Ok so this SLIGHTLY has to do with my other thread about the trans cooler upgrade but its more of a "just wondering" kinda thing.
Most of us on here have done a swap. So any manufacture ratings for towing I would assume kinda go out the window. How would we go about calculating the now revised towing capacity???
Ive looked for online calculators but they all want you to input the manufactures GVWR,GCWR, curb weight etc.... but those of us with swaps.... well we dont really know.
My truck for example is 95 1/2 ton ext. cab short bed. That is just one option of many. Lightest frame but midsize length. I have a LQ9 6.0 with a 4L80e. closest thing i can think of to mine would be a 2500 HD NBS truck. But dont those have a thicker frame resulting in a heavier truck to begin with?? Plus the fact that the LQ4 in that truck has less HP... So i guess i could use its ratings but would still be off somewhat. Then there is gearing and maybe tire height?? Plus there is the fact that the bigger motor and trans may add more weight, but they also add/handle more HP/TQ at the same time... so does that cancel out?
How would one go about adding up total truck weight with the swapped engine and trans combo along with frame size (if that is a factor) to get maximum towing capacity??
There is also the braking capability factor but im not so much worried about that. Any opinions on this? Just thought this was kind of an interesting topic as i havnt seen any mention of it in my searches so I thought I would see what you guys thought. All suggestions and opinions welcome as I have no idea!