Just finished our 7000 mile vacation, towing 13k 5th wheel across CO, UT, CA, OR and WY. On some exceptionally long/steep slopes I was in 2nd gear going 30 MPH. On some relatively flat stretches I was going 60-65 in stiff head winds. In almost ALL cases I could have gone faster, but EGT's would have climbed above 1300 and as a rule I tried to keep sustained temp at/under 1200 (hope to keep truck for long time). I have a 4" exhaust system to help, but EGT's still seem to be the limiting factor.

I'm considering getting the tow tune for the TTS PowerLoader 3 (when it comes out)-- primarily for TOWING. But I'm wondering if this would even help, as the EGT's seem to be the limiting factor, and I'd only expect EGT's to be HIGHER with a higher HP tune. Or... it might help slightly, but would that be worth the investment?

QUESTION: Any TOWING/EGT experiences with the tow tune or other programmer/chip? Does it help significantly (i.e. "I could only go 40MPH up a slope @ 1200 degrees, but with the tuner I can now go 50MPH up the same slope @ 1200 degrees")? Or, are you still basically limited by EGT temps when towing?

QUESTION: Are there any OTHER significant enhancements (besides 4" exhaust) that can be made to lower EGT's?

Comments appreciated,
Paul.

On the bright side Paul, you are to be congratulated for 'driving by the gauge'
How many of us know people who have 'chipped' their rigs and do not monitor the truck with proper instrumentation even while towing

A 4" Exhaust will help EGT's around 150-200F.

Another option for the LB7 is to go with a larger Turbo to provide more air. Remembering that a Diesel runs hot EGT's when there is overfuelling taking place. Having an 'over air' situation keeps egt's in check.

On my truck with the Twin Turbos, I have more air than fuel to burn, as a consequence, my EGT's are about 250-350F lower than stock while being at a significantly higher power level. With the Edge Hot Juice set to 5x5 and towing to GCVWR with no EGT Backdown, I have been unable to break 1100F while towing.

ATS has a single charger upgrade as well that you might be interested in, and i am sure those users will chime in about towing with it.

Best of luck, and enjoy your truck!

On the bright side Paul, you are to be congratulated for 'driving by the gauge'
How many of us know people who have 'chipped' their rigs and do not monitor the truck with proper instrumentation even while towing

Not knowing anything, I decided to play it safe and get EGT gauge before first big tow, and really glad I did, because I know I would have easily been over 1400 several times and not even known it. I appreciate the posts on this forum which warned me in advance.

Another option for the LB7 is to go with a larger Turbo to provide more air. Remembering that a Diesel runs hot EGT's when there is overfuelling taking place. Having an 'over air' situation keeps egt's in check.

Hmmmmmmmm.... rough cost for parts/installation?

On my truck with the Twin Turbos, I have more air than fuel to burn, as a consequence, my EGT's are about 250-350F lower than stock while being at a significantly higher power level. With the Edge Hot Juice set to 5x5 and towing to GCVWR with no EGT Backdown, I have been unable to break 1100F while towing.

If that includes going up steep mountain grades at higher elevations, then I'm EXTREMELY impressed!!!

Around 4K:eek: (or more) installed for the ATS charger.

Not knowing anything, I decided to play it safe and get EGT gauge before first big tow, and really glad I did, because I know I would have easily been over 1400 several times and not even known it. I appreciate the posts on this forum which warned me in advance.



Hmmmmmmmm.... rough cost for parts/installation?



If that includes going up steep mountain grades at higher elevations, then I'm EXTREMELY impressed!!!

Probably best to PM IdahoCTD on the $$$ aspect. Yes we have some steep stuff here! Grapevine? Stevens? 4th of July Passes? ooh ooh ohh... They are a bit steep, but the Salmo Creston is a Benchmark for long ugly winding twisting road at 7-9% gradient at high altitude IMHO.

Paul, Your EGT's were that high towing without a programmer? I never worried about EGT's before I got the Banks with more power. I used the logic that I was within the design operating parameters of the motor and it would take care of itself. Even with my new 5er weighing just a tad over 18K I can keep the tuner in #2 and maintain 50 on the steepest grades without going over 1250*F. Stock exhaust and K&N air filter.

Paul, you do realize GotJuice is basically pulling a trailer with a rocket on wheels? lol

Did you kill the kitty? Interesting to note you have an LB7 yet had so much trouble maintaining speeds with higher EGT's, kind of uncharacteric for prior year LB7's. Several of the 2004 LB7 owners have posted overheating issues. Were you running higher engine temps as well? One other option for you is to install a water injection system post-turbo IIRC which will lower EGT's and provide more hp/tq. Plenty of intel on the DP performance section about these.

