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Yeah I called over to Young's Gear and they wanted 2900, Alaska Transmission and Gear quoted around 2400 for the 4.56. I was surprised with the 89 tow tune I could hold 55-60 in OD on the flats, didn't think I could do that. Going out again this weekend going to drop it to the 87 tow tune and see how it does. I can't image the tune is adding that much power, more shift strategy / torque management.
Eventually I want this thing to just see tow duties and bad snow days. But for now it's a daily driver so I really don't want to re-gear since I see a lot of highway driving right now.
Do you have either the 87 or 89 Performance tunes? I have found My performance tunes work MUCH better for my towing chores than the Tow tunes do. For me the Tow tunes had the trans dropping out of OD way too early on grades, with the 87 Performance tune I can climb pretty decent grades and hold onto OD up to about 54 to 56% throttle opening under high load. with the 89 Performance tune I found that it will hold onto OD up to 65% throttle opening in similar conditions. Back in March I pulled (11k TT) from Charlotte NC back home near Philly up I-77 & I-81 through the Blue Ridge Mountains and was staying in OD at 72/73 MPH at 2300-2500 RPMs, good stuff. That trip was 560-ish miles with an average moving speed of 60.1 MPH and we got 8.2 MPG.
Great thread thanks for posting! I tow an 11,000 pound tt and have been beefing up for towing. Huge difference with the mods. I started with new springs which made a massive difference. Added air bags which helped, in the middle of new shocks on the rear but someone previously broke the upper nut/bolt so waiting on a replacement from the dealership this week. Nice to hear about the tuner i have had my eye on it but didn't realize it would make such a big difference. The wife is into whatever helps with towing which is great for me. Next are e rated tires, and I agree the re-gears will really help.
Do you have either the 87 or 89 Performance tunes? I have found My performance tunes work MUCH better for my towing chores than the Tow tunes do. For me the Tow tunes had the trans dropping out of OD way too early on grades, with the 87 Performance tune I can climb pretty decent grades and hold onto OD up to about 54 to 46% throttle opening under high load. with the 89 Performance tune I found that it will hold onto OD up to 65% throttle opening in similar conditions. Back in March I pulled (11k TT) from Charlotte NC back home near Philly up I-77 & I-81 through the Blue Ridge Mountains and was staying in OD at 72/73 MPH at 2300-2500 RPMs, good stuff. That trip was 560-ish miles with an average moving speed of 60.1 MPH and we got 8.2 MPG.
For me My 89 tow tune works great! I don`t have an issue with the trans dropping out of O/D too early. I`ve never tried the perf. tune towing because I`ve never felt the need.
For me My 89 tow tune works great! I don`t have an issue with the trans dropping out of O/D too early. I`ve never tried the perf. tune towing because I`ve never felt the need.
Oh, the Tow tunes did fine actually, I just have found that I like the Perf tunes better, I think the trans strategy is even better in the Perf ones than it is in the Tow tunes is all. On trips with a lot of rolling hills I've seen slightly better MPGs with the Perf tunes due to it staying in OD more.
If you have the Perf tunes you should give it a try sometime, for my driving style it's a better match, I'd be interested in your observations.
I have the 87 Performance tune, 87 Tow Tune and 89 Tow tune. Up here it seems like your either driving on flat-ish grounds or your pulling a hill so not much in ways of hills. Trying one more trip this weekend we will see how it goes. It's been dropping down to the high 30's in some parts of the state.