My truck runs 65 at 2300 I need one bad, how many rpms did it drop?

 

Real close to 500 rpms is the drop. Well worth it in the long run.

 

I was under the impression that the GV units will fail when being used in conjunction with a Exhaust Brake?

Something about the gears getting worn out extremely fast...

Maybe they fixed it and if thats the case that is awesome and I want one!

 

The Gear Vendors unit is an upgrade on the old Laycock electric overdrive unit that was used on British sedans and sports cars (Austin Healey, Triumph, MG, etc.) and uses a cone clutch that's hydraulically actuated. This clutch isn't efficient at transmitting torque in the reverse direction (from the rear wheels to the engine); thus, the requirement that the Gear Vendors unit be disengaged when the exhaust brake is in operation.

The US Gear unit is an upgrade of the old Doug Nash overdrive which was adapted from the Ford T&C top-loader 4 speed. It has no restrictions on exhaust brake usage and would be my preferred choice to mount behind a manual transmission.

JM2CW.....

Rusty

 

Thanks for clearing that up. Very interesting! So by "disengage" I am assuming you mean just turning the O/D off on the GV unit. Does it not use the same cone clutch setup in the direct drive setup as it does in O/D?

 

The cone clutch engages a planetary gearset which provides the overdrive. When the clutch is disengaged, the Gear Vendors unit transmits torque "straight through" (1:1 or direct drive), so the clutch doesn't come into play.

Rusty

 

On the gear vendors unit, it will not work in 4x4 or with a jake brake. They both come with instructions on how to TAP into the wire. On my 273 t-case, they will give you the wire to hook into and that plugs into the brain box on the gear vendors overdrive. Same with the Jake brake, plug into the purple wire on the solenoid side and if the Jake turns on, or you turn on the four wheel drive, the GV unit will turn off to avoid damaging it. They dont make a us gear unit for my truck so I went with the GV. I just make sure I dont use OD while jaking or in 4x4. Not to many times I need 4 wheel drive and OD at the same time. The jake is the hard part as I feel I might forget to turn off.

 

Now that you have had it on awhile do you still like it? Are you still tracking mpg? I would really like to get one sometime soon so any data is helpfull.

 

Nelrod...
That is BS about the oil frequency,,, I had one in a 99 Ford, gear vendor had 230K miles and was perfect with 20K oil changes. I will have one on this truck as soon as I can afford one. I could easily be a sales person for them, it just worked flawlessly and paid for itself at least twice in mileage gain. Less noise,less wear, better mileage, the ability to split gears if needed for towing...and will hold up to I think 800+ HP. Yeah it is strong.

 

My mileage is around 16 mpg. The reason is that now I drive at 75 mph with cruise on. If I keep it at 70, around 18, and 65 it is 21mpg. A buddy drove it and is putting one on his 04.5. So far so good.

 

My GearVendors UD/OD is being installed even as I type. I'll have a 1.1K mile trip starting tomorrow to test it out & gauge the performance. I'll chime back in this thread with impression upon return.

 

Good...I am very interested to know how it does.

 

I'm impressed & very pleased thus far. A BIG improvement in MPG unloaded at highway speeds, as one would expect. I did a 1.1K round trip through some decent climbs/descents, average moving speed ~ 60-65MPH and clocked 21.5MPG on the comp. I am sure it would do even better on more level roads.
OD dis/engagement is easy - just click the switch, no clutch necessary though I prefer to.. super quiet on the engagement and tones down the "clunk" on disengage/down-shift. Pretty slick... now that I'm back I'll even have time to read the manual!
I'll have to do some running averages with and without so I can do an ROI on fuel costs... reduced engine wear would also be a positive factor but difficult to account for. Just hearing the engine humming along in it's more ideal RPM range (as opposed to straining @ the upper limits) is comforting as well (not to mention, quieter).

 

what are the advantages/disadvantages of Gear Vendors vs. US Gear? I know that w/ the GV you cannot be in 4x4 but in US Gear you can, but what are some of the other pros/cons?

 

Anyone put one of these behind an automatic?