Could you do me a favor and check to see if there is a piece of foil on the inside fender just beside the airbox on your truck. Just trying to gather some intel for the LLY overheating thread. JJ

Paul, you do realize GotJuice is basically pulling a trailer with a rocket on wheels? lol



Can you believe none of the tire places will honour my treadlife warranty?

What's up with that?:rippedhan

:knight:

Paul, you do realize GotJuice is basically pulling a trailer with a rocket on wheels? lol

Did you kill the kitty? Interesting to note you have an LB7 yet had so much trouble maintaining speeds with higher EGT's, kind of uncharacteric for prior year LB7's. Several of the 2004 LB7 owners have posted overheating issues. Were you running higher engine temps as well? One other option for you is to install a water injection system post-turbo IIRC which will lower EGT's and provide more hp/tq. Plenty of intel on the DP performance section about these.

Could you do me a favor and check to see if there is a piece of foil on the inside fender just beside the airbox on your truck. Just trying to gather some intel for the LLY overheating thread. JJ

Stock truck did not have kitty. Engine temps seem to always linger around 200-210, with very little variation. Not sure what you mean by "piece of foil"... but I do have an all season screen on the front of my truck. It's not a solid winter shield, but it may be restricting airflow. I thought I asked about this somewhere else, and thought I was told it wouldn't have any effect. Here is a link which shows a picture of the Cloud-Rider all season shield:

http://www.cloud-rider.com/truck_popup.php?vhcl_id=1801&prdct_num=24-240

Paul.

The foil he is talking about is between the airbox and the inner fender panel. The foil stops debris from getting to the filter, and it also stops the fresh air.

Paul,

I don't think you have the foil. That's was a GM field mod to prevent water from coming in the airbox on the 01's.

I think you got your truck about the same time as I did, and with the exception of the 4" exhaust you have, we are set up about the same. I pull a 6K TT and don't have any problems maintaining under 800°F @ 60 mph on flat ground with little wind. Boost runs about 4.5 psig. I have noticed that EGT's and boost are more responsive when dragging an anchor around behind you though.

When I pulled to Hilton Head, SC in April of 2004, I did not have the gauges on yet so, I couldn't tell what the parameters were going down I-77 through the mountains. I did not lack for power and did not notice any temps higher than a nominal 207°F for engine temp and 165°F for tranny temp. I do have the stock grill though with no cover.

I think that both J.K. and Eric have said that unmodified Dmax's are pretty well protected as far as EGT's go. You should be even better with the 4" Exhaust.

I can spike the EGT's to over 1200°F on a hard pull, but I have to work at it. I know you're pulling more than twice what I am so the temps you're seeing may not be too far off. I think that sustained temps at >1400°F is the transition point for shortened engine life.

As far as adding an aftermarket tune, you know that more fuel is going to equate to more power and more heat. I think the predator has had the best luck at keeping EGT's down per HP gained, followed by Edge.

You might want to PM John or Eric and get their input. They have the most experience in this area. I would also ask them if you're going too conservative on max EGT's or is there something overlooked. Maybe a dirty airfilter might cause an elevated EGT.

On a side note, do you like the Reese 18K signature series? We are looking at going the 5'er route and that is the hitch that I'm leaning toward. It's seems that most RV places are reluctant to put that hitch in because of the care and time to set it up in the bed. I do like the ability to have a clean bed to use for other purposes when not towning.

Hope that helps you out Paul.

And pay no attention to Got Juice. He just wants to spend your money for you...):h

But he has the set-up for towing....:ro)


Paul I forgot, I noticed that you pulled out west in the rockies. That will add a couple of hundred to you EGT's. That's why Got Juice got his EGT's down. He's got 2 puffers that are bigger than ours. That will keep the charge density up there...

Paul,

And pay no attention to Got Juice. He just wants to spend your money for you...):h

But he has the set-up for towing....:ro)


Paul I forgot, I noticed that you pulled out west in the rockies. That will add a couple of hundred to you EGT's. That's why Got Juice got his EGT's down. He's got 2 puffers that are bigger than ours. That will keep the charge density up there...

QUESTION: Are there any OTHER significant enhancements (besides 4" exhaust) that can be made to lower EGT's?



Hey! I RESEMBLE that remark!:D

He did ask the Question!:ro)

Your Stock LB7 Charger Stays in the TWINMAX setup. The "Bottom Turbo" takes over at about 7 PSI (Top Stock Turbo is WG open full at 9) so there is no more lag than you have currently... but from 7PSI and up... I just can't explain how well it pulls and keeps the EGT's down.

