Loud while Towing

[SteveoTahoe]

I have a 2017 tahoe with a 6 speed and max towing. Its a great truck but it just seems a little light on power when I tow with it. I drag a 16 foot enclosed trailer with a couple quads and a UTV, it probably ends up around 7k lbs all told. I drive from new york michigan, so its not real hilly but the speed limit is from 70-75. Even when I'm towing on a fairly flat stretch, it seems like the truck just wont shift to the next gear. Its loud and it drones and groans for most of the 8 hours! I assocoate this with being underpowered therefore unable to shift into the next gear and sustain the load.

Im considering a supercharger but Im concerned that it wont help at all with where the truck shifts.

Im also considering upgrading to something with the 6.2L and a different transmission, however with prices the way they are, Id rather just modify mine if there's a way

Anyone else have this issue or have suggestions as to how I can give it a little more juice? I have a diablosport tuner, and a volant air intake (which just made it way louder unfortunately). The tuner seems to have capability to change things other than the canned tunes, but I dont know what Im doing enough to play with individual parameters.

 

[Doubeleive]

most of these k2xx trucks have the 3.08 pinion (axle ratio) and at 7k you are at max or above
you could go to 3.42 or 3.73 pinion and not have to buy a new truck
you can look at your build sheet or scan the QR code in the drivers door jamb to see what it has now

 

[Tahoe14]

If you have the max trailing package option you will have the 3.42 gear (GU6) code as Doubeleive indicated

 

[SteveoTahoe]

Confirmed (GU6), would a 3.73 make my mpg worse ? This thing already only gets 17.

 

[swathdiver]

Confirmed (GU6), would a 3.73 make my mpg worse ? This thing already only gets 17.

Seventeen combined? That's on par, better than mine!

Slow down, best towing is in 4th gear if you have 6-speed. Tow in 4th or 5th for more torque.

3.73s will not have much effect in city driving, it actually improves MPG on 4-speed trucks. Will have a minor affect on highway mpgs, 158 more rpms at 70 mph.

 

[SteveoTahoe]

I guess I would have to re program for the new gears as well, I think I can do it with my tuner

 

[swathdiver]

I guess I would have to re program for the new gears as well, I think I can do it with my tuner

the NHT pick ups, the 900s and early K2s, all have 3.73 gears so they are made to run them. Love the off the line pull!

 

[Tahoe14]

swathdiver, would you recommend swap the pill for his tranny, seems like it is under a lot of pressure and possibly a lot of heat. I like your suggestion about slowing down a bit to find that sweet spot without all the drones and groans.

 

[iamdub]

the NHT pick ups, the 900s and early K2s, all have 3.73 gears so they are made to run them. Love the off the line pull!

Would going from 3.42 to 3.73 really make all that much difference?

 

[iamdub]

I have a 2017 tahoe with a 6 speed and max towing. Its a great truck but it just seems a little light on power when I tow with it. I drag a 16 foot enclosed trailer with a couple quads and a UTV, it probably ends up around 7k lbs all told. I drive from new york michigan, so its not real hilly but the speed limit is from 70-75. Even when I'm towing on a fairly flat stretch, it seems like the truck just wont shift to the next gear. Its loud and it drones and groans for most of the 8 hours! I assocoate this with being underpowered therefore unable to shift into the next gear and sustain the load.

Im considering a supercharger but Im concerned that it wont help at all with where the truck shifts.

Im also considering upgrading to something with the 6.2L and a different transmission, however with prices the way they are, Id rather just modify mine if there's a way

Anyone else have this issue or have suggestions as to how I can give it a little more juice? I have a diablosport tuner, and a volant air intake (which just made it way louder unfortunately). The tuner seems to have capability to change things other than the canned tunes, but I dont know what Im doing enough to play with individual parameters.

What RPM is it turning? It might actually be in the correct gear for the load and speed. Maybe that load and speed just so happens to be where the intake resonance is loudest. The Volant, with not having resonator chambers, won't attenuate the intake growl like the factory intake did.

 

[Jeff_]

Flip your pill in the trans if you haven’t already.
I did a long tow of 3000+ miles pulling 6000lbs all throughout the PNW (think mountains and grades) and it stayed cool the whole time. Which helps it shift and just drive smoother.

