I have an '07 Seneca 34SS on an 06 Kodiak chassis, Duramax/Allison all stock except for a 40 horse Predator tune. I haven't really driven the MH since the tune, but I have an '07 GMC/Monroe 4500 Topkick pickup with the same tune and wow, what a difference.
My question is about towing. I will be pulling close to a 6,000 pound enclosed car trailer but I don't have an EGT gauge. Should I be OK with just the 40 horse tune? Any input is greatly appreciated.
TIA
John
John
2007 Newmar Mountain Aire 4528, 450 ISM
2008 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ toad
1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C
1965 Shelby Cobra 289 Street Car
1969 Camaro 502/T56
2007 Honda GoldWing
2008 Shelby GT500 Convertible
Occasional toads in an enclosed trailer
k9eros wrote: I have an '07 Seneca 34SS on an 06 Kodiak chassis, Duramax/Allison all stock except for a 40 horse Predator tune. I haven't really driven the MH since the tune, but I have an '07 GMC/Monroe 4500 Topkick pickup with the same tune and wow, what a difference.
My question is about towing. I will be pulling close to a 6,000 pound enclosed car trailer but I don't have an EGT gauge. Should I be OK with just the 40 horse tune? Any input is greatly appreciated.
TIA
John
I tuned my 07 Seneca 35GS Duramax with a downloader from Pacific Performance Engineering, in speaking with the folks there I told them I didn't want anything that would hurt my engine but wanted fuel economy and no downshift out of OD in medium grade hills. He recommended the 'tow setting' giving a 90hp increase and assured me I had a longs way to go in upping the horsepower before I hurt the engine, he said the transmission is the week link and until I got over 150 hp increase a pyrometer wasn't necessary.. hope that helps.
I also purchased the EGR plate to keep exhaust gas from recirculating into my intake(cooler, cleaner air). It took about 10 minutes to install. The next trip out my MPH jump from 7 to 9 so I'm a believer
Do you run a EGT gauge on the 4500? If you do what temps are you seeing?
I'm sure you'll be fine but not knowing your actual EGT's under load could be hard on your turbo. Get the gauge, it will give you peace of mind knowing the actual temps.
I have a couple of Predator's that I use as scan gauges for my trucks but I haven't used their tunes yet. I was disappointed that the Predator I bought for my Seneca won't read the LLY injector balance rates off the new Bosch ECM GM uses now like my LB7 predator does.
I do know that the Duramax can handle high EGT's. My '02 2500 regularly sees 1800° on the EGT gauge during short bursts running a 120HP tune and nothing in the motor has come apart yet. However, I usually only see 1350° going up a grade weighing 19,000 lbs gross on that truck running an 80HP tune.
Concerning Pacific Performance Engineering and their programmers. The company makes a great product but I really hate their marketing practices. While all the other manufacturers give HP ratings at the rear wheels PPE insists on using HP ratings at the crankshaft. If you actually had a 90HP increase at the rear wheels on a C4500 or C5500 the Allison would go into limp mode on the first hill. The stock clutches can't handle that much of an increase.
I don't have an EGT guage on the 4500, plus I've never been close to the 26,000 GCW that the Seneca will be seeing. Additionally, the exhaust has been opened up a bit so the temps would probably be lower.
I wouldn't try more than the 40 horse tow tune. I've got 3 trips planned in less than 2 months, I guess I will try to get an EGT gauge installed after I get back from my trip next week.
Desert Diesel wrote: k9eros,
Do you run a EGT gauge on the 4500? If you do what temps are you seeing?
I'm sure you'll be fine but not knowing your actual EGT's under load could be hard on your turbo. Get the gauge, it will give you peace of mind knowing the actual temps.
Please report back after your trips to let us know how the 40 HP tune worked. I have almost the identical combination and I am interested in trying it.
The biggest thing I've towed so far was an enclosed trailer with a GoldWing in it, maybe 1900 pounds total. I haven't decided if I'm going to take a toad with me next week or not, if not I can give you an idea of the difference in power with the tune. If I do it will be a Wrangler Unlimited on a tow bar or a roll-back trailer with a GT500 on it, considerably heavier than I have towed so far so I won't have a good idea about the difference in power. I will let you know.
Craig, that's a nice looking install, almost looks OE.
az99 wrote: Please report back after your trips to let us know how the 40 HP tune worked. I have almost the identical combination and I am interested in trying it.
OK, I drove just over 1000 miles with no toad or trailer, and I can definitely say that the 40 horse tune was well worth the money. I would not have believed that just the base tow tune would make this much difference in a ~20,000 pound vehicle, but it did. Lots more power to accelerate onto the freeway, much more responsive all the way around. I was a bit worried that the engine would be pretty much maxxed out with a 6,000 pound trailer, but now I'm not worried about that.
My mileage has been slightly over 10 MPG, running the generator at least 12 hours a day. About half of this was pulling some pretty heavy hills going into the mountains. I am still worried about EGT's pulling the trailer, but I will do a pyrometer before I tow.
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