Did a search using "6.0 and towing". Found some good information but also a lot of useless drivel.

So here we go again....

02 2500HD with the 6.0 and 4l80E 4:10`s of course.

Tow around 7000 LBS plus whatever is in the box. Mileage is`nt to bad but performance kinda sucks. Last weekend it sometimes went all the way to second gear to maintain speed, 70 mph. In what I would call a gentle grade.

265/75 tires

4 inch lift

Used a SuperChips hand held back in 2004. 93 octane tune. Moved the shift points out and bumped line pressure.

Plan on keeping the truck as I cannot justify spending the big $$ on a new one. Use it as a truck not a show car.

Waiting for Nelson or Wheatley to call back for a good tune.

Vinci 065 cam or comparable Comp/Lunati is in the works.

Questions:

1. Conflicting reports on long tube headers. Only interested in towing seems folks have mixed thoughts on LT`s for low RPM. With or without cats ? Michigan doesn't care.

2. Thought I saw somewhere about swapping 5.3 heads for more compression and better low end ??

3. If question 2 sucks then what do I want to knock off the 6.0 heads to bump compression ?

Thanks !!

 

I threw good money after bad at my 6.0L to try and get it to tow the travel trailer nicely and all i have to say is save your money on mods and get a oil burner down the road

 

i do agree with Dgrown, a diesel is unbeatable for towing..

I tow with my truck alot, the turbo helps a ton.

I know that lift and tires are hurting you some. goin with a shorter tire would help but it would look goofy on a 4" lift.

I dont have any good info for ya about the LTs or head swap. sorry.

 

Before I wasted a bunch of money on bolt ons Id either save to swap to a dmax or get a turbo. Turbos are load based and will keep you building power without having to downshift if you're worried about maintaining highway speed. A radix would do a good job too but wont work quite as well at building boost without raising rpm.

 

Can`t aruge with the Deezuls. With the 500+ pounds they crank out I`ll never compete.

But I`ve owned my truck since new. No payments for several years now. Have added SSBC brakes, Cognito Warn, etc.

I just think that with a few mods it ought to wake up just enough to make it worthwhile.
Michigan is pretty flat compared to the western states and 7000 lbs. is`nt a tremendous load. Hell taking TM out would help a bunch.

 

then get a custom tune for your truck, remove ALL the TQ man. on it, since you are up in michigan you can get some efans and not worry about having heating up issues like us down in the south... a baby cam will always help aswell...

i would also slow down to about 55-60mph while going uphill instead of the 70mph that you mentioned., i've learn that is the sweet spot on these motors.... i just pulled my 7000lb TT this weekend and noticed that is the sweet spot on them... on flat grouind mine did 65-70mph like nothing, but was hard on the truck while going on a long up hill, i just coasted down to 55mph on tow haul and it didnt have a hard time at all... by the way i have 3.73's....

 

it sounds like it runs pretty good to me... its a gas engine, it makes its power in the upper rpms, thats just how it is, a small cam for some improved low end would help, and im sure tuning will help too, but if you want an engine that will turn 1600 rpm and be in the torque peak then diesel is it.

 

Talked to Allan at Nelson. He is sending a PCM tuned to my needs. Should be a good improvement over the SC handheld that`s in it now.

We are going to take the TM and abuse protection out. Make third gear a bit more accessible. Crank in some timing and change the curves.

I`ll report back how it turns out. I know it`ll never be a Deezul but even with the SC tune is pretty mild it say the least.

 

baby cam
efans
More compression? . . . pull the heads and have them milled
. . . or Get some PRC 5.3 stg 2 heads. They'll have better flow, more compression, but they're not cheep.

I pull a 4K boat on the weekends. 65 is a sweet spot. Anything past 70 and it's wanting to down shift. I have 3.73s, on 285s, tune and nothing else currently. A baby cam, fans, and a shift kit are on the way.

 

a baby cam?