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Towing Turbo

14K views 23 replies 6 participants last post by  MeTo 
#1 ·
So I've done some pretty extensive upgrades to my truck and now my turbo seems to be the weak link. i have rosewood 160/80 injectors, tymar intake, 3in dp, 6.0 intercooler, T500 HPOP, 1.00 AR exhaust housing, billet wheel, and a dyno proven 6 position chip. the turbo doesn't really seem to lite until around 2000 rpm and it hardly cleans up the smoke even on my lowest tune. My question is what turbo will give me the best low end (1600-2500 rpm) power for towing? I've looked at some S366 and they are what I'm leaning towards but you all know a lot more than me. Thanks for your help
 
#2 ·
I can't speak to the turbo option. How do you like the 1.0 housing and billet wheel? I'm looking at those options also. Could you describe the differences you experienced? I'm leaning towards the WW2.
 
#3 ·
KC OBS turbo with a 1.0 housing for me.
 
#4 ·
Honestly I really messed up with the housing and the WW2. I'm sure they are great upgrades and i got them with the intentions of running them with stock sticks until I got my new engine built, unfortunately A spun rod bearing sped up my plans and i never ran them with stock injectors. With my sticks though I can say it doesn't flow nearly enough air. Yes I do realize this is an obvious statement and that is why I'm upgrading. The wheel would be what i would go for first on stock injectors though. I spools fast and I can make 24psi before it gets too restricted.
 
#5 ·
How much smoke are you getting? What tunes are you using? They have a major impact on smoke. I would recommend trying some different brand tunes. Tunes have "personalities" and you need to find a brand that meshes with your driving characteristics.

FOR ME, the third time was a charm. I have a ZF5, so shifting is a mute issue.
1. TS6 with generic tunes; little smoke, but overall just week.
2. Swamp tunes; good power, 1/1.5 more mpg if careful and lots of smoke under ~2300 rpm.
3. Gearhead tunes; more low end power, significantly less smoke and ~2 mpg gain if careful?

I seriously considered PHP tunes, very good power, little smoke but a sensitive throttle.

My truck spends all most all of it's time pulling our boondock camper. So tunes that are better suited for towing, mileage and altitude work best. Towing up mountains at 45 mph (stuck behind a guy trying to pull a behemoth) above 6000 ft will put tunes to the test.

Just my 2 cents.
 
#6 ·
I found PHP tow tunes to be the best great power no smoke and for me having an auto tranny it locks the TC going down hill.
 
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#7 ·
What about Tony Wildman tunes? I've never heard a bad thing about them? The dyne proven tunes seem to just be all smoke and little power. I'm mostly looking for mpg gains and light (10k) towing ability.
 
#8 ·
I run TW Extreme tune as my daily driver I love the shift points, and very little smoke. I think his tow tunes are just too hot.

I too tow 10k 5th wheel, I have not meet a 7.3 that can tow under 2100 rpms it's just not how the 7.3 was built.

At 60mph with OD off I am at 2400rpms and my egt gauge loves it.

Hope that helps.

Happy 4th!
 
#13 ·
This is good info. My toy hauler weighs about 10k when it's loaded and if I don't keep the RPM up, the egts ride the line. I recently installed Gear Vendor and run 3rd Over and have been pulling so much better. At 69 mph my rpms are around 2300-2400 and runs awesome. EGTs are in the 900 range instead of 1050-1150 running in OD.
 
#9 ·
i have tony's tunes and love them towing heavy running empty. they're great for me. i have 160/100s, D66 with a 1.0 housing and ww2, e fuel, t500, 7.3 cooler, etc. i can keep the EGTs down, 900ish, towing 15000 lbs, but i live in the flatlands
 
#10 ·
Terry you are not playing fair with your flatland towing.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Exactly. When towing heavy and through inclines n such, rpms need to be up in the 22-2300rpm range. This is when the turbo will light up best, run efficient, and keep air flow going strong.

Remember these engines were put in the medium duty IH trucks that topped out at 65 mph WOT, lol and was nothing to get 500k miles out of them.

On flat land I used to tow regularly 28k loads of dirt (gross 36k) and be able to keep EGT'S under 1200, but obviously I was not driving 60mph though. There were a few white knuckle moments. :eek:
 
#15 ·
they don't make an aluminum 6.0 cooler (factory, don't know aftermarket) the 7.3 cooler is only slightly smaller than the 6.0
 
#16 ·
Hmm, I was talking to a guy who owns a salvage yard hear and gets all the superdutys he can get his hands on. He told me the all aluminum 6.0 IC will take more pressure than the plastic end units if I would be going to higher boost pressures?

If I'm going to shoehorn an IC in mine, I want to make sure it's the most effective unit I can find. Could you recommend which IC I should be searching for then? Thanks
 
#17 ·
yes there is a better chances of cracking a plastic cap on a cooler than the all aluminum version, neither is a high probability. installing an IC will lower your boost, since you need to fill all that space with compressed air. and there were no 6.0 all aluminum coolers only early 7.3 super duties had them
 
#19 ·
So I ended up with the s366SXE turbo from irate diesel and all I call say is WOW... It used to be in Eco mode on my chip every shift the start was smoky and took forever to lite off. Not the case anymore, the guy riding with me on the first drive bought s*** his pants. No smoke and lines right around 2000 rpm, it is crazy fast now. Super happy with my purchase and dealing with the guys at Irate. One downside though is that the bellowed up-pipes that come with their T4 kit make it so there is no way a 3in downpipes fits without cutting the firewall. I had a 3in in before and it barely fit now there was no way, I ended up just getting a body lift and hope that gets me plenty of clearance.
 
#20 ·
No need to spend that kind of money... Just get the KC OBS turbo and be done.
 
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#24 ·
I'm thinking the KC turbo might be the best option for me also? I'm going to pm Charlie and check if he has time to discuss it?

Could I get some details on how your turbo upgrade went and how it's performing, maybe pm me?
 
#21 ·
BR'sCrewCab, that is a nice looking truck.

Mine is a tan standard cab from New Mexico; low miles and zero rust. I'm undercoating it now with POR-15.
 
#23 ·
Thanks! It has been a very fun project. I am getting ready to swap out beds as mine is rusting over the wheel well.
 
#22 ·
I really did think about a KC turbo or a Beans D66, I felt like it was money well spent though, I knocked out leaky up-pipes, got intercooler piping to install my intercooler, and i got a great turbo. It is running great and i love being about to step up to a bigger turbo super easy if i want and the fact that i can now run a ton of different turbos.
 
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