C-12 425 HP to 455 HP.
I'm thinking about boosting my C-12 from 425 to 455 HP but wondering if it's really worth. Will I even notice a 30 HP increase. The change is simple, just stop at a CAT dealer for a program change. ...
Forum Discussion
wolfe10 wrote:
Questions to make sure this "upgrade" is relevant to you/your coach:
Any change in torque? If so, how much and at what RPM?
Those extra HP-- are they are RPM's I normally run the engine, or only at close to governed RPM?
Is my cooling system adequate to accommodate the additional heat load. Let's face it, the time you will want those extra HP are on long, sustained grades-- just the time that your cooling system is already stressed. So, if you overheat on those conditions already, probably a bad idea. If you don't go over 200 degrees F on those long sustained climbs at high ambient temperatures, you may have the reserve to accommodate the additional heat load.
I honestly don't know if the torque changes or not but the Beaver C-12 came in the 425, 455, and 505 hp versions. To the best of my knowledge the cooling is the same in all model but the 505 had some internal changes which wouldn't be practical. All run the same 2100 rpm limit.
As for temps, on long grades I can keep the temps below 205 at 110F ambient as long as the rpm is around 2K.
Again, no first hand knowledge but Cat said it is only a program change so I'm thinking it's simple remapping the injectors.
If a 7% increase in HP isn't noticeable, it's not worth my effort just to pass slower traffic on a grade. I'm not in that big of a hurry. I've found that if I have to drop to 45 or so before I can pull out to pass, it take a while to get back to 60ish.