And as long as you give it easy throttle inputs and brake applications (and the load is balanced correctly) you shouldn’t even notice it back there.

 

[Doubeleive]

Would going from 3.42 to 3.73 really make all that much difference?

my 03 had a noticeable difference with 3.73, when I first got it I didn't even know it had 3.73's I just thought it was touchy, that thing would do a burn out at the drop of a hat

 

[alpha_omega]

What of all is required to do the swap for a 3.73 in these newer SUV’s? Is it much different than the 3.08 to a 3.42 swap?

 

[swathdiver]

Would going from 3.42 to 3.73 really make all that much difference?

Towing wise, GM added a 1,000 pounds or so to the towing capacity by switching to 3.73s from 3.42s. The Sierra launches hard even on 35s, they ran mid 14s stock.

swathdiver, would you recommend swap the pill for his tranny...

Absolutely! Heat is a transmissions worst enemy.

 

[swathdiver]

Would going from 3.42 to 3.73 really make all that much difference?

Chris, here is a Torque at Differential and Force in Newtons calculator I've been playing with to see how much power makes it to the wheels. The first two will be my truck with 3.42 and 3.73 gears and the third is my daughter's NHT Sierra. The Horsepower and Torque engine data came from those Tech-2 runs we did recently and then graphed them out. Both trucks were on gasoline a the time and mine is a little down on power because of those leaky intake gaskets.

Anyhow, here it is, and what do you all think? Is it a big difference towing wise to change to 3.73s and make it worth the extra 158 rpms?

When I was playing with this, the little 5.3 would need 4.30 gears to equal the towing prowess of the L96 6.0 motor used in the 2500s. The L96 would need 4.10s to even get close to the 6.2s towing abilities.

 

[SteveoTahoe]

What RPM is it turning? It might actually be in the correct gear for the load and speed. Maybe that load and speed just so happens to be where the intake resonance is loudest. The Volant, with not having resonator chambers, won't attenuate the intake growl like the factory intake did.

I do think the volant is just plain loud. Even with no trailer it is super loud even at half throttle during acceleration. Very disappointed in this upgrade.

I don’t recall what RPM but I think it was around 2300 or 2500, is always right on the cusp of a shift. Once it shifted, it was quiet, but it constantly was shifting down because I couldn’t maintain speeds, even at 60-65 it does this.

 

[SteveoTahoe]

swathdiver, would you recommend swap the pill for his tranny, seems like it is under a lot of pressure and possibly a lot of heat. I like your suggestion about slowing down a bit to find that sweet spot without all the drones and groans.

What does swap the pill mean? Sorry for my ignorance

 

[iamdub]

Towing wise, GM added a 1,000 pounds or so to the towing capacity by switching to 3.73s from 3.42s.

Nice! I didn't think it'd be that much of a difference. I just did the simple math: Considering the difference from 3.08 to 3.42, 3.73 is almost doubling that gain.

 

[iamdub]

Chris, here is a Torque at Differential and Force in Newtons calculator I've been playing with to see how much power makes it to the wheels. The first two will be my truck with 3.42 and 3.73 gears and the third is my daughter's NHT Sierra. The Horsepower and Torque engine data came from those Tech-2 runs we did recently and then graphed them out. Both trucks were on gasoline a the time and mine is a little down on power because of those leaky intake gaskets.

Anyhow, here it is, and what do you all think? Is it a big difference towing wise to change to 3.73s and make it worth the extra 158 rpms?

View attachment 360840
View attachment 360841

View attachment 360842

When I was playing with this, the little 5.3 would need 4.30 gears to equal the towing prowess of the L96 6.0 motor used in the 2500s. The L96 would need 4.10s to even get close to the 6.2s towing abilities.

With your Yukon, if I'm understanding correctly and looking at 4000 RPM (where the peaks are), I'm coming up with a 20 ft. lbs. gain at the wheels. This doesn't seem massive considering the expense of swapping gears. But, it's gains all across the board and helpful to the trans. I'd have to say it's a win.

 

[Tahoe14]

SteveoTahoe, Look down about 4 posts from this one titled "Updated Thermal Control Valve". Its a valve in the tranny that lowers the temperature. You can replace with an updated part or flip it upside down.