Best e-brake for manual trans?

[CUMINNTSTRKN]

i have a 4" bd remote brake. my brake wasn't what i expected either. it does work great but it won't put you thru the windsheild.



i've found my brake gives me a extra gear coming down the passes.coming down our local 8% grade at 25kgcvw i used to keep it in 3rd and hit the truck brakes once a minute or so. with the brake i can come down it in 4th.



jim

 

[QRTRHRS]

Re: QRTRHRS

Originally posted by pwknapp

What are the (post and pre) temp differentials when idling around or at high hp.

The differential is infinetly variable so it's hard to summerize. My pre is a black face IZZPRO and the post is a colored IZZPRO. Being different styles, unless I really focus on them, it's hard for me to recall exact figures. To be honest, for quite some time I had watched them constaintly and had a good feel for it. I have not been towing that much this fall and have actually been behaving myself more. Maybe it's just me but often, I'll launch the truck and stay focused on the road and forget to even look at the guages. That said, this is from memory which is failing as usual.



But, let's say I get in the truck, start it cold and drive 3 miles for breakfast out which I do alot. I don't give it much throttle being cold and when I park and start to idle I will see 300/350. The pre will drop to 275 but the post seems to hang longer. Now if I pull in from either normal or hard driving, they mirror more. I don't know if I switched them that they would read exactly the same say at 300 degrees.



At a steady pace, they will settle and read closely. As you start to put out more torque, the post will lag by maybe 300 degrees but then start to catch up to maybe 75-150 less. Climbing a hard hill, I try to maintain about 1150-1200, the post lags maybe 50-100. I will go briefly up into that 1300+ range then the post gets closer.



I still have the stock turbo so EGT's are a concern. If your thinking about reading both places, this is my opinion. First of all, I think these trucks should have EGT and boost guages as stock. For average BOMBING, pre is sufficient and better than post. For big HP, I would want to know as much as possible. Me, I like lot's of guages, and the cost is minimal. The look's you get with piller and dash pod's full of guages are worthy alone.

 

[ISBPilot]

Thanks again for all the comments, they have been a big help!!

 

[QRTRHRS]

Re: EGT readings.

This might sound dumb but now I am not sure of those temps I mentioned at high output conditions. Today, while climbing a hill I held it steady for about a mile at 1200 degrees pre turbo and the post held at 900. Truck weight maybe 8000-8200 lbs. Like I said, I had not towed too heavy lately. That and looking back, I guess since I went with the BHAF and the #11 plate, I have been more focused on the pre temps. Sorry if I mislead anyone.

 

[LarryB]

I too am very happy with the BD 4". I purchased this one because I too wanted to be able to upgrade the turbo without buying another brake. I have a small solenoid valve that switches the backpressure gauge line to the boost gauge when the brake is activated. I have set it up so I see a max of about 45psi. running this higher pressure made a big difference. I have th 60lb springs so this pressure is OK.



The BD does not need a wastegate because the butterfly is off center. This way if the pressure builds too high the big side of the butterfly pushes the preload spring open letting the butterfly bypass pressure. It works like a pop off but allows it to fully close and work better at low revs too.



I have noticed occasionally that the pressure doesn't come up correctly and I have to switch it off and back on again to get it to close tight. I assume this is from a little soot buildup on the butterfly.



My last time coming down the grapevine hill going north my cvgw was over 17,000 and I came down at 60mph and never touched the brakes. I don't think I'd tow without one now.



Larry

 

[trbotrk]

Sorry about answering so late but I was out of town a few days. HC thanks for the great response. I like my BD brake but expected more. As you said in your post maybe these things should be talked about more. QRTRHRS Thanks for the info on the brake adjustments. I will contact BD and see what they say and maybe get a factory adjustment procedure. I need all the help I can get.