I've been following numerous posts on the forum regarding performance enhancements for our trucks. I even posted my own thread asking for input and appreciate all the suggestions I received. So here's what I'm leaning towards and would like your .02 cents worth on.

Since I am going to stay stock (for now) and am looking mostly to improve towing performance and reduce the risk of overheating the LLY I'm leaning towards the Predator coupled with water injection. Why, the Predator is a handheld tune that can easily be unloaded and has been a consistently good performer in the LLY. E/J, BD, Hypertech and others all have their plus's and minus's as well, but given what I have read to date the Predator seems to be a consistent performer that I am comfortable with for the money. :rolleyes:

As for WI, I didn't even know this existed until several weeks back. It is very impressive what injecting a small amount of water/meth mix does for these engines. Race cars have been using it for years. I'm looking at it to lower EGT's, improve engine lubrication (yes, true), and increase hp/tq as well. I suspect it will grow in favor as more guys use it. There is good info on the forum if interested.

My thought process is I can keep the truck stock, bump up the hp/tq when needed, and have a safety mechanism when towing very heavy to avoid overheating. Does this make sense? Am I missing something? I don't want to rehash the tuner/programmer debate again, I'm OK with the predator. Just want to see if my rationale holds up. As always your input is appreciated. JJ :)

My .01 cent worth (humbly respect many others who imput this forum, they deserve the .02 cent opinion:) ). I love my Predator and have been running 65hp tune, now trying 40hp now as heading south for awhile with 5'er. The programer isn't a quick, on the fly flasher. Figure around 5 min to change tunes (pulling fuses, checking lights, brake, and flashing). Some are concerned about flashing PCM often might cause failure, do to possible electrical quirks of computers. Haven't heard of any though.

I'm also interested in the developing WI aspect of the duramax. Lots of usable heat leaves the cylinders without converting into torque. Soon we'll have computer which will auto WI correct flow when needed, given egt temps, rpm, and "seat" needs):h . Married with flasher and you'll have a high caffeinated "Steamer".

JJ, to get you started: the folks that use it to tow, just love WI. The complaints usually center around the availablity of demineralized water on the road, or the large amount they need to carry.

I recieved high p pumps last week for this application, that I will be testing in the coming weeks. To date, nobody makes a WI kit that centers water modulation to the cooling task, a towing application that uses water more wisely. I am working on a kit that modulates with increasing IAT, a major cause of power loss and overheating.

But it will also have a performance mode :ro) (switchable from tow mode) that will judiciously dispense water/alc with increasing boost, some pre-turbo fine mist even.

But a "tow smart" system is what you are referring to I think, one that uses water only when it is need to accomplish the stated task. Common systems that have a single dispense rate based on a boost threshhold are tremendously wasteful. Kits presently marketed are of the performance crowd, lacking intelligence to spare water. So if you have an abundant supply of demineralized water (RO works fine) and a tank, then those kits will work, but are wasteful. If planning to use a WW tank, it won't last 2 hills with those kits as water is being overconsumed and that during periods that are not required.

A smarter system can make it last much longer for towing, IMO. That's my goal, a water miser PLUS a go getter.

masterp2 writes: But a "tow smart" system is what you are referring to I think, one that uses water only when it is need to accomplish the stated task.

Yes, that is exactly what I would like, though the benefits of full time WI are impressive and tempting. :rolleyes: Ideally one would always want a small amount of WI to lower egt's and lubricate the engine, with the ability to increase the WI ratio when needed. I'm not going to be racing, well I don't plan to):h , mostly towing around 24-25K lbs GCW with the 5ver. Also, I ruled out the WW tank after reading those threads you gave me, too much maintenance. I'm looking at larger tanks, say 8-10 gallons to locate either under the truck or in the bed.

Is the system you are designing going to allow for an "on the fly" adjustment? Also, would using distilled water at .59 cents a gallon be practical? I'm not sure what the consumption rate is versus diesel fuel.

As always MP2 I appreciate your input. JJ :)

Is the system you are designing going to allow for an "on the fly" adjustment? Also, would using distilled water at .59 cents a gallon be practical? I'm not sure what the consumption rate is versus diesel fuel.

As always MP2 I appreciate your input. JJ :)Yes that's the plan, "dial a temp": turn a knob, watch the egt's decrease (temp based modulation). Or flip the switch, and light the afterburners :D(boost based modulation).

The major advantage of temp modulation (towing) is being able to take more advantage of the CAC/IC's heatsink capability, it ability to absorb and shed heat in cycles. Things like speed changes will determine when water augmenation is needed for cooling, the slow grueling climb will produce the highest need for cooling, as the IC heats up. Water modulation is temp controlled by a temp sensor post-IC. Much less water is used when the system let's the IC do it's job, and when it can't, water.

Or mix some alcohol and have some additional power with the cooling. WW fluid (the -40 degree variety) can be found at fillup time, 99 cents and go. It is generally clean and works very well. Meth is $3.00 a gallon at the track, when cut 80/20, that's under $1/gallon. But if your ambition is cooling, nothing works better than straight water, unless you are driving in the rain with 100% humidity, then alcohol will provide additional cooling, since it will evaporate in high humidity while water's effectiveness is reduced (but you won't need it in the rain with water misting on the cooling stack, IC etc.)

I have an RO system in the house, so I have a free supply. 59cents a gallon, I guess. I can only try to guess, 1-2 gallons per tank of diesel maybe a good one. The system only kicks in when things get hot. Hypothetically you could carry enough with you, refilling the WW res at rest stops, when the DIC tells you that you are low on water.

MP2, do you think my logic is sound? JJ

Is that a trick question??

You are on track I think, however, JMO, forget the tank till you decide it is necessary. Adding the tank after the fact is no more difficult, and could be as easy as a bed mounted gas can.

The system can be tuned so that when you see the engine temp start to climb, you turn the knob until the temp advance is stalled. Set and forget as required by changing conditions, keeping excess water from being used.