 26-28k and i could go 45-55 in 4th gear (on a 6spd) where as before with the steeper gears and smaller tires i still had to down shift to forth to take advantage of the gear reduction yet i could only pull the hill at 35-40 mph.
Just a different take on the situation but i wouldnt say that the 285's are hurting him all that much they are only roughly 1" OD larger than 235/85 16's.
I watched my gauges too and was running a fair chunk over 305HP and i had over 300k miles towing like this and never had any drivetrain failures or problems, granted i did put bearings and rebuilt the PLok in the rear end at 300k miles otherwise i put in Ujoints at 150k irregardless of thier condition. IMHO I do agree that increase rotational mass will stress a drivetrain but I wouldnt entirely say that the tires he is running nor the ones that i ran put that much additional stress on the drivetrain, even with the taller gears and towing heavy loads.
But thats just my .02 and experience
Dusty
06-04-2004, 04:10 PM
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I too am pondering this same issue. Although, my truck is not all stock. I have the Scottys Air II, 4" Jardine, and EZ box. I just purchased a 17k trailer and made my first trip with it last weekend. I currently have 235's and 3:55 gears. My truck hated every minute of it starting from a dead stop. Once above 60mhp it ran like a champ. The day I got back I placed the order for 4:10's. They will be installed next Wednesday.
However, I still would like to get more power. Everyone here talks about injectors. What is a good set of injectors to get and still maintain good EGT's with the stock turbo? I have been told about these Mach 1's being the most I can go up to, but will this really give me that much more hp and torque?
However, I still would like to get more power. Everyone here talks about injectors. What is a good set of injectors to get and still maintain good EGT's with the stock turbo? I have been told about these Mach 1's being the most I can go up to, but will this really give me that much more hp and torque?
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