Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) VIVA La Comp!

[Gary - K7GLD]

2000 miles on the truck - third RV-towing trip up Hwy 50 thru Placerville and points east - first 2 trips, truck was stock...



THIS trip, had guages installed, and the Edge Comp. Other 2 trips, the steeper parts of the grade between Placerville and Pollock Pines I use as my "standard", kept the truck working pretty hard in 5th - traffic and curves make it hard to maintain 60 mph or better to use 6th.



But, with the Comp, EASILY pulled the whole distance in 6th - EGT never went above 1200, boost at highest ran slightly below 30 psi, unless I really punched it, then it will exceed 32 psi. The Comp was set at 5x3 - no observable smoke, and coolent temp remained normal.



I swear, judging by the accelleration this thing displays in OD on a 7% grade running a GCVW of about 15,000 lbs in 6th gear, I really think it would easily do 90 or better if the road and my wife (not to mention the trailer) could take it!



Interestingly, boost and EGT - as well as indicated fuel mileage - all IMPROVED with the Comp in operation - by about 100 degrees EGT, 2 psi boost (less required to maintain speed), and 2 mpg - tho' I realize the Comp throws the mileage computer off... OH, and with the added Carter pusher pump, fuel pressure never drops below 20 psi unless I floor it - then it will drop no lower than 18 psi...



Jeeze guys - a few times, I was out-accellerating CARS on the upgrades in situations where we were both passing slower traffic!



Did I mention I *LOVE* this truck - and what the Comp helps it do?

 

[KKaiser]

Rupley Grade

Gary,



I also use that six mile grade out of Placrville as a reference tool, it's named Rupley by the way. My truck with similar GCVW pulls that thing at a pretty easy 70 with only an EZ box. I agree, it sure is fun passing the same cars on the way up that blew by you in the flats because they didn't want to get stuck behind that slow assed trailer on the hill!



Kent

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Yeah Kent - this thing simply LOAFS in OD at 70 on that grade - other than the fact that the curves start gettin' sorta hairy at those speeds pulling a trailer!



I've had several other trucks with this same RV on that grade - including a '76 Chevy with a supercharged 350 SB/turbo 400 combo - then my warmed over '91 Dodge/Cummins - but nohing even comes CLOSE to this new truck with it's current setup!

 

[HTRDHLR]

I put a edge ez and a Dtt valve body in mine and loaded up the enclosed to go racing this weekend and MAN what a difference!! I had a lot of fun pulling that 8000lb box

 

[Cummins Cowboy]

gary, what do you feel is the difference between having the pump wire connected verses without. how much more power do you get?? Is there a way to mask taping into the wire for warranty repairs at the dealer. Any hint of clutch slippage?? did you sell your first gen yet??

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

If I had to put a number on the difference with/without the pump wire connected - it would be about 15% more power on my "seat-of-the-pants" meter...



Of course, once you get to the new higher settings available, it's a completely different ball game!



I've been using 2x3 around town empty - the extra "grunt" reduces shifting even more - and when towing, saw no reason to not use 5x3 - no observable smoke - and by the time the Comp REALLY kicks in, so has boost - so smoke is kept under control - but MAN what a power rush! No, no sign of clutch slippage - but pretty low miles yet, and out trailer is only about 7000 lbs loaded - a bigger trailer might be a problem, especially on higher Comp settings and a few more miles usage...



Yes - the old truck sold quickly once I got all my old stuff out and transferred to the new truck - sold in virtually MINUTES for better than high book from a simple ad I posted on a local rural country store bulletin board...

 

[Cummins Cowboy]

thanks for your impressions of the comp, ditto on the first gen sale same thing happened to me, had four people look at it yesterday and they all made offers ended up getting 6k for the truck and it has peeling paint and worn out tires to boot, before i put it for sale i think i would have been happy getting 5k out of it. i was totally shocked on how many people where interested and willing to pay that much money for the truck, i must say however i was very sad to see it go, it was a darn good truck. makes me wanna look around and buy some and resale um.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

"i must say however i was very sad to see it go, it was a darn good truck. "



Ain't it the truth!



Sure hated to part with the '91 - absolutely the BEST vehicle I've ever had - nothin' but tires and batteries in 12 years and 120,000 miles...



This NEW truck has BIG shoes to fill!



Time and miles will tell...

 

[TxDieselKid]

How long till you thing your transmission starts frying?



Andrew

 

[TomGolden]

Gary,



Welcome to the DARK side Dark from too much smoke :-laf



Now we just have to coax you back to the drag strip and it's all over heheheheheheOo. Oo. Oo. (we missed you last weekend).

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

"How long till you thing your transmission starts frying? "



Well, if I find a way to "fry" my 6 speed manual transmission, there's sure a LOT of guys with automatics in trouble!





TOM - sure would like to have been there - but too hard to be 2 places at once - and my life woulda been on the line if I'd backed out on the Sierra camping weekend...



As it was, probably learned LOTS more about "real world" performance on that Placerville to Pollock Pines grade pulling our trailer than I would at the drags... But from the reports from the drags, maybe it's a good thing I *didn't* go - sounds like there was a bit of breakage...



Hope y'all had a great time tho' - and hope to make the NEXT one!

 

[rwitt]

Gary,

Glad to see the results you had with your upgrades. I'm getting close to doing similar upgrades and its nice to hear how they worked on roads I'm familiar with. Have you changed the exhaust or still running stock?

Rich

 

[JR2]

Gary - not wanting to be a doubter here those EGT's seem kind of low for running on 5x3. What size thermocouple do you have for your EGT setup. If you have a big one (1/4 inch) it is possible that you are not seeing the true temps as the fat thermocouples react very slow. I know when I had a fat thermocouple I would only see 900 degress, when I changed it out for a 1/8th I would see 1200 on the same strech of road under the same conditions.

However I will say that the comp is an amazing device, but on 5x3 towing big stuff I would start to worry about the clutch... . even the mighty Six speed can break... .



John

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

RICH - my exhaust is completely stock - it seems pretty good sized and extremely well laid out - with the performance and guage readings I'm obtaining, don't see any practical reason to change it!



John, I have the 1/8 thermocouple - and that baby reacts to temp changes PRONTO, much faster than the one in my '91 Dodge - and almost as fast as the boost guage! And, we were on long grades giving plenty of time for stable readings anyway.



BUT, like you, I was also surprised to see the EGT stay as low as they did - I was expecting to have to back down from the 5x3, but it hung right in there at 1200 degrees pre-turbo...



I too won't be surprised if clutch problems crop up eventually - and was also surprised to see the 6 speed transmission is only rated at 550 ft lbs torque at the input shaft - woulda thought more from a transmission as husky as this one seems - sorta makes you stop and think when you install a box that claims to put max torque well over 800 ft lbs at the rear wheels...



Still, I take it pretty easy on both the transmission and clutch as far as abusive shifting is concerned - if either of them fail, it'll be from pure torque...

 

[TxDieselKid]

Didn't know ya had a stick!



Andrew