[Snipe89]

If you were to delete your LWN, would you rather keep the stock power level, or go for the hot tunes ( +40hp / +70 ftlb ) that seem to be the only off-road tunes available, for longevity?

 

[SFLTruck]

Me personally, so long as the additional HP and TQ are not detrimental to longevity I say go for the additional power. As far as I'm concerned GDE proved that adding that level was still safe and it kept all the de-fueling safety's in place. And to boot this kept the DPF in place too, it was kind of a hybrid between a total removal and totally stock.

I would still rater get rid of it all because there's just a point of uneasiness due to how finicky the system is as a whole.

 

[Snipe89]

Me personally, so long as the additional HP and TQ are not detrimental to longevity I say go for the additional power. As far as I'm concerned GDE proved that adding that level was still safe and it kept all the de-fueling safety's in place. And to boot this kept the DPF in place too, it was kind of a hybrid between a total removal and totally stock.

I would still rater get rid of it all because there's just a point of uneasiness due to how finicky the system is as a whole.

Mhmm. I found a tuner who can do a delete and keep the truck at stock power levels. But I also know HD Diesel's delete is fairly reputable, but comes at a pretty steep single tune power level increase ( +40hp / +70ftlb ). Supposedly they are Canadian GDE. I'm wondering if increased power has negative effects on longevity. Less back pressure on the turbo = higher turbo RPM, higher boost, more pressure on the head gasket. More stress on the transmission.

I've been monitoring my truck with OBD fusion. Going uphill and accelerating at 65mph, I've seen the turbo wind up 26psi to get up to 350ft/lb and I'm all stock. This seems pretty high already. ~23,000 fuel rail psi. How much more can this block take?

 

[SFLTruck]

That's one of the things I liked about GDE's approach on their tunes. They test for max cylinder pressure, max exhaust temp, coolant temp, oil temp, max turbine speed and so forth. They actually have the test equipment and are not a seat of the pants tuner. They keep all parameters below the factory maximums.

There are a few with over 100K that have been tuned for most of their life and they also tow with it. By design the fuel rail pressure is designed for 200-bar / 29,000 psi. With my trailer attached I see 29PSI on long grades but again that's within what the block can handle.

Even the inline 6 LM2 has a posted 29psi max and that has an aluminum block.

 

[Colorado HighCountry]

If you were to delete your LWN, would you rather keep the stock power level, or go for the hot tunes ( +40hp / +70 ftlb ) that seem to be the only off-road tunes available, for longevity?

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum.

• Last week I purchased a used 2017 Colorado High Country - 2800 cc i4 turbo diesel in Jakarta.
• This vehicle was produced in their Rayong Plant in Thailand before it closed.
• According to the seller, Chevrolet Colorado's in Indonesia does not have the DPF installed.
• Emissions regulations are not as strict here as in other Countries.

This is what I have done to my truck after purchase.

• ECU remapped
• EGR delete
• NO additional performance hardware installed.

The HP and Torque gain / increase is quite good - in the charts obtained from the tuning workshop
I intend to use this truck for light off-road duties when looking for mountain bike trials and for some weekend hiking.
Do not really intend to use the do any serious off roading and towing (above 3000 lbs)

My questions are :

Can these figures be increase significantly with

*. a performance filter
*. and exhaust.

I do not want to do any second stage engine modifications that needs me to open up the engine.

Thank you for any input

Sincerely,
ks- leong.

 

[SFLTruck]

Welcome, the factory exhaust on our side of the world is actually nonrestrictive once the emissions equipment is removed. I would think that changing the exhaust would not gain anything noticeable. The owners who have changed the air-box pretty much said other then the sound nothing really gained there either. I think your RE-MAP is pretty killer and it already exceeds the max transmission torque of 480ftlbs if it were me I would just drive and enjoy.....


