Another tow vehicle question

[Falko]

It is a bit of an interesting thing, to a gear head. A friend of mine builds professional race engines. To check internal resistances they have this reverse-dyno which spins and engine and determines the internal resistance. They did this on a 600+ cuin supercharged engine which dyno'ed at over 1500hp. The power to spin the engine at 7000 rpms was over 400hp. (these numbers are close to what I was told, it has been a few years). But this gives an idea that internal losses and pumping is pretty substantial, and this was a forced induction engine so theoretically the pumping should be less, but the supercharger creates a lot of drag. And no, that engine wasn't suited for inboard use...

My apologies to the OP for the de-rail.

[Hozzr1]

All good stuff guys. So it sounds like go back to diesel for towing if the trade can materialize. So next question if the trade doesn't materialize will mods to the truck make a difference ( intake, exhaust, programmer) or would it just be a waste of money?

[timjame0719]

I think depending on the mod it could help but IMO isn't a great substitute for a naturally stronger motor/truck. Especially looking at longevity. My brother in law has a Chevy with a chip, aftermarket exhaust/headers, and some high flow air intake. He pulls his 8400lb camper with it and still isn't happy with how it tows and complains on how noisy it is down the road. He also has some tranny issues right now maybe from the chip maxing out it's capabilities.

[Big Jay D]

All good stuff guys. So it sounds like go back to diesel for towing if the trade can materialize. So next question if the trade doesn't materialize will mods to the truck make a difference ( intake, exhaust, programmer) or would it just be a waste of money?

Very minimal gains. Not worth the money.

[Hozzr1]

That's what I figured.

[MLBurns]

Be cautious using a programmer on a gas powered vehicle pulling loads especially uphill. They raise timing to increase power, but this also causes detonation (pinging). Excessive detonation will cause bearing failure on the piston rods from the hammering the pistons are taking from the timing change. I have done it myself. Cold air, better exhaust, tranny upgrades are all good for towing, but unless you want to fill up with premium to help kill the pinging don't use a programmer while towing.

[Hozzr1]

Thanks, good advice. I'm hoping the diesel works out. Not sure I want to the mods

Just doesn't appeal to me on a truck still under warranty.

[Nitrousbird]

Hand held programmers for gasonline vehicles, as a whole, are generally a waste of money and are asking for engine trouble. There ARE exceptions for a few specific programmers on a few specific vehicles, but for the most part they are bad. I've seen some very dangerously lean tunes on the dyno with these handheld deals.

If you want a reprogramming, you need to get a proper dyno tune, with a wideband O2, by a reputable shop that is familar with your setup. Even then, many vehicles will see very little gains if they are stock or only sporting mild bolt-on's.

I have done some minor tuning with HP Tuners (laptop software with a data transfer cable...the RIGHT way to do it) on my Avalanche. It was just a $100 add-on to my buddy's software for his C5; used it to kill the SES light for the !CATS mod, along with firm up my shifts slightly for non-tow mode and more so for tow-mode. Also killed the top speed limiter and changed the shift points in tow mode a bit to be more towing friendly (less unnecessary downshifting). Overall has been a nice improvement to the truck. No adjustments to A/F, timing, tranny line pressure, etc. Also used it to edit my tire size slightly to get the speedo to be more accurate due to worn tires.