WOW, Wish I would have....

[Halmfamily]

...purchased the right truck the first time. First run today with new to us GMC 3500 and WOW. The difference between the GMC and F350 is night and day. Truck pulled our fiver over same hills that our F350 struggled on like they were not even there. The B&W Companion is so smooth compared to the Reese 16k slider, no clunking on hitch wind up. Wife says she can now relax while we travel as it so smooth now and quiet. Man, should have listened when bought the first truck and got the GMC I looked at back the. Live and learn.

[blt2ski]

True, you can have ALL the HP or torque you want, more than you need, but if you are on a 35-40% grade, pulling a trailer, you may have the power, but the rear drive wheels will be spinning. Possibly even at gvw you could be spinning the rear wheels due to the wheels not having enough wt on them.

WHile I know many of you will laugh at this, but reality is, with a 400/800 motor in many of our pickups, while fun to drive, reality, my now sold 05 dmax dually had more than enough power for how I drive, even the gcw of upwards of 24-26K lbs, yeah I'm a bit over my "rated" 23K lbs. Heck, even the 2000 C2500 PULLING a 12K trailer with a gcwr of 13500 has plenty of umph. My 96 6.5td generally speaking had enough power, gearing for best speeds in between the shifts was a bit thin, but again, pulling my 12K equipment trailer with a gcwr from GM of 12500, no real issues. THis is the one that can go up a 30% grade at 20K lbs. My dmax was about 25% before literally stalling out due to too tall of gearing. Both with lower gearing, ability to get traction would have done more.

Marty

[Bedlam]

transamz9 wrote:
What about 800+ lb ft at 16-1 and still be over 400 hp?:p;)

At some point the pucker factor is the amount of traction you can keep going up and down verses the power and braking you have available.

[Bedlam]

Dayle1 wrote:

Bedlam wrote:

Elevation is not a problem for these guys living in IL and TN...

Where you call home and where you tow is not the same thing. Especially when retired and enjoying the RV life style.

That's a good point. I just look forward to weekends and vacation time while still working full time. However I do try keep work out of way of living life and we make camp trips twice a month.

April through November we climb over 4000' at least once a month with a GCW of 19K+ lbs. December through March we climb over 4000' once a week with a GCW of 11K+ lbs. We exceed 8000' at least once a year when fully loaded.

If I didn't tow and make most of my destinations via the mountains, I would have no need for forced induction.

[transamz9]

blt2ski wrote:
As far as actual STEEP grades go, I have found more 20+% grades at sealevel locally than I have at elevation! Steep grades in and of themselve need torque mulitplication which is LOW gears in the trans and to a degree axels. A 400 lb.ft motor with overall ratio of 24-1 and 31" tires will go up a steeper grade than a 600 lbft motor with 16-1 by about 5%. Which the latter is my dmax vs my old 6.5td! Put a 400 lb ft motor at 16-1, and the best you will do is around 12-16%. Been there done that, stalled a few rigs out in the past. Freeway grades are way the heck different than short steep grades.

I have yet to find a freeway grade that truly bothered me. Even the ones with major turny switchbacks. Now Queen Ann ave on the north side of queen anne hill in Seattle at 100-300' elevation, or Garfield on the east side of QA hill, those will get the pucker factors going up!

Marty

What about 800+ lb ft at 16-1 and still be over 400 hp?:p;)

[blt2ski]

As far as actual STEEP grades go, I have found more 20+% grades at sealevel locally than I have at elevation! Steep grades in and of themselve need torque mulitplication which is LOW gears in the trans and to a degree axels. A 400 lb.ft motor with overall ratio of 24-1 and 31" tires will go up a steeper grade than a 600 lbft motor with 16-1 by about 5%. Which the latter is my dmax vs my old 6.5td! Put a 400 lb ft motor at 16-1, and the best you will do is around 12-16%. Been there done that, stalled a few rigs out in the past. Freeway grades are way the heck different than short steep grades.

I have yet to find a freeway grade that truly bothered me. Even the ones with major turny switchbacks. Now Queen Ann ave on the north side of queen anne hill in Seattle at 100-300' elevation, or Garfield on the east side of QA hill, those will get the pucker factors going up!

Marty

[Dayle1]

Bedlam wrote:

Elevation is not a problem for these guys living in IL and TN...

Where you call home and where you tow is not the same thing. Especially when retired and enjoying the RV life style.

[Bedlam]

jerem0621 wrote:
You making fun of Tennessee and Illinois ? Lol. Just kidding with ya, but yea, we have hills here. Out west them there are Mountains!!

How do they sell anything without forced induction there if it's that bad? Yes, serious question because I have never been out west.

Thanks

Jeremiah

You either buy a oversized naturally aspirated gasoline engine that can take a 20% reduction and still do the job or you look for forced aspiration. Does anyone have demographics of where the EcoBoost sells best? Don't you think some these guys wished for a supercharged or turbo big block in a HD truck?

I agree you have steep and windy grades out east that may even be worse than the west but you don't have the thinner air of higher elevations you find in the Rockies and Sierras.

