2016 Yukon/L680 Transmission upgrades for HD TOW 2016 Yukon XL

[NiamLeeSin]

Dont mess with the updated cooler bypass, just take yours and put the Superior stl010 in and it will do the trick, I did the GM Tsb bypass and it sucked, didn't hardly do anything for me still was running high 180s to 190s.

Did the Superior and it worked like a charm. 150s to the 170s in 90 degree temps. Mine is a max trailering 3.42 rig.

If the trans is good, a good TC upgrade will serve you well.

You are correct, I wasted a lot of time with the updated cooler bypass. The superior tech delete kit did the trick. Temps are never over 140f. That is with the Mishimoto cooler mind you.

I'm still on the fence about a TC upgrade just because the part costs over $1k. Part of me wants to kick the can down the road and hope the stock TC doesn't fail.

 

[Bigkevschopshop]

You are correct, I wasted a lot of time with the updated cooler bypass. The superior tech delete kit did the trick. Temps are never over 140f. That is with the Mishimoto cooler mind you.

I'm still on the fence about a TC upgrade just because the part costs over $1k. Part of me wants to kick the can down the road and hope the stock TC doesn't fail.

Saying your'e at 40k mile area, the cooler upgrades you did should net you a long life with good fluid and filter changes.

 

[NiamLeeSin]

When selecting a converter make sure you get one with as thick a converter clutch disc as possible (I prob mentioned this before so forgive me, but it's worth repeating). I'd recommend .070" but no less than .050".

Also billet cover if you will be doing lots of towing/hauling with it. Lots of good converter builders nationally (TCI, Yank, Circle D, Florida TC, etc).

I went with Performance Torque Converters of Texas because they were the best value I could find after researching all of these options and calling around. The circle D TC was overkill for my application and costly. PTC of Texas was recommended somewhere else in this forum, I believe. The clutch disc is thicker than stock, with a billet front, and they tig weld it.

 

[NickTransmissions]

I went with Performance Torque Converters of Texas because they were the best value I could find after researching all of these options and calling around. The circle D TC was overkill for my application and costly. PTC of Texas was recommended somewhere else in this forum, I believe. The clutch disc is thicker than stock, with a billet front, and they tig weld it.

Sweet man, looks like you did your homework and got a real solid converter for your truck. Should last a long time.

 

[NiamLeeSin]

Just an update for anyone interested. I've been on a few long trips (2k miles round trip each) and the weight and drag of the RV makes the truck run at 3k plus RPMs on normal highway in 4th (I think), I never go over 65 mph, yet it doesn't confidently haul this load. Even the thought of climbing an incline is difficult for it, really struggling with higher grade hills and mountainous terrain. Despite paring down the RV contents, I think this kind of towing will destroy the drivetrain over the long term, so I think I'm going to go in a different direction.

 

[15burban]

It's a gas motor so it's going to rev up if while towing. I'm new to gm's (just got our 15 suburban a couple of months ago, wife's vehicle so I rarely drive it) but from what I found the max torque is over 4k rpm and max hp is over 5k. Sorry if I missed it but I take it your rv is a non pop up type and has a large frontal mass. It's going to take some rpms to keep that thing moving especially if there's any wind. You're driving a brick and pulling a brick lol.

What direction are you thinking of going? Not saying it can't be done with your current rig but if you plan to tow the rv a lot and for long distances I would think bigger tow vehicle would be a more comfortable towing experience. The drive should be just as relaxing as the camping experience itself.

 

[NiamLeeSin]

It's a gas motor so it's going to rev up if while towing. I'm new to gm's (just got our 15 suburban a couple of months ago, wife's vehicle so I rarely drive it) but from what I found the max torque is over 4k rpm and max hp is over 5k. Sorry if I missed it but I take it your rv is a non pop up type and has a large frontal mass. It's going to take some rpms to keep that thing moving especially if there's any wind. You're driving a brick and pulling a brick lol.

What direction are you thinking of going? Not saying it can't be done with your current rig but if you plan to tow the rv a lot and for long distances I would think bigger tow vehicle would be a more comfortable towing experience. The drive should be just as relaxing as the camping experience itself.

Our requirements are 6 seats and can pull the 31' 6k lb trailer in the attached pic. We may either upgrade the Yuke to a sierra 2500/f-250 with front center jump seat, or trade in the trailer and get a class C. The wife and kids are excited about being able to mess around inside a class C while driving, but we wouldn't have a vehicle once we set up camp at our destination. And we can't really haul a 6 seater vehicle (I don't think). They aren't excited about the idea of using a jump seat as our daily family driving arrangement.

If anyone has ideas or experience with this, I'd appreciate any advice.

 

[15burban]

It looks like some class c's can tow 8k lbs and more but which ones I'm not sure. I don't have much knowledge about them. Everyone's situation is different but I wouldn't think a long trip pulling a camper with 3 people up front would be very comfortable.

Hopefully someone else chimes in or maybe you can find some more information on some rv forums. A guy could go the class c route and then drive the yukon behind it. You'd need 2 drivers and the cost of fuel would be higher. Just a random idea.