lkuykendall

I need advice on what turbo I should be running with the following setup on a pickup that is used exclusively for towing (Gross weights range from 12K – 35K):

2001.5 6spd HO
F1 Mach 1.5 Injectors
Edge EZ or Quadzilla XZT+ (So far the Edge EZ is running cooler than the XZT+.)
HTBG 14 cm Turbo
Straight Piped (4" downpipe to factory exhaust pipe)
BHAF

I did something you should never do during my last upgrade; I changed two things at once! I upgraded from RV275’s to Mach 1.5’s and installed the HTBG turbo (14 cm exhaust) with 4” down pipe. Ever since I have had to watch my EGT’s (1100 – 1150 pre-turbo is my limit) while pulling any kind of hill, I have a lot more smoke and my fuel mileage has dropped. Prior to the upgrade I never downshifted but now it is not uncommon to run in 5th gear on hills just to keep the boost up enough to control EGT’s (that or run 75 mph which is not always the safest choice when pulling heavy.)

Based on other comments, the 1.5’s shouldn’t raise my EGT’s a considerable amount over the RV275’s so that leads me to believe that I have the wrong turbo for my application. I talked to High Tech Turbo and they are now telling me I need the 62/12 or 62/13 (stainless) for my setup but I really don’t think spending another $1500 - $1800 dollars is the only solution.

With my setup and application, should I go back to the stock HX35 or is there a better option without spending $1800? I have considered the Piers HX35 but have no first hand knowledge of how this would work for me compared to the stock turbo or the HTBG.

My original setup was RV 275’s, EZ and the stock HX35 and I am thinking very seriously about going back to this because it seems to have provided me with the most USEABLE power for towing without EGT problems plus the fuel mileage was better.

Len

lkuykendall

Sorry, this should be in the 24 valve forum.

Beast2B

can the exhaust section on your turbo be changed to a 12mm? seems like HT should be able to switch it, maybe cut you a deal if you recently bought the turbo from them...
also, i think 1100-1150 is too conservative for towing. i run 1200-1250 for 8-10 minutes at a time with 18k GCW at 6000+ elevation. I PERSONALLY think 1250 is fine, and I have used that as a guide for 4 years with my B1-2 and Mach3 sticks

Shortshift

Thats because it is an excellent towing combo. If you have a good AFE or Nanofilter aircleaner to help it breathe, a 4in exhaust (which I see you have one of the best), and a good fuel supply to the VP, you can pull anything.

Its balanced out and not running the engine at 100% duty cycle. I mean, how fast do people need to go while they are at 18k lbs anyways.

My truck ran great with 275s. They are a great injector, especially for HALF the money!

Cant help with the turbo choice since I wont part with the stock HX35-12. Too many mixed reports with anything else.

dieselman2300

Cummins says you can run at 1250* all day without hurting the engine.
If you dont believe me do some research.

HOHN

Cummins actually says you can run 1300 all day.

For towing, you want a turbo near the very small end of the HP range you are running to optimize spoolup.

Honestly, I wouldn't expect an HTBG/14 to be slow enough to cause towing problems-- that's still considered a fairly small turbo.

I'd keep what you have and get comfortable with the occasional downshift. With the 6-speed, you should be able to find a gear that does what you wish.

jmo

dieselman2300

Thaks HOHN, I always read 1250*. I know you do your research so I am going with you.
You can control egts alot easier with the manual. Just ride with it.

qzilla

Just FYI, I think he got it figured out. He just never updated this thread!!
Here is a piece of another post he made the other day.
The thread is located here if you care to read all of it:
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=167144

HOHN

I feel like there should be some kind of disclaimer here

I've read a lot on this forum and TDR for quite awhile, but that doesn't mean I know it all...

JH

lkuykendall

Sorry for not posting a following up sooner. Quad is correct, I found a problem with my wastegate actuator rod. This has been resolved and the EGT's and boost are back where they should be.

I will be leaving next week on a 600 mile trip grossing about 20,000 lbs. I can't wait to see how everything runs after resolving this problem!

Thanks for all the feedback, it is much appreciated.

