6.0 Vortec Towing Tune

[Deveraux88]

Hey everyone,

I am new to this EFILive Life but so far i am way impressed by the way everyone helps each other out! That being said I have a 03 GMC Sierra 2500HD 4WD (LS1b Gen III ) with the 4L80e Transmission. I have a Volant Cold Air Intake w/Underbody Snorkel, Volant Throttle Body Spacer, Pacesetter Long Tube Headers, FlowMaster High Flow Cats with a Magnaflow Dual in/out Muffler. I tow a 30ft toy hauler that weighs about 11,000 lbs Loaded. I am trying to get some extra torque so its not so sluggish and hopefully to help the overheating issues. I am not to worried about gas mileage as the truck is paid off and is alot cheaper than a new truck :) Is there a tune already set up for this or do i need to start fresh? I have been reading post after post about similar situations but none that match my current setup.

I would appreciate any help i can get!

[ScarabEpic22]

If you want to just flash a tune and not think about it, I'd suggest contacting a tuning shop who can put together a baseline tune for what you're looking for.

If you want to learn how to build a tune for your setup, that's where the forum can help. The LS1B PCM is pretty simple to get good results from, you will need to purchase a wideband O2 sensor so you can ensure the Air/Fuel ratio is correct, otherwise you just need a FlashScan V2 w/GM Tuning. Look up the Calc.VET tutorial on here, it will walk you through what's needed to dial in your VE and MAF tables. For spark, you'll need to log knock and see if you're getting any knock then look to optimize the spark tables.

[Deveraux88]

Thanks ScarabEpic22! I Definitely want to learn how to tune it myself :) I have been reading multiple threads on this forum and have been writing down notes on do's and dont's but it seems a lot of the stuff i try it doesn't work? I know i am missing something minor and it is a little frustrating but i am not giving up! I purchased the Flashscan V2 w/GM Tune a few weeks ago and i have been playing with it to get a feel for it. I tried to do a log on Saturday after i set up the CALC.VET file along with the list of PIDs to activate but as soon as i started recording some of the PIDs stopped working and a few of the tables went weird?? I will get the Wideband O2 Sensor for it. I was hoping there was a list of a sort of which maps to log and which PIDs i actually need to monitor. I will start skimming the Forums again until i come across something :)

[Supercharged111]

Killing the TM, PE delay, and some of the other nannies is a great place to start. Shorten shift times and bring the timing in sooner makes a difference as well. If you have overheating issues, get a bigger radiator. What they put in those trucks was pathetic.

[Highlander]

if you want to be able to tow and not think about it leave it stock. If there might be any advantage it could be in Trans calibration. Then again you also should have a tow mode for it. Leave it stock.

[Supercharged111]

if you want to be able to tow and not think about it leave it stock. If there might be any advantage it could be in Trans calibration. Then again you also should have a tow mode for it. Leave it stock.

Great idea. That 60 second PE delay is super helpful when pulling uphill.

[Highlander]

with 87octane... yes it is...

[Supercharged111]

Go on.

[Highlander]

So GM Made a mistake?

[Supercharged111]

They prioritized emissions over performance. I opened up my neighbor's 6.0 truck and it was night and day difference and yes, you can bring in the timing sooner on 87 octane. I don't recall if it wanted more peak timing, but it was far less prone to a downshift after and WOT performance increased a good bit. Measuring stick was my 1500 pre-blower. When he was stock, we were neck and neck. After, he walked me like nothing. He also tows and reported that it didn't need to be kicked in the ass so hard to get up a hill.

[Highlander]

Emissions are NOT measured WOT. To each its own. If it works for you, more power to you. I can tell you. GM didn't make a mistake. The vehicle is calibrated for 87 octane.

[Supercharged111]

You fail to tell me how a 60 second PE delay is a good thing for towing or in general.

[Supercharged111]

Way to 'splain yourself, Lucy. And way to just confuse the OP with contentless posts.