Kevin

 

[anickode]

I don't think asking a little more power and efficiency out of the engine is too unreasonable. It's fairly well accepted that modern diesel engines are tuned to pass emissions, not to optimize the engine. What do you think Volkswagen got in so much more trouble for? Their engineers knew that they could get considerably better performance and fuel efficiency by cutting into the emissions limits, so that's what they did. Then they just programmed it to switch to an emissions compliant map when a scanner was connected.

Additionally, The ECM isn't just tuned to UTILIZE the emissions system, it's tuned to ACCOMODATE it. By that I mean the engine at baseline has to run clean enough at for the emissions system to have a prayer of handling it. Imagine if you put a DPF on say, an old Cummins 4BT. Even bone stock, that DPF would probably be completely plugged in minutes.

Point is, the factory power output is hampered by the emissions regs. If you're not trying to meet emissions, there's not much reason to keep an engine tune that's optimized for emissions vs performance and/or efficiency.

 

[SFLTruck]

It's not just the tuning for emissions that's at issue. All of the manufacturers are trying to get product out the door as quick as possible due to obvious competition. This means their respective tunes are not optimized to say the least. This is why the after market tuners exists for almost every manufacturer and why they can make money refining the factory calibrations while still meeting EPA requirements. If you look at GDE's current EPA complaint tune it adds 40HP and 70ftlbs of torque. That gets the torque at roughly 440ftlbs. The 6L50 is rated at 480ftlbs max, so being 40ftlbs under gives a slight safety margin.

When I replied to Colorado HighCountry my response was based on the data he provided. He shows the torque curve exceeding 550ftlbs which is over 80ftlbs more then the 6L50 is rated for. He is also not in this country so the EPA crap doesn't pertain to his setup whatsoever. At the rate of additional added torque and HP the rods are already at the limit. To that end, ask Scott at Screaming Diesel Performance how many bottom ends he toasted after reaching the 300hp 500ftlbs side of life.

Ultimately my comment is out of concern that "you've reached the capabilities of the bottom end" (actually exceeded it) so don't temp fate to much trying to squeeze anymore out because the block my end up being a big paperweight .

Besides, the factory exhaust is already 2.75" and if you were to add a 3" exhaust you would not see any appreciable improvement from a motor with 2.8 L of displacement.

 

[Inacanyon]

His is in nm and I thought the 6l50 is 500nm..that’s what the 50 is...so he’s 50nm over the trans rating

 

[707seth]

If you were to delete your LWN, would you rather keep the stock power level, or go for the hot tunes ( +40hp / +70 ftlb ) that seem to be the only off-road tunes available, for longevity?

I feel if you’re going to go to the trouble to delete it you might as well have the power to and then post a picture of burning some rubber

 

[SFLTruck]

His is in nm and I thought the 6l50 is 500nm..that’s what the 50 is...so he’s 50nm over the trans rating

Ops, you're correct, my bust. I should have looked closer.
from his post "Last week I purchased a used 2017 Colorado High Country - 2800 cc i4 turbo diesel in Jakarta.

It's interesting if you look at his open hood pic. look how different the under hood shot is from a US version.

 

[Colorado HighCountry]

Thank you for all the responses
There are ALOT more Chevrolet Colorado owners in the USA than Indonesia and this forum is a great resource to study the hands-on experience from the members optimising these trucks
I will wait for the next couple of months before considering other upgrades.

 

[Colorado HighCountry]

His is in nm and I thought the 6l50 is 500nm..that’s what the 50 is...so he’s 50nm over the trans rating

Thanks for sharing .

Indonesia uses the metric system.

• 555 NM after the remap = 409 ft lb based on google ( with the trans max at 480 ftlb)
• Is the below google conversion correct ?
• If I am over the max trans rating I would go back and remove the ECU remap.

Thanks for letting me know.

 

[Inacanyon]

It's interesting if you look at his open hood pic. look how different the under hood shot is from a US version.

