how many tow over 20k with 600hp?

[oneshotkyle]

around Christmas i dyno'd 594hp 1054tq and have yet to turn the power down. i decided to take my toy hauler to the dunes this weekend and talked myself into keeping the power level as is. what a shock. the driving characteristics where very pleasant and smooth with no ill effects. all in all i was just wondering who tows all cranked up like that and have you had any problems, power related to heavy towing? i still have a hard time getting the grin off my face after seeing what she could do on the big hills.

 

[JCasper]

I think you can do it, but I would be a bit concerned as to what the rest of the drivetrain is feeling.



I am sure you are cutting it's life drastically.

 

[AClayton]

I think you can do it, but I would be a bit concerned as to what the rest of the drivetrain is feeling.



I am sure you are cutting it's life drastically.

I agree w/JCasper but with the twins in your sig,I wouldn't think you would have any egt issues. That is what many drivers complain about when towing heavy and power turned up.

 

[speedyjdl]

If the engine and transmission are built for it, then the only thing that you really got watch out for is your water temp.

 

[JCasper]

If the engine and transmission are built for it, then the only thing that you really got watch out for is your water temp.

What about oil temp and the rear end, driveline, etc?

 

[Lightman]

What about oil temp and the rear end, driveline, etc?

What difference does it make unless you have your foot to the floor, if you are doing 70 up hill it only takes so much power so you are not putting 500 or 600 HP to the drive train only what it takes to maintain that speed

 

[JCasper]

Correct, but I have heard that you really need to watch oil temps, they come up and don't go back down like water temp does.



I also think that if you had 600HP you are going to use a lot more of it then you think.

 

[Bob4x4]

That's right,when you tow with lots of power you forget how big that hill was and just go for it. In my 94 if I hit a big hill in OD (5 spd)I could shake the whole truck by rolling on the power



Bob

 

[TCDiesel]

Correct, but I have heard that you really need to watch oil temps, they come up and don't go back down like water temp does.



I also think that if you had 600HP you are going to use a lot more of it then you think.

Yep, I can easy hit 340* pulling hard with 15k to 20k city stop and go,I have peg the gage at 360* at the filter Housing, I could only Imagine what Pan temp is, that with this oil cooler installed. I did the gage and cooler at the same Time.

 

[oneshotkyle]

no EGT issues, 1200 degree's was top's unless i let her bog down. my twins would maintain 40-50psi through most of the larger grades and water temp gauge was half way between the 200-245 degree mark. as for oil temp, well i don't have a gauge.

i did this pull just to see for myself what it would run like and was really impressed. obviously you can have higher potential for damage. but just curious if i was the only one to do this and actually like the results.

 

[JCasper]

You are not the only one to do it, however if you continue I wouldn't be surprised if you have to do a transmission rebuild sooner then others.



Also, from what I have heard you should get an oil temp gauge.

 

[SRadke]

I have a digital temp probe in my G56 and it's spooky how fast the temps climb both climbing hills and coming down them agenst the exhaust brake.



-Scott

 

[amsoilman]

Transmission and Differential temps are critical due to the fact the oil gets hot and oxidizes, causing the oil to "shear" back to a lower viscosity. Once it "shears" it can never recover back to the original viscosity! "watch those temps when towing" if you have HEAVY loads.



Wayne

 

[ENafziger]

I'm only at about 560 hp, and the heaviest I've towed is probably around around 12,000 lbs.

I have front and rear differential temperature gauges, transmission temp, and oil temperature and pressure gauges. In summer weather, the diffs and trans all stay around 140° - 160° max, even when playing around with the power, and on hard interstate runs.

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However, hooking 12,000 lbs behind it, and driving with the same power causes things to climb QUICK!!! Using the power to pull hard up the hills can cause diffs/trans to hit 210° - 230° fairly easily. I'm running Amsoil synthetic 80/90 gear oil and Amsoil syn trans fluid, and have MagHytec covers front and rear.

Oil temperature also climbs, but I've never seen it get above 230°. You definately want to run a synthetic oil at these temps to avoid breakdown. If you back off of it, the oil temp will come down after several miles.

I think I've heard 450 hp is the limit that these truck can tow at, with respect to cooling capacity of the coolant, and oil sump volume. To tow heavy at power levels greater than 450 hp, you really should have gauges on everything, run synthetic fluids, go to a heavier diff lube, increase oil sump capacity and/or cooling, and increase coolant capacity and cooling.

Short burts of power are fun, but in reality, 400 - 450 h. p. is all you should need for anything you could hook to these trucks...

--Eric

 

[JCasper]

I think I've heard 450 hp is the limit that these truck can tow at, with respect to cooling capacity of the coolant, and oil sump volume. To tow heavy at power levels greater than 450 hp, you really should have gauges on everything, run synthetic fluids, go to a heavier diff lube, increase oil sump capacity and/or cooling, and increase coolant capacity and cooling.



Short burts of power are fun, but in reality, 400 - 450 h. p. is all you should need for anything you could hook to these trucks...



--Eric

Yep, that's about what I have heard.



400-450HP is a good number to tow with.

 

[BPINE]

I have been towing heavy with 500+ for years other than losing my 5 speed on Tioga pass going into Yosemite (8%+ for 13 miles) the only problem I have is water temp. I have a new Griffin radiator now and we will see in a few weeks if it did the trick on the water temps, if it works I will set up a group buy on them if anyone is interested. I do think it will shorten the life of the truck but it sure is fun.



Amsoil Man what do you think is the point of no return for temp with the Amsoil gear lube. My US gear 2 speed hit 260 to 300 many times.



Blair

 

[amsoilman]

Amsoil Man what do you think is the point of no return for temp with the Amsoil gear lube. My US gear 2 speed hit 260 to 300 many times.



Blair

Blair,

If you look at the White Paper, "Study of Automotive Gearlubes"

AMSOIL - A Study of Automotive Gear Lubes on page 5, you will see an SAE test called the CEC L-45-A-99 (KRL) 20-Hour Shear Test, which is a requirement for all automotive Gear lubes, which requires that the gear lubes not shear down and fall below the minimum Viscosity for that grade. Then on the next page 6, you will see a graph showing the Viscosity before and after the KRL 20-Hour shear stability Test. Then on page 23 and 24, you will see another test done on an actual differential.



This should give you a better idea of how gear lubes differ, even tho they are of the same SAE grade.



Wayne

amsoilman