[Deveraux88]

Thanks Supercharged111 i appreciate the feedback! I will start messing with those settings. As for the overheating i did install a dual electric fan with smart control to self adjust depending on different scenarios. I also re routed the oil lines to skip the radiator and go to a auxiliary cooler with dual fans and i re routed the transmission oil lines to skip the radiator and go to a auxiliary cooler with dual fans. that helped a ton! I don't have the overheating issues as much now but i don't want the truck to work so hard. Usually when i tow its up hill and of course my truck at 50mph up hill it cant make up its mind which gear it wants to stay in. Basically i want some low end torque to get off the line a little easier and change shift points and PE for the uphill battles.

[Supercharged111]

I would have started with a bigger radiator before resorting to the oil and trans coolers, without running those fluids through the radiator you run the risk of overcooling. With stock cooling my trans barely cracks 100 in the winter, unloaded of course. Oil should be 200+ to minimize wear. It'll never hit hard like a big block off the line, but you can make it less bad by bringing the timing in sooner. Instant PE really makes a difference. I have my trucks calibrated to enter PE just before a downshift from OD at highway speeds. If I'm staring at the wideband, I can add throttle until it switches over and know to stop there unless I want a downshift. You can hear the exhaust change note and, when empty, you can feel a difference in power when it hits. It's not like a rocket or anything, but kinda neat nonetheless.

[nonnieselman]

You have your user settings to not allow private messages.
PM me your email

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[Deveraux88]

I will fix that!
but my email is: LDEVERAUX88@GMAIL.COM

[Deveraux88]

I Did do the bigger radiator it didn't help so i did the condenser next thinking the fins were clogged and that didn't do it. I flushed all the systems and had the PCM scanned to make sure the parameters were set correctly and they found no issues. I had a cold air at the time and read some reviews and they said that the aluminum intake tube was getting hot and sucking hot air causing the motor to get hotter faster so i put the stock air box back on and did a K&N air filter in it. That didn't do it lol. So finally i did the radiator by pass on oil and trans. the engine gets to 200-210F and never hikes now. The trans. gets up to 275ish on hills so it doesn't over heat now but it is still getting warm. Unfortunately the truck constantly is shifting on inclines so i am assuming thats why it gets so hot? I am hoping that getting a little more torque and changing some shift points that it will eliminate the constant shifting? I am also considering a Cam if this doesn't do the trick.. I never used to have issues towing but this last year has been a little bit of a joke :) Whats your thoughts?

[Gordy M]

It has been years since I towed with my 04 Escalade but I remember adding a 40,000BTU trans cooler in front of the radiator--removing the dinky cooler that was standard. Also, I remember putting in a Corvette 1/2 shift in place of the truck one, and then tuned it similar to the above recommendations. In the transmission section you could search for all the recommendations from the early 2000-2010 section. The 4L80E was a good trans to work with and would last considerably longer than the 60E trans. As I recall, a few who ran the 80E trans would change some of the gearing in the trans to place the gearing closer together. With the big trans cooler, towing thru the mountains in WVA, NC and Tn my trans temps rarely went above 190deg.

[Supercharged111]

Same with mine, just gotta keep the TCC locked and tow/haul does a good job of that. I think I forgot to mention that the 6.0 likes a WOT 5500 RPM shift point as well.

[nonnieselman]

I Did do the bigger radiator it didn't help so i did the condenser next thinking the fins were clogged and that didn't do it. I flushed all the systems and had the PCM scanned to make sure the parameters were set correctly and they found no issues. I had a cold air at the time and read some reviews and they said that the aluminum intake tube was getting hot and sucking hot air causing the motor to get hotter faster so i put the stock air box back on and did a K&N air filter in it. That didn't do it lol. So finally i did the radiator by pass on oil and trans. the engine gets to 200-210F and never hikes now. The trans. gets up to 275ish on hills so it doesn't over heat now but it is still getting warm. Unfortunately the truck constantly is shifting on inclines so i am assuming thats why it gets so hot? I am hoping that getting a little more torque and changing some shift points that it will eliminate the constant shifting? I am also considering a Cam if this doesn't do the trick.. I never used to have issues towing but this last year has been a little bit of a joke :) Whats your thoughts?Pm me

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