[dodge_guy]

jerem0621 wrote:

Bedlam wrote:

jerem0621 wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
I'll get my V-10 and wait at the top with everyone and their popcorn! Without the issues of depowering!!!!

I agree. If I ever get another HD truck it will probably be another gasser.

Thanks,

Jeremiah

Elevation is not a problem for these guys living in IL and TN...

You making fun of Tennessee and Illinois ? Lol. Just kidding with ya, but yea, we have hills here. Out west them there are Mountains!!

How do they sell anything without forced induction there if it's that bad? Yes, serious question because I have never been out west.

Thanks

Jeremiah

Hey, i have been over the pass in NW IL. My X can take it without issue, i never lose power and it barely needs to shift into 2nd to get over it. IIRC it is around 1100 feet! LOL

Seriously i'm towing 9200 lbs, have been through the Smoky's twice. And through the Rockies once with a smaller TT and a Dodge 5.9L gas motor.The Smoky's have some pretty good grades when compared to the Rockies. So far never once have i wished i had a diesel that would depower itself 1/2 way to the top!!!

[Hannibal]

jerem0621 wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
I'll get my V-10 and wait at the top with everyone and their popcorn! Without the issues of depowering!!!!

I agree. If I ever get another HD truck it will probably be another gasser.

Thanks,

Jeremiah

Me too! Monteagle is probably as high as we'll go without airline tickets.:B

[jerem0621]

Bedlam wrote:

jerem0621 wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
I'll get my V-10 and wait at the top with everyone and their popcorn! Without the issues of depowering!!!!

I agree. If I ever get another HD truck it will probably be another gasser.

Thanks,

Jeremiah

Elevation is not a problem for these guys living in IL and TN...

You making fun of Tennessee and Illinois ? Lol. Just kidding with ya, but yea, we have hills here. Out west them there are Mountains!!

How do they sell anything without forced induction there if it's that bad? Yes, serious question because I have never been out west.

Thanks

Jeremiah

[Bedlam]

jerem0621 wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
I'll get my V-10 and wait at the top with everyone and their popcorn! Without the issues of depowering!!!!

I agree. If I ever get another HD truck it will probably be another gasser.

Thanks,

Jeremiah

Elevation is not a problem for these guys living in IL and TN...

[blt2ski]

hmmmmmm......I like my gassers, but at 10K+ ft in elevation, I'll take a forced induction motor over a typical non forced induction motor like my gas rigs have been. TOO much HP loss due to elevation of 2-3% per 1000' So at 10K you are down some 20-30%, THAT is VERY noticeable when I have been that high. To 3-5K', not as noticeable, but higher. oh yeah. I'll take a turbo diesel or super charged gas rig then!

At the end of the day, correct truck/tool for the job/task at hand is the BEST advice one can get or have!

marty

[jerem0621]

dodge guy wrote:
I'll get my V-10 and wait at the top with everyone and their popcorn! Without the issues of depowering!!!!

I agree. If I ever get another HD truck it will probably be another gasser.

Thanks,

Jeremiah

[transamz9]

Engineer9860 wrote:

transamz9 wrote:

BurbMan wrote:

jus2shy wrote:
The unison ring is what synchronizes all the guides/vanes on the turbine side of the wheel. These guides can close to add more velocity to the exhaust gases allowing the turbo to spool up sooner and higher. The vanes can also be opened to allow for more exhaust flow while maintaining optimum pressure. These rings can be cleaned, lots of youtube videos on how to take care of that. It is these guides/vanes that allow the turbo to be called a "Variable Geometry" turbo. Without this ability, you'd have to settle for either low-end grunt or high-end power. Variable Geometry gives a turbo far more operating range. Hope that makes sense.

Thank you, that makes sense. So if the EGR cooler goes, you get coolant in the intake which in turn causes the unison ring to rust, which in turn impedes its ability to vary the turbo geometry, which in turn limits the turbo's effectiveness over various RPM ranges, which in turn causes a general power loss? Do I have that right?

Yes which will then cause an "overboost" or "underboost" condition that so many people talk about. An overboost condition sends the motor into limp mode.

The 6.0L that I drove didn't go into limp mode per se. When the turbo would overboost it would blow the CAC hoses off. Sometimes so violently that you could see the hood lift. The mechanic at the Ford dealer told me he had seen them dent the hood from the bottom on extreme cases.

HAHAHA!!! It scares the stuff out of you when it does it too. I have not seen the tube come off because of an overboost condition though. It's 99% of the time not getting it put back on correctly with the correct torque. If reusing the old boot you almost have to clean it really good with a degreaser ( I use brake cleaner) and then go to the wife's hairspray stash and spray hairspray on the inside of the boot where it clamps onto the turbo. If you notice when you get a new boot it is sticky on the inside. LOL! My company truck has a dent in the hood from underneath just like you stated.

My truck has been in limp mode more than once because of an overboost. It doesn't take much to get an overboost code and I have seen buddies pin the 40psi gauge on the dash with tuners and not blow the factory tube off.