My Tranny Cooler Setup

[SASQCH]

John - I just got back to Anchorage on the 11th from a trip to Montana pulling about 9K and never saw transmission temps above 135 in lockup. But then again the outside air temps were generally below 60 and down as low as 15 in the night time hours. The powered coolers are great.

[JOHNFAK]

John - I just got back to Anchorage on the 11th from a trip to Montana pulling about 9K and never saw transmission temps above 135 in lockup. But then again the outside air temps were generally below 60 and down as low as 15 in the night time hours. The powered coolers are great.

whaaa !! what mileage did you get ??? 9k fifth wheel/trailer (wind resistance) or flat trailer ?? Trying to work out if I can ever get better than 11-13mpg towing 10k 5th wheel. yes - thx for the info on the setup - made it easy :P

[SASQCH]

whaaa !! what mileage did you get ??? 9k fifth wheel/trailer (wind resistance) or flat trailer ?? Trying to work out if I can ever get better than 11-13mpg towing 10k 5th wheel. yes - thx for the info on the setup - made it easy :P

Haven't hand calculated my mileage yet. The trailer is a 16' enclosed horse trailer 6.5' tall inside with a Vee front on a class IV hitch, not a fifth wheel or gooseneck. Scan gauge II told me my averages were around 13.4 going down. coming back I had less load (only had a partial back haul this trip) I'm guessing around 3500 to 4000 lbs including the trailer. I have a smarty and reprogrammed the ECM for the trip back with the economy + boost + timing program (#3) and set the timing advance to aggressive. The Scan gauge was then reporting 14.5 mpg. I kept my speed between 55 and 60 MPH. Total mileage was around 7500. When I'm pulling my living quarters gooseneck horse trailer (17000 K loaded) I get between 12 and 12.5 mpg. I would guess that your fifth wheel is quite high above the truck and has a lot of frontal area for wind resistance causing less mpg. What speeds are you driving? My guess is your best mileage will be right around 55MPH.

[JOHNFAK]

Yeah I am 10000lbs and only getting 11-13. Running on Level 2 edge. Was wandering if I upgraded my turbo enough could I run on levels 3,4 etc ?? I only seem to be maxxing out my EGT's, tranny seems good at low temps .... just don't know abouth torque pulling like that. Would love to get a consistent 14-16 ........ thats what the 3rd gens seem to get on that weight. Yeah am towing around 60 generally and up to 70. Hard to keep at 55 over long distances but might need to try. I also like to accelerate into the hard hills.

[ISX]

Yeah I am 10000lbs and only getting 11-13. Running on Level 2 edge. Was wandering if I upgraded my turbo enough could I run on levels 3,4 etc ?? I only seem to be maxxing out my EGT's, tranny seems good at low temps .... just don't know abouth torque pulling like that. Would love to get a consistent 14-16 ........ thats what the 3rd gens seem to get on that weight. Yeah am towing around 60 generally and up to 70. Hard to keep at 55 over long distances but might need to try. I also like to accelerate into the hard hills.

Mike says he gets the best mileage with everything maxed out (5x5). I know you didn't want to do that because it is hard on the trans but your right foot is really the factor in that. The timing and everything is more aggressive on level 5(which makes the engine more efficient) so that would be the setting you should be on for mileage. If you do 60mph up a hill, the transmission is going to need the same power input no matter what, if it takes 100hp to go up the hill then the trans needs 100hp. The levels make the engine *capable* of having more power but that doesn't mean you will use it, it will still only take 100hp. So you lay back on the pedal a little more on level 5. If you are on level 5 or level 2 and are determined to hold 60mph, the trans will see the same power either way, the engine will produce it differently but the trans won't care. So I say you stick it on level 5 but drive it the same "seat of pants" feeling that level 2 produced. Do not try and take advantage of level 5 and do 80mph up a hill, if it couldn't do it on level 2, then let off so you save your trans. You should also drive smoothly since the power will come on more aggressively. You can control everything with your right foot. You saw how my fuel plate and AFC was in my door panel.. my foot can do the same thing. I let off when the EGT gets too high and I don't floor it from a stop because I know it will smoke. I have driven it for months like that without ever puffing a cloud because I know its characteristics. You can do the same thing on level 5, just use your right foot and be smooth with it but also be smart with it by not trying to get more out of the engine than you know the trans can take.

[JOHNFAK]

yeah thats kinda along the lines of what I am thinking. But then you have to ask why edge say only tow in level 2 - no higher.

Wondering if its to do with torque management etc ........ I haev a slightly built trans - so if I baby it - should be fine ........ but wanna check around first - see if any guys are actually doing it.

--- Update to the previous post...

Spoke with edge.

They said as long as I keep my EGT;s down - and don't try and rip through the power towing - should be ok - its mainly controlling the fuel/EGTs.

So might need to look for a bigger turbo - guessing thats the best way to get my EGT's down without going to methanol/water injection stuff.

[ISX]

Just as I figured, they say to stay on 2 as a safety precaution. Otherwise people would put it on 5 and try to do 90mph up the hills and wonder why everything started melting. You got limits on that thing anyways so your pretty well bulletproof. It defuels when it hits the limits I assume. What are your EGT's anyways?

[JOHNFAK]

What are your EGT's anyways?

EGTS generally around 750-950 with 7-12 PSI boost. Start going up a small grade in OD - and quickly jump to 24PSI and 1050 EGT. Big HIlls - I drop out of OD and increase the throttle to around 27-29PSI and get around 950 EGT. Most nervous bit was climbing big hill with trucks doing around 30mph ...... my EGT's were consistently 1100 until I dropped a gear and then boost increased to 30PSI and egts were around 950. Other time was 2 ours of up/down climbing of medium grades where EGTS were consistently 1100 for 2 hours - that was a bid scary :P

[ISX]

I wouldn't worry about anything under 1050-1100. The fact that you see 1100 for 2 hours is a little bit weary though. I would try changing to level 5 first. It changes the timing and might drop them a little worth a shot anyways. Just play with all the levels and see what happens.

[JOHNFAK]

yeah good pointspoke with jacob and he reckons turbo not going to help me reduce EGT;s that muchso not sure what else would be work - methanol/water injection i guess - eek

[SASQCH]

ISX is right on the money with his advice. John do you have an HY35 turbo on your truck? If so if you found a good HX35 and put a 14cm2 exhaust housing on it it would reduce your temps a bit and you could put a boost elbow on it to get up to 35+ psi. However with what you are saying your egts currently are, you are just fine. the turbo will take temps under 1230 with stride for a good period of time. It's when it goes over 1230 for more than 30 seconds at a time you will start having issues. To get the best mileage, if you are in hilly country accelerate slightly going down the hills and up the start of the next one then allow the excess speed to slowly bead off going up the hill. Your steady foot will give better mileage than the cruse control. In towns keep it rolling when possible when coming to a stop light. Watch how the truckers drive they know how to optimize fuel economy. Jim

[JOHNFAK]

Yeah - spoke with caj ............ he had some good info.Thinking where I am at is probably about right. Might just need to slow down a little on the big hills. I had heard that the 3rd gens get 16-18 MPG towing ........ but after speaking with caj wondering if this is true ........ that was main reason wondering why couldn't get the same mpg towing with a 2nd gen with appropriate mods. EGT's were a concern - but seems everyone comfortable with around 1100. Might be better off putting that $$ aside when/if my tranny goes.