Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Just got back from a 3200+ mile trip. Most of the drive consisted of state highways with lots of hills - both up and down - and some very long, fairly steep climbs. About a third of the trip was on the freeway running 65 MPH. The truck, with the camper, weighed in right at 7700 pounds.
I'm very pleased with the Hughes converter and Trans-Go TFOD-Diesel shift kit.
I noticed a big difference in how well the truck performed compared to last year, when I took the same basic route, and with the truck loaded the same.
Most of the improvement is from the tighter converter: it takes less throttle to get the truck moving and keep it up to speed. The truck also responds to throttle input quicker. Even the cruise control holds speed more consistently, and only required help on steeper hills.
I didn't have a trans gauge installed last year so I can't give a comparison, but even on long, steep climbs the trans never went over 200*, and then only on the worst hills (for those familiar with the Mammoth Lakes, CA area, Hwy 395 heading north towards Tom's Place was a good test
). I'm only running the stock cooler - no add-on or under bed optional cooler yet. The only time I had to kick it out of overdrive was when the EGTs hit 1200* - the transmission temp was never a concern.
The shift kit made the gear changes noticable but not harsh, and got rid of the "mushy" shifts it had stock. Even loaded up, WOT shifts had a nice feel. I had some concerns about installing a shift kit based on prior experiences, but the TFOD-Diesel kit doesn't give the neck-snapping bang between gears.
Overall, I picked up about 1 MPG average on the trip. Last year, my worst two tanks of fuel were 12. 9 and 13. 0 MPG - both ways between Barstow and Kingman (lots of long climbs, lots of wind). This year I got 14. 4 and 13. 9 - the wind wasn't too bad going, but coming back it picked up pretty good. I had two other tanks at 14. 3 - one fighting a strong headwind (you know it's strong when you're hitting over 5 psi boost... going downhill
), the other creeping along some backroads looking for a campsite, and running the truck pretty hard on the hills. Best MPG on this trip was 21. 9 - of course, that was mostly going downhill... . 
I have no regrets about going with the Hughes converter. It was a toss-up between Hughes and TCI (both were in my price range), and the improvements I saw seem to be consistent with those TCI converter users report. Hughes is local to me, and I had the opportunity to speak with Dale and Barbara about the converter before I made my decision. They were both very helpful.
For those in the Tucson area needing any transmission work done, the guys at Thrifty Transmissions (near Ruthrauff/I-10) do excellent work and are great guys. One of the techs has a lot of experience building heavy-duty units to go behind BOMB'd diesels, especially Chrysler transmissions, and he really knows his stuff. I've been picking his brain about swapping in a lock-up somewhere down the road... .
Hopefully I covered all the questions I've been asked, but if not, let me know and I'll try to answer.
I'm very pleased with the Hughes converter and Trans-Go TFOD-Diesel shift kit.
I noticed a big difference in how well the truck performed compared to last year, when I took the same basic route, and with the truck loaded the same. Most of the improvement is from the tighter converter: it takes less throttle to get the truck moving and keep it up to speed. The truck also responds to throttle input quicker. Even the cruise control holds speed more consistently, and only required help on steeper hills.
I didn't have a trans gauge installed last year so I can't give a comparison, but even on long, steep climbs the trans never went over 200*, and then only on the worst hills (for those familiar with the Mammoth Lakes, CA area, Hwy 395 heading north towards Tom's Place was a good test
). I'm only running the stock cooler - no add-on or under bed optional cooler yet. The only time I had to kick it out of overdrive was when the EGTs hit 1200* - the transmission temp was never a concern. The shift kit made the gear changes noticable but not harsh, and got rid of the "mushy" shifts it had stock. Even loaded up, WOT shifts had a nice feel. I had some concerns about installing a shift kit based on prior experiences, but the TFOD-Diesel kit doesn't give the neck-snapping bang between gears.
Overall, I picked up about 1 MPG average on the trip. Last year, my worst two tanks of fuel were 12. 9 and 13. 0 MPG - both ways between Barstow and Kingman (lots of long climbs, lots of wind). This year I got 14. 4 and 13. 9 - the wind wasn't too bad going, but coming back it picked up pretty good. I had two other tanks at 14. 3 - one fighting a strong headwind (you know it's strong when you're hitting over 5 psi boost... going downhill
), the other creeping along some backroads looking for a campsite, and running the truck pretty hard on the hills. Best MPG on this trip was 21. 9 - of course, that was mostly going downhill... . I have no regrets about going with the Hughes converter. It was a toss-up between Hughes and TCI (both were in my price range), and the improvements I saw seem to be consistent with those TCI converter users report. Hughes is local to me, and I had the opportunity to speak with Dale and Barbara about the converter before I made my decision. They were both very helpful.
For those in the Tucson area needing any transmission work done, the guys at Thrifty Transmissions (near Ruthrauff/I-10) do excellent work and are great guys. One of the techs has a lot of experience building heavy-duty units to go behind BOMB'd diesels, especially Chrysler transmissions, and he really knows his stuff. I've been picking his brain about swapping in a lock-up somewhere down the road... .
Hopefully I covered all the questions I've been asked, but if not, let me know and I'll try to answer.