Hi,

back when i was evaluating LB7 tunes i noted that i could build heat pretty easy stock. before my bigger injectors, when i would adda predator it would build heat very quickly. when i would add a juice it didn't raise the temps much (on a low setting). when i added the tts tow or the 80 seemed to run lower egt's pulling the same hill at the same speed as stock. obviously with more power i would go faster up the hills, but i ran a couple tests running the same speed and that is what i noticed. another thing to consider is gearing. if you running low rpm's, dropping a gear or hitting OD lockout (if its holding 5th) will bring the boost up and the egt's down. depending on the speed/gearing you may or may not be able to do that. btw how much boost are you running? if your wastegate is totally stock, when you add more fuel (as juice mentioned) you can raise the boost a bit (just don't overdo it) and you'll get more air and cooler egt's. there is a point when the turbo gets so far over surge that it just turns into a big heater.. so watch your egt gauge. do you have a boost gauge? a manual one is nice if you want to try different programs as you won't have a problem with a tuner/module skewing the results or being dependant upon something like an attitude to display it..

Nick,

Thanks for the correction. Now that I think about it, it was Quad's unit that ran cool. But you're right, the edge did do pretty good.

You know, you guys with play toys laying around the garage for LB7's, could loan them to us stockers for testing. ):h

Kind of like drug dealers giving away free samples. :D

I can spike the EGT's to over 1200°F on a hard pull, but I have to work at it. I know you're pulling more than twice what I am so the temps you're seeing may not be too far off. I think that sustained temps at >1400°F is the transition point for shortened engine life.

If true then I have a little more leeway... other thoughts?


As far as adding an aftermarket tune, you know that more fuel is going to equate to more power and more heat. I think the predator has had the best luck at keeping EGT's down per HP gained, followed by Edge.

I'm leaning towards PowerLoader 3... hoping the new features will allow recalibration of tires and reverting back to stock. All comments on PL3 have been excellent... just waiting (like everyone else).

On a side note, do you like the Reese 18K signature series? We are looking at going the 5'er route and that is the hitch that I'm leaning toward. It's seems that most RV places are reluctant to put that hitch in because of the care and time to set it up in the bed. I do like the ability to have a clean bed to use for other purposes when not towning.

The Reese 18K Signature is GREAT! Have to give it a (little) kick to get it to drop into the pucks, but it fits snug, and pulls right out easily, and leaves the bed clean-- comes with 4 rubber caps to fill the puck holes. 4-way pivot has been very nice-- needed. Very solid. Simple to connect. I really like the concept of ONE jaw which wraps all the way around (as opposed to two jaws that meet together). Mine has a slider... haven't used it yet, but when I crank the wheel the trailer has gotten awful close to my rear windshield a few times. Nice to know its there if I every get in a really tight bind.

Taking care of it seems fairly simple to me-- just spray a little lithium greese every now and then. It IS a pain to setup... the people who installed it had a hard time and said it barely fit.... but I'm real happy I got it.

Paul I forgot, I noticed that you pulled out west in the rockies. That will add a couple of hundred to you EGT's. That's why Got Juice got his EGT's down. He's got 2 puffers that are bigger than ours. That will keep the charge density up there...

Yeah... The Eisenhower tunnel was a struggle... but I think the worse was from Las Vegas to Bakersfield CA... long stretches (like 10-20 miles) up these slopes. Drove in third lane which was designed for slower moving trucks.

if you running low rpm's, dropping a gear or hitting OD lockout (if its holding 5th) will bring the boost up and the egt's down. depending on the speed/gearing you may or may not be able to do that. btw how much boost are you running?

Yes I have EGT and Boost. When EGT were up the 1200 range the boost was around 20 PSI and a few times moving towards 25.

The challenge seemed to be balancing EGT and Tranny temps. At times I tried dropping down to third gear and run at high RPMs, which lowered EGT and kept them in check, but after about 5-10 minute of high RPMs the tranny is cooking at 230-240 degrees (I like to keep it around 200-210). The tranny temps do much better at lower RPMs, but then the lugging causes the EGTs to zoom up to 1300-- maybe more if I didn't keep it in check-- I don't know because I never let it get that high. So it was a balancing act. Entirely different than driving a car... with all the monitoring of gauges and cautious driving (because of the towing weight) you really feel like you're "driving"-- it really becomes a task. Sometimes a fun challenge, other times (esp when tired) I'd rather just relax.

--Paul.