Whats for me ? Towing advice

[Risky]

Mongocanfly- what headers are you using ?

[D13]

Towed math things over the years on 18' flat bed with a 4.3 V6 and a 700R4, 3.08 gears. There are 3 keys to towing - cooling, braking, and weight distribution. Balance the trailer with a little bias on the hitch, keep the radiator clean and the fan operable, and make sure the truck and trailer have good working brakes.

[Risky]

That's interesting cause I always have read that a 700r4 is garbage for towing. Not that I know that for a fact. I don't know much about automatic tranmissions. My camaro is a 6 speed car. Do the truck needs to be a automatic. I want to save my clutch leg for the car/track.

Who makes the best tranmission cooler on the market ?

[Edahall]

Originally Posted by Risky

That's interesting cause I always have read that a 700r4 is garbage for towing. Not that I know that for a fact. I don't know much about automatic tranmissions. My camaro is a 6 speed car. Do the truck needs to be a automatic. I want to save my clutch leg for the car/track.

Who makes the best tranmission cooler on the market ?

Just go with the largest cooler you can find. The 700R4 is fine for towing as long as you keep it out of overdrive. It's very weak in that gear. Otherwise install a 4L80e which can handle power in OD. However, I prefer manual over auto for towing. Both the SM465 or NV4500 are very robust.

I've towed with short beds but they have a tendency to sway. That can be corrected with either a Tow-Rite or Hensley hitch but both are expensive.

When towing low rpm torque matters more than high peak horsepower. You generally want more cubic inches and there is hardly any penalty in fuel economy when towing with a larger engine. Often, they will get better fuel economy towing than with an undersized engine.

[Risky]

Yes I'm a stick guy at heart but clutching the truck then unloading my car and clutching it down the track is too much for me.
Since some of you guys are towing cars with V6 engines I'll think I will feel confident with a strong V8. Also I bet if the 3.08 gears was replaced with a 3.73 gear it would've help tremendously.

[wilkin250r]

There's always a give-and-take with everything. If I happened across a good deal on a truck, body and interior in perfect shape, but it had a smaller engine than I wanted, I would probably just throw some lower gearing in it and deal with the speed handicap. Is that extra 8mph really worth the $6k for a complete LS swap?

Likewise, although good brakes are extremely important, upgrading the trailer brakes might be easier/cheaper than upgrading the brakes on the truck. I know the example is absurd, but if I were forced into a choice, I would take smaller brakes on the truck and good trailer brakes over good brakes on the truck and no trailer brakes.

My point is: There are a lot of factors in towing, and many times a deficiency in one area can often be overcome by improvements in another. I wouldn't pass up a good deal on a nice truck simply because it doesn't meet every single criteria on your check list.

[mongocanfly]

risky...my headers are maximixers...with a lot of modifications. ..

6k for LS swap?? I've less than half that in mine...

[Risky]

Thanks for telling me which headers you using. Your truck sounds like a beast!!

Wilkin- I'm new to this website and no disrespect to you guys over here but y'all guys are getting robbed and raped paying 6 grand for a LS swap. A common 5.3 here cost average of 350-500 depending on mileage of the motor. A quick fresh up is affordable as well. Replace the timing chain for 42 dollars and the lifters for 99 dollars. Ls3 valvesprings are great for stock type rebuilds. They cost roughly 70 dollars. A truinion kit for the rocker arms is 115 dollars. Motor mounts are roughly are a 100 bucks or so for a square body. Radiator is 170 dollars from jegs... Maybe cheaper if you could use a junkyard radiator from a newer truck if they'll fit. I'm not sure about that part. A tune will cost you 250 basic mods etc... and 500 for nitrous, turbo,etc.

Where is you guys getting 6k from? Only way I can see that if you guys are ordering a complete BRAND NEW engine from GM.

[mongocanfly]

risky...i like those headers and theyre very good quality..just not made for a LS squarebody..hence the mods...ive got another set for my ls3 swap into my AD...

I'm not trying to take sides but I've seen the costs from different parts of the US..the farther north and west of us the higher the cost...throw in the fact that a lot of these swaps are done by a shop and not the owner and its not hard to hit those higher numbers...
when I did mine I hadn't found this sight and the swap info I had was word of mouth..I could have saved some money on mine if I had known more about the swap...but I weighed the options of upgrading the sb or doing the LS swap..came out about the same cost...plus better mpgs and no carb with the LS and it was a nobrainer....

[Risky]

Wow!! I didn't know LS motors bring big money in the northern states. I learn something new daily.
I now see you is in the state right beside me.
I respect the small block chevy and heard that 383ci motors make great towing motors however I'm not quite sure from a reliability stand point on the small block chevy vs the LS engine family.

[DieselSJ]

As for the LS vs traditional SBC debate, either will do fine for what you want. SBC tends to make more torque lower in the powerband, while the LS will need to be spun higher to get the same power. LS you do get the advantage of a fully computer controlled engine and trans, while SBC gives you simplicity.

[Risky]

Originally Posted by DieselSJ

As for the LS vs traditional SBC debate, either will do fine for what you want. SBC tends to make more torque lower in the powerband, while the LS will need to be spun higher to get the same power. LS you do get the advantage of a fully computer controlled engine and trans, while SBC gives you simplicity.

I love simplicity period however do you think a traditional small block can be as dependable of a LS motor ?

[mongocanfly]

traditional small blocks have been around forever it seems...however I've put many more trouble free miles on my LS engines than I ever did with a smallblock...
my first LS was in my 99 z71...I had 285000 miles on it when I sold it...only thing ever touched on the engine was a waterpump...still had the factory installed sparkplugs in it when I sold it..never touched the trans either...except for filters and fluid change....like I said...trouble free
the lq9 in my c30 had 107k on it when I installed it..added about 12k to that...still runs strong..

[Risky]

That's a solid response right there. Thanks

[Risky]

Is it a thread that's dedicated to seeing 3/4 ton trucks?

If so can someone please provide a link. Thanks