Len

Ron R

I was also going to say something about the wastegate actuator, I had the same problem on my 02. And when I added the 35/40 with my 3.54 gears and 285 tires, spool up was slow and at to high of an rpm to tow with. So I went back to my stock 35 and everything is fun again!!!
All I got is a superchip and some jammer 2's, Big Kustom k&n and a 4inch pipe kit.

Shortshift

That seems to be a common thing. The 285 tires with 3.54 gears is not optimum for spoolup especially for towing. Thats probably the reason right there why Ill hang on to the stock turbo. Maybe w/ smaller tires and 4.10 gears a higher rpm lighting turbo would be great. its probably a big reason for all the mixed reports on aftermarket turbos.

lkuykendell - Glad you found a problem - good luck on the trip!

HOHN

I think it's more in the combination. The tight hotside of a regular 35 is already about as fast as you can physically make that turbo spool. Then you put a bigger compressor on it and you get get less spool (rotational inertia) and still no more flow through the tiny hotside.

I'm planning on running 35" tires with my 3.54 gears, so I need to think through how that's going to affect everything.

First blush would have us thinking that tall tires with tall gearing needs a smaller turbo and maximum spoolup.

Well, you DO want to have enough spoolup, but think about this:

The turbo's spoolup is a function of engine load. There's a reason that you can't spool the turbo in granny low creeper. There's not enough load on the engine. Each time you (or the trans, depending who's in charge) upshift, the load on the engine increases, and the spoolup gets faster.

So, all that to say that the higher the load is proportionally on your engine, the bigger a turbo it can spool and make use of. So a 3.54 geared truck can use a SLIGHTLY larger turbo than a 4.10 geared truck, all else being equal. The flip side to that is that the 3.54 geared truck will probably be operating a little lower RPM range, so it needs the earlier spoolup that it has-- hence, you don't really gain anything.

But if you are willing wind up the RPM a little higher like the 4.10 geared truck would, you can use a little larger turbo and reduce your EGTs towing that load.


JMO

Shortshift

Agreed - and usually towing pulling a heavy grade Ill run it at around 22-2500 r's to keep the airflow up. But wont hardly ever take it past 2500, would rather slow down and grab the next lower gear, mellow out and take it easy. I dont care to run the engine or drivetrain that hard.

But as your eluding to, it does come down to driving style. Some people are willing to drive more aggressively and keeping their r's up higher and putting more load on the engine to spin the heavier compressor. But we do have to remember, it is only a 5.9 and it does have a duty cycle along with the drivetrain. The stress loads we put on them is a major factor in how long they will drive like they're still fresh, or like an ol worn out truck. I just like to take it easier on the equipment. Some like running the ** out of theirs and thats fine too. Most are probably somewhere in the middle.

Its all driving style and matching the combination to work with it. But for alot of heavy towing or big tires, I would prefer the 4.10 gears to use the mechanical advantage in your favor. Since i dont tow often enough or have that big of tires I prefer 3.54's.

HOHN

I agree. I think it makes a lot more sense to use the 4.10s for towing a lot or bigg tires-- certainly if you are doing both!

The only reason I'm even considering the 315s with 3.54s is because I never tow. If I do, it will certainly be light. If it isn't I have tall enough gearing that I can run 5th gear the whole time and slow down. 5th gear with 3.54s and 35" tires is probably the same (or close) to 6th gear with stock 265s and 4.10s.

I'm not sure if running higher RPM is more load or less load. Cummins seems to have no qualms with this engine turning 2700rpm all day. If I had a really heavy load, I'd rather run 5th gear and high RPM (2500 or so) than 6th and lower rpm (2k maybe). Easier on the trans, but also there's less load on the engine because of the gear reduction.

Some guys really thrash their trucks, but I'm with you and tend to be pretty easy on it. This is how I got my stock clutch to last almost 2 years with an EZ and DD2s and then another 10 months with a Smarty and M4s!

Based on some of the pics I see of rigs towing come setups, I'd be scared to buy a used CTD. Some guys seem to think these things are unbreakable and limitless, and load them accordingly.

Any results yet on the M1s?