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GSK Not for towing??

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grabing a lower gear

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I recieved an email from Mark at TST (in response to my questions) saying the 3K GSK is not for towing...



"A governor spring kit ($125) lets the injection pump add fuel right up to 3500 rpm however this is not recommended for anything other than competition vehicles. It is not for towing. The stock torque plate, #08,#06, or #05 do not work well (not near the power shown above) with the governor spring kit, you need a #04. The power rating of the #04 is not given when used with the governor spring kit due to the great number of power options used. We also offer marine injectors ($399) that add another 80 hp at the ground but these are for competition only and will run extreme exhaust temperatures. "



... Can you folks shed some light on this for me. What will happen if i do tow with it? High EGT's? I don't think i'll have a transmission problem. Are they just being cautious or covering their a$$?



Thanks!

Brian
 
I luv my GSK for towing it filled the dead spot between 3rd and 4th. As far as power with the other plates there should be more with any plate with the exception of the stock one. Whether you rev it up is up to you. Your foot has to have more control.



Piers 4000 RPM governer spring kit is one of the better additions to my truck for towing and hot rodding. :D :cool: :D
 
I got the exact same email a few days ago and really confused me also. I did not take the time though, to call to see what that is all about. Hopefully someone can explain.
 
GSK and twing heavy??

I have the GSK and an auto with 4:10 rears. Before the spring kit, I could not get over about 55 MPH in third locked. I would shift into 4th locked and be on the backside of the torque curve. I couldn't accelerate pulling the trailer up a grade. So,I was locked into third at 55 no matter what.

Now, I power right to 65 or 70 in third and right to 4th with no problem. Could not do that before.

I'm with drawson, You can't beat it for towing and I pull real heavy. About 15,000 LBS.

Buy yourself a GSK and tow into nervanna. That and a cam plate with a 16 housing and you can tow just about anything.

-Paul R. Haller-Oo. Oo.
 
i think Mark could fit well in the conservative personality type. he is just trying to make sure you guys dont hurt yourselves without proper warning. the truck may run a little hotter with the GSK and that is probably where he is coming from. call him up and ask for an explanation. he's really cool :D



ask him about a K&N filters sometime :D you'll get a chuckle.
 
Yes the GSK works very well for towing but beware there are some side effects!!!! I don't know about all the combinations but with my 180 pump 5 speed 4:10 truck at about 1800 rpm's it sets of an osculation that creates havoc. Be careful I have not found a fix to the problem yet and I have spent more than a few hours trying to fix it.
 
I had a bad stumble (touchy throttle) at 1800 rpm using the #6 plate with the 3k governor springs but the #4 seemed to help smoothen things out. Still stumbles but it doesn't seem as bad.





John
 
Thanks for your input!!



I think i'll go with the 3k GSK, #4 plate and 16cm housing for starters. Thats right around $550 or so. My original plan was to have someone else install the above along with 370's, DV's and a Piers HX40 but ran into a money problem so i'll start simple and do the install myself. (anyone want to buy the wifes Honda? Blown motor and all??? :mad: )
 
I've had the 3kGSK in for a few months with no problems towing a loaded 3 horse slant load (8k or so) or my backhoe (20k, 28k gvcw)).



The only possible negative thing I've noticed, is fuel mileage may be down. I'm basing this on a 175 mile trip last weekend pulling the horse trailer in the hills of Western Arkansas. I ran 65 to 70mph into a pretty good head wind on a lot of 2 lane road and got about 10 1/2 mpg. Normally I'd have expected around 13 mpg.



The wife drove back at a more leasury 55 and 60 and got about 14. 5 mpg. May have just been the head wind I had along with a need to make a little time.



Although I don't keep records on fuel mileage, my sence of things is that it's down a little when I'm working the truck hard. May just be the price of power:D .



Ronnie
 
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Bhale, I've setup several trucks with the 3K GSK, #6 plate and bigger exhaust housing, and all have been used for towing.



It is a good combination ,that performs great when towing, because you have more useable RPM to work with.
 
I have the 3K GSK in my '95 stick, . 354 rearend and I really like it. . but... I now have no engine braking at all. I used to be able to downshift to slow my 30,000 lb. loads down, but now it just coasts and coasts. I'm thinking that I will add the heavy exhaust springs someday and get an exhaust brake.



I also had the touchy gas pedal, but I called Piers and he told me how to adjust the kit to make it less sensative. Just turned those gov. spring nuts out 1 click (1/3 of a full turn - counter clockwise) and it seemed to help. I may back it off one more click to see how that feels to me.



FYI - I have the TST 230/605 kit. (no idea what # that is) Truck runs very well but has nice manners yet.
 
Something else in the email raised some questions. When refering to their different power kits, many say



"** Not certified for highway use in North America"



To my mind, this is THE stuff to buy. But what does that statement mean?? Is this an emissions thing? Smoke?



Things that make you go Hmmmmm
 
The throttle is kind of touchy with the GSK. I don't notice it towing but do Wheeling.



Blair what are you talking about at 1800 RPMs, I just solved a problem I was having that was there before and after the GSK and turbo. PM me and we'll talk.....



Bhale that about sums it up on my truck:D"** Not certified for highway use in North America"
 
Put the gsk kit in today and went ahead and did Piers' lever adjustment while I was in there. All I can say is :eek: wow wow wow. Although I might have to finally get around to adjusting my afc off the "smoke show" setting, the smoke at lower rpm's after the lever adjustment is a bit heavy.







LOL ok we all know I love smoke and there will be no afc adjusting.....



smokin' revin' dan
 
towing with GSK and 11 Plate

Just finished a coast to coast tow, did the reverse four years ago without the mods. World of difference. Held 70 mph the whole way and over every pass on I-90. Max pyro was 1150. GCVW was 14,000. Previous trip with same trailer (boat) and weight would struggle on the larger passes and have to drop tp fourth gear and go over them at 55. The GSK makes a huge difference for shifting, particularly on grades and the 11 allows the power potential of the engine to be used. A great combo!



Only thing I had to watch was when outside temps were over 90 the truck started heating up some on the bigger hills. Saw as much as 210 pulling the grade out of the Columbia Basin.
 
I tow a 13,500 pound Alpenlight all over the western states with mine. It will pass just about everything pulling up hill and suprises the heck out of the people even driving the passenger cars. I pulled my 5th wheel over the Escalantes in Utah a couple years ago and hit a 21% grade at over 10,000 feet and passed a whole line of passenger cars. You do need to drive with one eye on the exhaust temperature, you will cook the engine if you don't.

Steve



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I am running Piers' 4K rpm springs on the governor.
 
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I've had a 4k GSK for bout 4 days & the reason I bought it was for pulling. I was looking for a 5600 trans when I talked to PDR,

to better split the gap between 3rd & 4th. Well installed it one evening (in about 4. 5 hours going very slow on the valve springs), next morning I hooked up a 24,000 lbs. trailer.

What a difference :--) I am now able to run 3rd to 3500 rpm

then shift to 4th & be at 2200 rpm (well into my power band). <hence no 6 speed for me ;) >

As for egt. 's, they dance in 4th & 5th over 2800 rpm with a stock

turbo & TST #11 plate. (this is with a 4" straight ext. <no muf & no cat>):(



I am now adding a 3-pcs. manifold & 16cm housing to help my egt. 's in the higher rpm's. I'll post my results.
 
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