dragging a parachute

[bustert]

well, i have opted for the diablosport prediator 2 platinum.
first, the 4L60e is a weak tranny, a throw off of the thd350. the 4L80E is off the thd 400 one of the best chevy made but very parasitic, took a lot to turn itself over.
when i ran mopar, i did change the tranny valve body to shift with ZERO slip but the transmissions now can be made to shift harder via computer control.
the truck will run 60 mph at 1650 rpm and with the 4.10, will kick it up a couple of hundred rpm. if i need power, need to get over 3 grand which was a common rpm for stock vehicles back in the 60>70's before fuel consumption was an issue.
i am going to try the tune first, i do not push the truck and it operates best at 62 mph.
what a lot of people do not realize is that "ST" tires are limited in speed and going over the rating is destructive to the tire.
the idiots at forest river over loaded the wheel/tire on my wildcat the reason i had 5 tire separations! i went to "E" class tires, but this trailer has 14" and you cannot find "E" in that size. never again anything from forest river, lemon law'd the trailer.
anyway, the cost for gm to reprogram has paid half of the programmer.
thanks for the kick backs. was hoping for some hands on experience.

[Tomcatt]

Originally Posted by bustert

...was hoping for some hands on experience.

Like that my Chevy van had a 4L60E and AWD? I put a TransGo kit in it. It also had a programmer. The programmer would change the shift points and the trannys' line pressure. The TransGo kit made it actually work better. At 130,000 miles it was still healthy (fluid stayed clean) and shifts were crisp. The programmers are just a band-aid.

Does your truck have a flat bed or a pickup bed? You've got a problem with aerodynamics and a gearing change won't fix that. Your mileage will still suck. Some camper shells are made to help aerodynamics when you're towing stuff.

[Maxeffort]

Originally Posted by bustert

well, i have opted for the diablosport prediator 2 platinum.
. was hoping for some hands on experience.

I have hands on with programmers....

[bustert]

it is purely aerodynamic. this is an odd ball truck for that year. i wanted a 1500hd but they quit that year. the truck sits lower and has a 8 foot fleet bed. most of it tucked into the 5th so the truck was about one with the trailer.
the TT rises above and has a lot of lower face drag because the truck is narrower than the trailer.
if there isn't much external forces, it will pull the TT in OD.
if i gear down, it will help and i expect to lose maybe 1 mpg but may actually gain if it will stay in OD. the over all ratio will go from around 2.73 to around 3.0. as it stands now, it would be 3.73 out of OD.
time will tell. all it needs is a little boost. main goal is to reduce tranny hunting, fuel burn will be what it be. thank goodness i opted for the 38 gallon tank.

[Tomcatt]

By the time you do all this and the amount your fuel costs are going to increase would a smaller 5th wheel be cheaper in the long run? Plus they're sure nicer to tow...

[bustert]

yep if you want to spend 40,000 dollars.
then again, most trucks have a short bed so a special hitch is needed and then it might not be in the right position a tad forward of the axle. the hitch i had, you could lay a 4x8 sheet of plywood and shut the gate and the wood was pretty much flat to the bed, less than 3/4" rise.
however, you make a valid point, with gasoline rising, 40,000 dollar will not buy much of it.
another issue is, you got to please the boss lady, she does take care of it. took awhile to find and buy a trailer because the storms put a high demand, i got top dollar for my old one and was fortunate to find a trailer in indianapolis, about 1000 miles up there to get it in the dead of winter.
sure, i could have just kept the old one, but she works hard for the money also so she does get a say, she's happy, you know the drill and spending 49 years with me, i got off CHEAP!!!

[bustert]

well, i installed a performance tune and the 5.3 did wake up, now to see if that is enough to stop the tranny hunting since it increased lower rpm torque. hooking up the trailer next week. there are several tunes so i will experiment to see if the 4.10 gears set is needed.
fuel mileage is to be what it is to be. i will have to hook up my scanner and monitor LTFT.

[Tomcatt]

Originally Posted by bustert

well, i installed a performance tune and the 5.3 did wake up, now to see if that is enough to stop the tranny hunting since it increased lower rpm torque. hooking up the trailer next week...

But does it cruise at smaller throttle openings?

The issue is having to run throttle openings large enough to trigger a part throttle downshift. Then in the lower gear you can reduce throttle opening and it upshifts again. It's a nasty loop and really hard on the transmission. One fix is if you can change when the transmission makes part throttle downshifts.

[bustert]

why would it??
more fuel = more air needed, computer still controls mixture. same thing, more rpm = more fuel needed.
the issue is loading, it pulls fine in OD unless there is external forces that exceed the torque needed at that speed. this is true with every engine and is corrected by you guessed it, more throttle.
i am NOT under powered by any means, i can nail that trailer to 100 mph if i wanted.
most people do not realize the limiting factor is the "ST" tires so i do not exceed that rating, so i run 60>65 mph. with the current setup, the over-all ratio is 2.73 but with 4.10, it will go to 3.0, not much but then again enough. all i am looking for is keeping the tranny in OD at speed, yes it will shift when needed, not a concern, not having to run the 3.73 ratio and 500 more rpm is.
i do plan on running a data log on the trip. i can adjust shift points but not needed at the stage, if i go 4.10, i will have to adjust.

[Tomcatt]

Originally Posted by bustert

yes it will shift when needed, not a concern, not having to run the 3.73 ratio and 500 more rpm is.

But towing the trailer you're running throttle openings the tranny programming thinks is a downshift request. It's like running along without the trailer and easing into the throttle to hold speed going up hill. Open the throttle enough and you get a downshift. If you can change the point where it decides to downshift, you can eliminate the hunting. I'd call the folks at TransGo and tell them what's going on.