Towing a Travel Trailer with a Pontiac G8
Hello all. I have a general question about towing a 2,600 lb (when completely empty) light weight travel trailer with a 2009 Pontiac G8. The manual on the G8 says about towing: It should never weigh m...
Forum Discussion
EstorilM wrote:Some things have changed over the years. 180-195 Tstats used to be the norm. Now 215 or even higher is the norm.Huntindog wrote:dodge guy wrote:
In fact it has a tranny cooler in the radiator.
Ummm. As far as I know, all auto tranny vehicles have an tranny cooler in the radiator!
It has a serious shortcoming for towing service.
It can only cool down to the temp of the antifreeze!
Towing tranny coolers are in addition to that. They cool by airflow OUTSIDE and before the radiator.
Generally speaking, most newer high-performance automatic transmissions will operate at-or-above coolant temperatures. I've had older vehicles with external trans coolers, and all the newer versions of said vehicles (with higher all-around ratings) now have integrated coolers.
Assuming your coolant is a set temperature (ie. obviously regulated by tstat to stay exactly the same) then clearly everything was designed for the trans to operate at the same temp as well.
If you start bumping up coolant temps that's an entirely different issue / system, but generally that's not a problem.
Trans coolers were a big deal in mid-late 90's and early 00's trucks / SUVs etc, but it's quickly becoming cliche now. At least from what I've seen / experienced.
Tranny temps are best kept below 200 for longest life. That hasn't changed. My 2011 Dmax Allison combo runs tranny temps in the 160s.
You cannot cool a tranny that much with a cooler inside the radiator.
