mistred

iTrader: (1)

I'm new to this forum and to the idea of forced induction. I have a 03 Sierra 1500HD with quadrasteer (this is the reason I don't buy a new diesel truck). So the issue is that I pull a 5th wheel 10000lb + camper and while the truck pulls OK it just doesn't have the power I want.

I have been thinking of adding a turbo to aid in my pulling. This is a daily driver so I don't want anything radical.

What do you guys suggest?

My thoughts are electric fan upgrade.
Borg Warner s400SX-75 from forcedinductions
JGS 50mm waste gate
JGS 56MM BOV
Programming and fan Harness form Blackbearperformance.
Not decided on the intercooler yet.

And Ill do all the plumbing.

1969x11

iTrader: (36)

I started this thread a while back...https://ls1tech.com/forums/forced-in...4-tow-rig.html

mistred

iTrader: (1)

1969x11,

Thanks for the link, I read through most of it. What setup did you go with or are you still planning?

dezlfrek

iTrader: (1)

i dont think you should use electric fans, the manual fans move way more air..
do plan on an intercooler and still keep boost down to around 5 to 7psi..
might think about a bw s471.. will give you plenty for 5-600hp and spool faster

Photochop

iTrader: (74)

I have a tc78 turbo that would work well for your application. It's in the for sale section if you wanna check it out

mistred

iTrader: (1)

dezlfrek,

thanks for the advice, I really wanted electric cooling but maybe it's not the right decision.

photochop,

Your turbo is tempting, let me do some research and make sure it's what I want.

GMCtrk

iTrader: (23)

Go with the BW for reliability. I'd also recommend a 60 mm wastegate to keep boost in check.

Also, I don't recommend swapping to electric fans from clutch fan. I swapped to electric fans only because I had to upgrade to the big 34" radiator and my cold side wouldn't work with the bigger radiator. No worries about electrical failures with the clutch and you won't feel any difference between the two.

dezlfrek

iTrader: (1)

I have 4 12" fans on my truck and they dont cool as much as the mechanical fan does..
also look into a w/a intercooler with a heat exchanger unless you have the air to air figured out..

mistred

iTrader: (1)

GMCtrk,

Thanks for the reply, I will stick with the clutch fan. Do you have suggestions on where I can get the BW s471, I don't see it on forcedinductions?

GMCtrk

iTrader: (23)

I'm sure Jose has the 471. The 475 would work well too.

Also, just know if you do want to use the electric fans, you can get OEM 05+ truck efans which will cool your truck without issue. They're reported to move around 10,000 CFM on high. I've also used an OEM harness for a seamless install and best reliability (aftermarket harnesses are hit and miss when it comes to relay quality).

JoeNova

No... just no. The S475 is a 1000 HP turbo. Go with something smaller for towing. The guys saying its a good idea are being ridiculous. There seems to be a rule on this forum that if its not at least a 75mm 1000+ HP turbo then its not worth doing. That's BS. You'd have to give it quite a bit of throttle and a slightly higher RPM to get that thing producing any extra torque.

If you want cheap, I'd go On3 70mm. If you're willing to pay a little more for something daily driver proven and reliable, I'd go with a Borg Warner S362 with a 71mm turbine and a .90 A/R T4 housing. It'll spool up early enough when under heavy load that it'll start producing extra torque as early as 1500 RPM. Its still a 750 HP turbo when pushed to the limits, so you could reasonably get 550 whp or so out of it in your truck should you ever decide to push it a little, and it'll still be daily driver friendly.

There are guys running 8 second passes on the S475.... thats beyond overkill for a low-power towing app.

mistred

iTrader: (1)

Thanks to all of you for your responses.

JoeNova, whats your take on electric cooling?

I don't care about price, I've always believed that if I'm going to do something I better do it right the first time; however I don't see a point in paying $2500 for a turbo that is just overkill.

Since price is not a factor what are the best products for my application?

Reliability and drive ability with maximum performance is what I'm after...... and torque is KING in my book. BTW I believe my quadrasteer can handle the power....? and a complete engine swap (Diesel) isn't even in my vocabulary.... if I was going to anything else it will be a new Denali 2500HD with the dmax.

JoeNova

I'd still go with the Borg Warner I mentioned before. You can pick one up for ~$750. You could honestly go with any of them between 62 and 66 mm and still be plenty happy. Even the ETR-HO versions just barely tick over the $1000 mark and add 50-100+ HP to each turbo. I would just stick with the 68 or 71mm wheel and one of the smaller T4 housings for maximum torque.

Btw, do you mean electric cooling as in an electric water pump?

Personally, I'm not a fan. Especially for towing apps.

mistred

iTrader: (1)

Sorry I mean electric fans.

JoeNova

Absolutely nothing wrong with an electric fan. In most cases, electric fans are often an upgrade.

TrickPerformanceProducts

iTrader: (11)

For pulling Dont use a small turbo.
Everyone thinks you need boost right away for pulling.
You don't. This is not a diesel.
If you put a small turbo like a 70/65 or 68 exhaust wheel.
You will be in boost all time. Or damn near it all the time while pulling. Even on flat roads.

10000+ is a heavy load on a gas engine.

What I didn't see was the engine size?
Perf cam stock cam?
What's the engine set up?

Electric fans is worth 20hp on a 5.3.
Electric fans cool fine as long as the are good quality fans with a shroud.
I highly recommend going to the 34" radiator if you don't already have that in there.
If you do a set of fans off a 05+ truck will work fine.
And a fan is only needed at low speed driving;
once at speed its just in the way.

mistred

iTrader: (1)

It's a 6.0 LQ4 stock except that I have Banks headers, banks cold air and banks programmer all of which will be changed out.

black6spdz

iTrader: (11)

I had great success pulling with my 6.0 and a bw s472 with a 1.25 housing. The truck had 4.10 gears and could pull 5k on flat still well in vacuum, once you started climbing a hill i could easily make boost in overdrive. I agree that you do not want too small of a turbo with the load that is on a gas motor towing the weight you are. I have 05+ truck electric fans and have never had overheating problems.

Shownomercy

iTrader: (1)

Isn't that truck only rated for like 7800lbs?

1500 frame won't like going heavy with towing and enjoy any emergency braking situations...

hellbents10

iTrader: (10)

Small turbo will equal gas engine melt down with out the most careful tuning. I would stick to a 472 with a 1.1 t6 housing. When pulling a hill at 2200rpm it will start making boost.