Does anyone have any experience towing with the predator? I'm trying to find out what type of EGTs you may experience when towing.

Thanks,

MaxRock

Without an exhaust upgrade, VERY high. You can reach and sustane 1800 plus.

Does anyone have any experience towing with the predator? I'm trying to find out what type of EGTs you may experience when towing.

Thanks,

MaxRock
I have been towing about 4000# on the 65 hp setting. I don't have gauges yet and I have been wondering what kind of egt's I have been getting as well.

Without an exhaust upgrade, VERY high. You can reach and sustane 1800 plus.
Fingers,
Do you think I could be getting egt's as high as 1800 towing only 4000#? The truck doesn't seem to even be working up a sweat.

cowdoc, without EGT gauges you just don't know! You can hit very high EGT's without towing anything with a programmer, towing just adds much more to the equation! :o:

Standard equipment for any aftermarket programmer should be an EGT gauge, preferably one that registers temps quickly versus a slow dial type. JJ :)

So...no one has EGT when towing with a Predator. Finger's post has confirmed that the Predator is not EGT friendly. I guess I'll save a little more and get the VA.

MaxRock

MaxRock,

Try sending RickDLance a PM. He has the Predator and tows with it, though he is having problems with his EGT probe/gauge. :)

Your profile doesn't show you have the Predator yet. I almost bought the Predator, but elected to go with the E/J w/attitude since it offered a decent tow package, tranny protection, built-in EGT gauges and backdown protection, etc. So far I'm real pleased with it, but if you are going for "launching power" other programmers appear to work better. :rolleyes:

Regardless of the programmer an EGT gauge, preferably one that responds quickly to temp changes, is an absolute must. :confused:

PS, what you don't see in Fingers post is he tows very heavy, sometimes straight up the side of mountains with his truck. Fingers, normal towing, not romping on it, are your EGT's with the Predator below 1000*? JJ :)

MaxRock,

Fingers, normal towing, not romping on it, are your EGT's with the Predator below 1000*? JJ :)
Good question!!

What's normal towing? :)

Sustaned with the empty trailer (7,500 lbs) is hard to say, It was/is well below my alarm point of 1350* on the SPA guage. I am running a 5" system now and all of my temps are down a good 300-400 deg. Max with the big exhaust and heavy trailer is 1500 so far, but it has been cold here. Empty trailer, I don't even look at the guage now. I will look if I tow before leaving town next week and let you know.

So, I don't really know for sure what they were with a light load and a stock exhaust. I would not be surprized to hear EGTs were as high as 1200* sustaned and do not consider that temp a problem. But again, I just don't know.

So...no one has EGT when towing with a Predator. Finger's post has confirmed that the Predator is not EGT friendly. I guess I'll save a little more and get the VA.

MaxRock I should be more clear about my towing conditions for the high EGTs:

Typical GCVW ~26000
35" tires
secondary, hilly roads. Little if any interstate.
SC3 with TTS converter.

With stock exhaust, I could hit and hold 1800+ going up hills. 85 HP tune.
With 5" I am down to a MAX of 1500. and ~1300-1400 sustaned.

Fingers, does 1800 deg scare you? Have you heard of any ACTUAL problems on LLY's due to high egt's? I'm just curious where the 1350 'safety' point came from. Seems that stock they can get to that # pretty easy. I would think GM would have a safety factor built in....

I hear alot of scary sounding #'s, but i've never heard of anybody with an engine failure... I'm planning on towing heavy with the 40hp predator tune, and i've been wondering the same questions as everybody here. I too am unwilling to damage a $45K truck, but many seem to run high with no apparent problems.



Thanks.!

Yes, I have heard of people killing pistons and turbos with excessive heat.

1350 is just below the melting temp of aluminum. No real reason to pick this number since all the aluminum parts exposed to the exhaust are cooled with either oil or water.

The only moving parts I am aware of that do not have some sort of cooling and are exposed to the exhaust heat are the exhaust valves and the exducer on the turbo. Both are steel.

1800 is too high for a sustained run. So I back off. But the turbo casing glows like a sum'o bish.

To the best of my knowledge for an LB7 equipped truck, the predator is not the best towing choice - different story for the LLY. In no particular order it would be a VA box, Edge, or a custom ecm tune for cooler temperatures. I have heard that the VA runs a little cooler vs the Juice as well.

Thanks for the info. I have Kennedy's 4-5" exhaust, H2 tires and wheels and tow a 33' 5th wheel.

Climbing a fair mountain, in 5th gear (I have the ZF-6), WOT, my temps stay at around 9500 deg (bone stock engine, no power adders).

I have heard the Predator runs EGTs high and was just curious if anyone had any first hand experience.

Again, thanks for the info.

MaxRock

Climbing a fair mountain, in 5th gear (I have the ZF-6), WOT, my temps stay at around 9500 deg (bone stock engine, no power adders).


MaxRock
9500 degrees !!:drop_mout I am assuming thats 1500 and even at that - for a bone stock truck thats friggin hot. I've never seen mine go over 1200°F.

9500 degrees !!:drop_mout I am assuming thats 1500 and even at that - for a bone stock truck thats friggin hot. I've never seen mine go over 1200°F.
Or is that 950 degrees?

Fingers, good intel. IIRC the LB7's run considerably cooler than the LLY's since most don't have EGR's and CAT's and ran less hp/tq. Your LLY numbers are pretty high, looks like the 5" exhaust was a wise investment and something I need to look into.

What's normal towing? :rolleyes: You shouldn't have been too surprised that I asked that question! ):h IIRC you start out with a considerable climb from where you are located. On your 5" system do you still have the CAT and muffler? The EGT reductions you realized are impressive. :exactly:

At sustained high temps (1350*+-) it is what you don't see happening that worries me. Best to keep ones foot out of the pedal when towing heavy and keep the EGT's within reason. This is why it is sooooooooo important to have EGT gauges when towing heavy. JJ :)

No cat, straight through 5" muffler. I think the cat delete and muffler change are bigger factors than the tube size. I only got the 5" cause, well, I wanted the biggest I could find. No documented advantage over the 4.

Oops, I meant 950, not 9500.

Sorry,
MaxRock

Guys my gauge must be defective. I towed 22,000 pounds GVW today Predator level 2 and never got over 900 degrees. I will send it back next week for replacement. As soon as I get a gauge I can trust I will post definate #'s.

rick, let us know. if your #s are right, i got something very wrong.