What rpm to pull hills ?

[chris142]

Pulled some toys out into the desert and had a couple of nasty pulls. I figured that since these make full tq@1400 rpm that id let it get to there but it smokes too much and does not sound good.

I ended up down shifting @2200 then revbing 3000 till it slowed back to 2200 then downshift etc. And even though it will do 3800 it does not seem happy there either.

 

[Clb]

Hit the base on the turbo in the gear it will pull, and keep the fuel till the temps make ya lift.
At 1400 rpm you are no where near the sweet spot, mine pusses out at 2200 and under.

 

[laserjock]

Stock cam you aren't near peak at 1400. It's not a cummins all done at 1750.

 

[junk]

I normally need to pull hills around 2300-2500. Low 2,000's it might keep speed, but normally needs to be run higher. Under 2,000 it's gutless on a hill.

That's part of the reason I'm going to 4.10 gears. I need the lower gears to keep my RPM's up.

 

[cpdenton]

When pulling my travel trailer, 7k dry weight, I downshift when the rpms dip below 2000. Unless I am near the top.

My EGTs stay manageable at those engine speeds, any lower and the boost gets too low.

I have always thought of it this way, torque gets you moving, hp keeps you moving.

 

[towcat]

run no less than 2000 rpm. drop to a lower gear when getting near there. your motor will tell you if it's happy or not. listen to it.

 

[chris142]

Hit the base on the turbo in the gear it will pull, and keep the fuel till the temps make ya lift.
At 1400 rpm you are no where near the sweet spot, mine pusses out at 2200 and under.

Whats this turbo for which you speak?

 

[HS108]

You wanna keep those RPMs up past 2k usually, you dont want to lug the motor, that will run your EGTs higher.

Yes you're revving it higher, but its spinning fast enough it flows those hot gases right out

 

[chris142]

How much smoke is normal? I turned the pump down but it still smokes a lot

 

[junk]

Have you checked timing? My 89 was smoking more than I liked then I turned the pump down to around 7-8 degrees vs 10-11 it was previously set at. i was surprised that little difference in timing made that big of a difference in smoke.

I ran my truck the same way when it was n/a also. Kept the RPM's above 2K and 2300-2500 was the sweat spot.

 

[chris142]

Its been a while but last time i checked it was sround 8 or 9

 

[Kevin 007]

The N/A's will smoke a lot when worked hard no matter what, so you gotta keep the revs up to keep the EGT's and smoke down. The more smoke you see, the higher the EGT's. Yeah some smoke is normal though especially for a N/A, not sure what yours is but im guessing it doesn't have a turbo since you didn't mention one

 

[Clb]

Whats this turbo for which you speak?

Haha
All the more reason to run on the limiter...
Just try keeping the r's over 2500 and see what happens

 

[no mufflers]

I have noticed anything below 2000 rpm there isn't as much power but 2200 rpm and up its happy, at that point I'm at full boost if I'm really on it.

 

[FarmerFrank]

This is a trick question... When I'm dragging bigger loads I let that truck scream. My c6 will do 60mph in second so thst usually how I try to hit the bottom. If it needs it I drop to first and let it scream. These engines will hold the R's just fine.

Just don't turn the governor spring past 4000. I kinda spun some bearings in my old engine spinning near 4200 up hill loaded.