Too much "power" for towing.

[Swamp Donkey]

I was just wondering how you can have too much power for towing? I hear on the TDR that after a certain hp level your towing abilities decrease. This does not make sense to me. I can see an egt issue if you pin it going up an incline at max gvw, but driving fairly normally and at posted speed limits with a proper transmission, you should not have a problem. What gives? Big turbo's with no power till 1600? I'm a little fuzzy on this. Egt's can be controlled with the right foot, I think. Enough rambling, who has to much power to tow and why?

 

[roadranger]

Huh?? Too much power?



My HO with an EZ box has real good power to tow 18,000 GCW. EGT's are better with the EZ than stock! I think BOMBing the Cummins works better for towing.

 

[RHARVEY]

Ok now let me see... more fuel while towing but the EGT's are lower. Is this because you don't have to work the truck as hard? It was always my concern that if I plated the truck I would be glued to the pyro. If that is not the case. . a little bombing might be in order. .

Anybody got a #11 or 12 TST(230/605) plate they want to get rid of cheap . This way my clutch will live longer



Rick

 

[rubberneck]

too much power??

the ez drops temps because you are also installing a boost elbow and getting higher boost pressure. more boost (to a point) gets more cool air to the engine. I have dd3's and an ez, and yes, you are correct, you can controll temps with the right foot. I have NEVER EVER EVER found that i had a heating problem even with my hx35. Why?? just like you said take your right foot out of it idiot..... it works, now i know if i had an hx40, i might be able to push it a little harder, but i usually find im going to stinking fast anyway.

 

[KevinK]

My understanding is that too much power means that you will start to tear up the rest of your drive train. It's always nice to be able to floor it going up a steep hill. With enough hp, enough weight, and a steep climb, something has to give. My $. 02.



Kevin

 

[pwr2tow]

Ditto on Kevins comment, it's the rest of the truck not the Cummins.



Ron

 

[rubberneck]

rest of the truck

point taken guys, that's why i have a 6 speed and a south bend clutch... lol there arent any more weak links... now if i can only figure out how to get the tires to hook up better. Ever had the rear end kick out in 3rd gear while towing the 5er. . pretty exciting

 

[MY6EATSV8'S]

well personally I don't have any idea what you are talking about

you can have to much power???

 

[PRout]

From what I understand, the EZ box advances injection timing, which also helps lower EGT's.

 

[BCFAST]

It IS possible to have too much power!! I recall a conversation at the St. Louis Rally way back when... was talking with Bruce from Injection of Pittsburgh... . he was telling of O/O rigs with his motors in them that would spin the wheels INSIDE the tires going up over the rockies!!!

 

[C Schomer]

Yeah Right!! I'll believe it when I see it. A local dealer told me about how I'd grind the tires off of mine if I bought his power kit too. He must buy REALLY rotten tires! I'm still under 300hp and I've had ring and pinion problems already. I just KNOW for certain I was using the best lube on the market too... . according to the dealer. Craig

 

[OO]

Too much power is kinda like having too much money.

 

[MY6EATSV8'S]

man I wish I had these problems

 

[BPINE]

Well all though I think there is no such thing as to much power, there is a point where it does you no good. What I mean is that just because you have 500hp I don't think you can use more than about 350 while pulling a real trailer (15k or more) the egt's get out of control in a hurry. Yes you can control the egt's with your right foot but it needs to be watched very closely and sometimes it can get away from you faster than you think when making more than normal high HP. Not to mention the smoke on the side of you expensive RV. My trailer is starting to show signs of smoke inhalation.



I have not broken any parts at this point but we will see how long everything lasts. Some of us crazy guys DBR and myself that I know of bring different turbo's and other misc parts on vacation so we can really have fun and try different things. Although this stuff is fun there is a limit while towing I will let you know when I find it. So far the biggest thing I have found is the radiator, it will only remove so much heat.

 

[Archive]

BPINE makes a good point about the cooling system capacity. Too much power for me is when I pull into the campground and my bright white trailer has turned "hydrocarbon" grey.



(Adam, I thought the only trailers you pulled had sliding weight boxes on them. )

 

[MY6EATSV8'S]

One thing I can say about the heavy trailers I tow(around 45k), the ones with the slidding boxes I know I don't have enough power. I cant even get them past 300 feet most of the time. .

I reality thow Blair has one of the most honest opinions that I have relied on about usable power for a wile now. As far a my truck being able to pull a trailer, I have no problems going over the speed limit so with that in mind. I can tell you these trucks can pull any trailer faster than we should.

 

[Terry]

You know your Cummins might have TOO MUCH POWER for towing if your trailer is five feet longer when arrive than it was when you started.

 

[LarryB]

I don't have too much power for towing, just too much power for towing safely. It's way too easy to go way too fast. I think I need a disc brake rear axel now.

 

[Bill Lins]

Re: rest of the truck

Originally posted by rubberneck

there arent any more weak links... now if i can only figure out how to get the tires to hook up better.

Grip IS the weak link! That's the biggest problem I have, but more rubber on the back would hurt my highway mpg.

 

[DBR]

I think BPINE summed it up quite well. The 350hp range is the limit for towing, from my experiences.



My definition of too much power for towing is reaching 1300 degrees on your exhaust guage temperatures and still having over half throttle left! What good is the other half of that throttle if you can't use it? It is kind of like having a supermodel for a girlfriend and an empty box of Viagra!