Need help for a tow rig

[kendogg]

Hi everybody. Seems most people here are after high HP, but I'm looking for some advice for a tow rig. My truck is a '97 C2500, extended cab long bed, with a 4.10 FF rear and a 4l80e. Currently has the worthless Vortec 350, but I'm looking to 'upgrade'

I'm acquiring an LQ4, and am curious about a basic build, vs going with an 8100 instead. How would an appropriate cam effect the low-end torque? By the factory graphs, an 8100 makes ~400 ft./lbs right off idle and has a very flat torque curve. Could that be at least somewhat matched with the right cam selection? Would bumping the CR by either shaving the heads, swapping the heads, or doing different pistons help, or would it possibly create too much heat? Of course, this will be custom tuned. Whats LS1truck think?? Or should I just stick to a tune-only 8100?

FWIW, this truck mostly hauls crap in the bed, and towes racecars or other trailers. Average towing load is ~7-8k or so, max would probably be 10-12k lbs. The vortec 350 is fine once up to speed, but getting off the line, even with the 4.10, just sucks. I had an '01 K1500 extended cab ona steel trailer once, and I was floored trying to get up to speed hitting an on ramp on a slight grade, and she struggled HARD, and temps started to rise.... I don't wanna have that problem again. I really wish 1st in the 4l80e was shorter, a 6l90e swap someday would fix all of these problems Thanks for your time.

[kerrige]

I think the LQ4 will work out awesome for you. Towing will go best if you stick with a very mild cam. The 212/218 LSA112 has proven to work great. I wouldn't get too crazy with too much compression, but milling the heads or swapping to flattop pistons would help bump the compression without getting issues with heat or detonation when towing heavy in the summer. The 4L80e is your best bet. It is a very stout trans and while the 1st gear does suck the cost of a 6L90e into an older truck is insane. The value just isn't there. Temps can be kept just fine with a factory setup. A nice towing trans from circle d or yank would work out real nice. 8.1L trucks just don't do that great IMO.

[blacstar]

you want a tow rig? find a 2wd 2005-2007 d-max. its more efficient. better brakes, suspension, steering, torque, mpg, the list goes on.
or cummins diesel

[kendogg]

I think the LQ4 will work out awesome for you. Towing will go best if you stick with a very mild cam. The 212/218 LSA112 has proven to work great. I wouldn't get too crazy with too much compression, but milling the heads or swapping to flattop pistons would help bump the compression without getting issues with heat or detonation when towing heavy in the summer. The 4L80e is your best bet. It is a very stout trans and while the 1st gear does suck the cost of a 6L90e into an older truck is insane. The value just isn't there. Temps can be kept just fine with a factory setup. A nice towing trans from circle d or yank would work out real nice. 8.1L trucks just don't do that great IMO.

Thanks. I sent an email to Comp Cams and they recommended a custom ground 208/210 cam with .554/.555 lift for my application. What do you think as compared to the can you're recommending?? IDK about the 6l90e being cost prohibitive, I seem to be seeing them used all over car-part.com for ~$1500. The expensive part will probably be tearing the motor apart to convert to a 58x PCM to interface with the trans module though. I'm thinking manual swap would be a better idea overall truthfully. At least with a manual swap I could back the rear gearing back down to a 3.73.

But, what is it about the 8.1l that you don't like? It makes nearly another 100 ft./lbs of torque thru the rev range, especially down low - makes 400 ft./lbs @ 1k RPM.

you want a tow rig? find a 2wd 2005-2007 d-max. its more efficient. better brakes, suspension, steering, torque, mpg, the list goes on.
or cummins diesel

Not in the budget. At all. I've looked into Cummins swaps, and the ~$5k+ it would end up costing is just so far out of budget, especially since I would have to swap transmissions when doing the swap as well.

[Duct_tape123]

The 8.1 will work, but it loves to drink fuel. The 6.0 would probably leave you disappointed towing that much weight around constantly. Duramax is where its at. Save your time and money making something work and go buy a duramax.

[kendogg]

Not in the budget. At all. I've looked into Cummins swaps, and the ~$5k+ it would end up costing is just so far out of budget, especially since I would have to swap transmissions when doing the swap as well.

The 8.1 will work, but it loves to drink fuel. The 6.0 would probably leave you disappointed towing that much weight around constantly. Duramax is where its at. Save your time and money making something work and go buy a duramax.

You must have missed the part where I said a diesel is way out of budget, so I quoted it for you-

[blacstar]

we are just tryin to help you. with all the parts you buy, plus all the gas money you will spend; you are gonna waste too much with a gas motor. you need torque and low rpm. either buy a d-max or cummins or just slap a turbo on that engine you have!
we didn't miss anything, just being realistic. majority or the guys on here will tell you the same.
'need help for a tow rig'

[kendogg]

we are just tryin to help you. with all the parts you buy, plus all the gas money you will spend; you are gonna waste too much with a gas motor. you need torque and low rpm. either buy a d-max or cummins or just slap a turbo on that engine you have!
we didn't miss anything, just being realistic. majority or the guys on here will tell you the same.
'need help for a tow rig'

OK. I don't have the money to buy a newer diesel truck, or to do a full-on cummins swap. Period. It's not in the budget. It can't happen. So, no, you aren't helping. Answering the questions I've asked would help. Thanks.



OR - instead of swapping the motor - would I be better off ditching the 4l80e and going for a manual trans, thats going to have a MUCH shorter 1st & 2nd gear to get those heavy loads moving? As is, it will roll down the road just fine, but getting going with a heavy load is just the biggest killer. And I can imagine a manual swap helping fuel economy too.

[kerrige]

The issue with the manual swap is its not as strong as you would like and the 80e is a well proven trans while being cheap to replace or upgrade. The 8.1s don't have the aftermarket that I like to see. I tuned a friends 06 8.1 with an Allison which it did great. However, it does suck gas like no other. A solid 6.0 will have a grip of power and be more fuel efficient when not towing. You have 3/4 ton everything already so that stuff is already taken care of. All you need now is power. A well built 6.0 will be 10x better than what you have right now.

[Crazy Blu]

I had a lq4 milled heads and 212/218 cam Kerr speaks of and banker tuned it ran amazing. Perfect daily driver however I never towed but def had low end like crazy! Kerr road it it before full 3.5" exhaust. It rolled out better after headers and 3.5" exhaust.