View attachment 9014

Yeah totally different hoses and routing. It looks like a Holden left hand drive getup

 

[Inacanyon]

Thanks for sharing .

Indonesia uses the metric system.

• 555 NM after the remap = 409 ft lb based on google ( with the trans max at 480 ftlb)
• Is the below google conversion correct ?
• If I am over the max trans rating I would go back and remove the ECU remap.

Thanks for letting me know.


View attachment 9015

That trans can handle that power no problemo

 

[Colorado HighCountry]

Thanks... will leave the remap alone.
Also Indonesian drive interface is on the right hand side .

 

[Inacanyon]

Yes right hand drive. Doh

looks coll

 

[SFLTruck]

Yes right hand drive. Doh

looks coll

LOL

 

[bigoilbob]

It's not just the tuning for emissions that's at issue. All of the manufacturers are trying to get product out the door as quick as possible due to obvious competition. This means their respective tunes are not optimized to say the least. This is why the after market tuners exists for almost every manufacturer and why they can make money refining the factory calibrations while still meeting EPA requirements. If you look at GDE's current EPA complaint tune it adds 40HP and 70ftlbs of torque. That gets the torque at roughly 440ftlbs. The 6L50 is rated at 480ftlbs max, so being 40ftlbs under gives a slight safety margin.

When I replied to Colorado HighCountry my response was based on the data he provided. He shows the torque curve exceeding 550ftlbs which is over 80ftlbs more then the 6L50 is rated for. He is also not in this country so the EPA crap doesn't pertain to his setup whatsoever. At the rate of additional added torque and HP the rods are already at the limit. To that end, ask Scott at Screaming Diesel Performance how many bottom ends he toasted after reaching the 300hp 500ftlbs side of life.

Ultimately my comment is out of concern that "you've reached the capabilities of the bottom end" (actually exceeded it) so don't temp fate to much trying to squeeze anymore out because the block my end up being a big paperweight .

Besides, the factory exhaust is already 2.75" and if you were to add a 3" exhaust you would not see any appreciable improvement from a motor with 2.8 L of displacement.

"If you look at GDE's current EPA complaint tune it adds 40HP and 70ftlbs of torque. That gets the torque at roughly 440ftlbs. The 6L50 is rated at 480ftlbs max, so being 40ftlbs under gives a slight safety margin. "

One man's opinion, but too close for me. If there's one parameter that I think should be supersized, it is drive train highest continuous working torque rating/ highest engine torque. No r.o.t. on the magic number, but higher is ALWAYS better.

I want to tow our Escape 5.0 TA 5th wheel thru Alaska next year, for my 70th b'day. I just got my replacement aluminum underbody plates, and bought new tires today. I'm a reverse hot rodder. I overserve our truck, and drive to reduce loads whenever I can.

 

[SFLTruck]

"If you look at GDE's current EPA complaint tune it adds 40HP and 70ftlbs of torque. That gets the torque at roughly 440ftlbs. The 6L50 is rated at 480ftlbs max, so being 40ftlbs under gives a slight safety margin. "

One man's opinion, but too close for me. If there's one parameter that I think should be supersized, it is drive train highest continuous working torque rating/ highest engine torque. No r.o.t. on the magic number, but higher is ALWAYS better.

I want to tow our Escape 5.0 TA 5th wheel thru Alaska next year, for my 70th b'day. I just got my replacement aluminum underbody plates, and bought new tires today. I'm a reverse hot rodder. I overserve our truck, and drive to reduce loads whenever I can.

I couldn't agree more.

On one of the pages on my IDash I have HP and Torque as parameters set to be displayed. Unless I drive like an idiot I never get close to the max numbers. I'm a conservative driver now unlike when I was young and dumb! I think it's like anything else in life to much of anything is not a good thing!

NICE, on the Alaska trip, I'm going to to the same in June/July with a group of us in 2022. The group tried last year but couldn't cross through CA due to covid so hoping 2022 is not a bust.