Here's the thing, when I tow my trailer I have the trans in 3rd like it says in the manual. My top speed is around 53mph if I go above that the boost drops to 0 and then not much power. I see other trucks towing and blowing by me. :eek: So is that it for the k1500? 53 mph and nothing more, I'd also like to be able to have some more power to get up the long hills. right now as a base line @ 60 mph with no load 7 psi and 950 ET pre turbo up a 6% grade, towing a 20' enclosed loaded about 20mph 1100 ET.

I'm reading about flash but I'm too sure how that works. I have an upper and lower manifold from a 2500 no EGR I'm going to put on so I can 86 my EGR and looking into a intercooler. With this flash thing can you get rid of the MAS to have more of a smoother and bigger inlet flow?
any input would be great

When I got my truck it needed a trany. (well after it blew a trany line driving it 100km home and melted the clutches together) I had it rebuilt and asked the guy the builds them about towing in 3rd. He said to town in OD and if you are on a grade and it shifts out of OD to put it in 3rd so it does not jump back and forth to OD. I have a three year 90 000KM Warranty on the rebuild so if it was going to be hard on the transmition I am sure he would have told me to pull in 3rd to save him paying to fix it again.

Reflash and intercooler. Your IATs are likely getting too high and your computer is cutting fuel and boost to compensate. It's a safety net really otherwise you're toast your engine.

Reflash does away with the defueling but you and get into trouble if you don't keep an eye on your boost or install an IC to keep the IATs in check.

Reflash also does away with your EGR and MAF crap so you can run your "F" intakes.

Westers, Kennedy, Heath all have good reflashes available. Lots and lots of info on the site about them. Do a little searching and you'll have hours of reading. Just remember don't get caught up in the which is "best" thing. No one (to my knowledge) has tried them all in the same truck to give an accurate comparison.

Dave

When I got my truck it needed a trany. (well after it blew a trany line driving it 100km home and melted the clutches together) I had it rebuilt and asked the guy the builds them about towing in 3rd. He said to town in OD and if you are on a grade and it shifts out of OD to put it in 3rd so it does not jump back and forth to OD. I have a three year 90 000KM Warranty on the rebuild so if it was going to be hard on the transmition I am sure he would have told me to pull in 3rd to save him paying to fix it again.

Yep. I forgot to mention that too. Tow in OD with TCC locked as much as possible otherwise your tranny temps will be way high and so will your coolant temps.

A happy 6.5 is one with well managed temps in all departments.

Dave

Yep. I forgot to mention that too. Tow in OD with TCC locked as much as possible otherwise your tranny temps will be way high and so will your coolant temps.

A happy 6.5 is one with well managed temps in all departments.

Dave


X2. When towing I drop into OD at about 55Mph/2700 RPM. I usually go back into 3rd at about the same or when I have to climb a hill. It's OK to cruise on the highway, on flat ground, in OD.

Nick

Nah, way more than 53 mph in a K1500 if you build up for it; 80mph rolling flat if I wish pulling 18K load, generally I keep it at 70, as at some time I mite need to stop. Factory program is terrible need to reflash to get some power out of it.

Everything you see in my signature allows for 18K worth of towing power, and what you need to do for some serious towing.

Deep trans pan & additional trans cooler I've yet to see over 200F pan temp towing 18K in OD, my fan for my extra cooler comes on at 180F return temp.

x3 tow in OD as long as you're not having to ride it so hard it defuels/overboosts - or it's jumping back and forth to 3rd.

It's too bad you can't do the manual TC lockup on a post '95 truck... It's nice to drop back to 3rd and keep that TC locked up - which keeps everything much cooler...

I've heard the factory programming will lock the TC in 3rd and 4th, but haven't noticed it in 3rd. I just lock it down manually.

Chaser

Yep. I forgot to mention that too. Tow in OD with TCC locked as much as possible otherwise your tranny temps will be way high and so will your coolant temps.

A happy 6.5 is one with well managed temps in all departments.

Dave

I have the trans temp reading from the pan. the pin hardly moves off of 140 (where it starts) on a hot summer day it will get to 180 but never go higher than that even when towing. what is TCC? and how do you keep it locked?

TCC= torque converter clutch. 94&95 you can jumper a TCC wire to ground with a toggle switch to lock it manually. Leo

TCC= torque converter clutch. 94&95 you can jumper a TCC wire to ground with a toggle switch to lock it manually. Leo

96 and newer OBDII you can't use the manual lock up switch but if you get a reflash you can get the lock up points changed to lock up sooner and stay locked longer.

Dave

96 and newer OBDII you can't use the manual lock up switch but if you get a reflash you can get the lock up points changed to lock up sooner and stay locked longer.

Dave

Thanks Dave, it looks like I'll be going for the reflash. I looked at Kennedy's service, and Heath's. Kennedy's looks more custom he's asking for a lot of info about the truck and what you want to do with it, where as Heath has to different flashes to choose from. Is this true? or am I missing something. I just want it to run good and have the power I need to tow, I don't need a Hot Rod, I all ready have one of those.

Thanks ALL
If you have any more comments I'll all ears

I think Heath has a couple of tunes availalbe, towing and performance. From what I know Kennedy has gone for the more custom approach like Westers. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the 3. I got mine from Westers and Lyndon has treated me very well. I had my original tune that I sent back for a little tweaking. I only had to pay the shipping for that. I wasn't completely happy with the second version which was probably because of other problems with my engine and nothing to do with the tune. I sent it back for a version 3 no charge.

Just make sure whoever you get it from that they program it to do away with your EGR and MAF stuff that you have on your "S" engine. Provided you're not going to run into any problems with emissions testing if there are any in your area.

Dave