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Originally Posted by slowmover
I recall that you’ve upgraded steering (now have ZERO play?), then it’s control over body motion that is the next step in reducing degree & duration of steering input. The minimum acceptable test is 3-seconds at 65-mph. On the count of three, are you on road or in ditch (crosswind tells truth)?
Optimize steering by:
1). HENDERSONS LINE-UP, for rear axle Panhard Rod (track bar).
2). ADDCO, for smallest rear anti-roll bar, plus up-sizing front bar smallest step (both required).
3). BILSTEIN 5100 a typical upgrade to stock shock absorbers, but better can be had. Controlling spring action vital to smooth (near-linear) steering response.
No bed wag, no body roll = less effort at all times, plus cleaner transitions per any application of what matters:
A). Steering
B). Brakes
C). Throttle
You’ve been focused on the least important of these attributes.
What can the truck do if we eliminate driver-introduced problems? A 2-300 mile loop with a 17-year old girl at wheel back to same pump otherwise on cruise control at 55 to 58-mph with ZERO acceleration, braking or lane-changing EXCEPT as law requires.
In other words, where is the baseline? (Which is lane-centered, steady-state. Cruise-control, no changes from this at all).
How many course corrections in 100-miles?
I’d bet it’s still SIGNIFICANTLY more than with the rack & pinion on mine.
Which would tell me there is still work to do.
But the test is needed. How one chooses to drive otherwise doesn’t matter. So long as the truck — left alone — is “better”. . . is what’s at stake.
Ever owned a rifle better than you? Same principle.
What can it do without hitting the 60-mph aero wall?
Any driver.
Simple rules
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At the moment the only steering upgrade is the Red Head box. It does have an updated tracbar but thats not steering related
Suspension has Rancho RS9000's & sumo springs front & rear. Rear is setup to come in contact with the axle early so there is little movement back there. The front & rear is stock height, considering going to a softer oem spring pair that I have which would lower the front a tad bit more.
I practice some of what you preach... minimal lane changes, found that CC works best for minimal load changes.
The reduction in rotating mass allowed me to dial back fueling quite a bit. I'm cruising now at 60 mph, 1775 or so rpms doing 11~11.5k psi. Room for improvement there still.
Quote:
No bed wag, no body roll = less effort at all times, plus cleaner transitions per any application of what matters:
A). Steering
B). Brakes
C). Throttle
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I disagree... steering is straight... can go greater than 10 seconds on flat roads before any correction is needed. Brakes, actually, yeah your right, there are spring clips I have in the amazon cart to pull the pads back, that needs attention. As it is coasting is pretty damn good in neutral (manual trans) Throttle... Addressed in the tune. Changed the fueling considerably including the throttle table.
What would be interesting to see is what you could pull out of a tank with an optimized truck. Yours is not even close to being optimized. 4 years ago when I first started using HPTuners I had basically the same tune I have now but was miserable. truck was a smokey mess and had no power. mpg was in the 18's with me trying to milk every mile.. Now with the updates & reduced rotating mass, it is significantly better and still have room to pull fuel back more. Zero daily driving issues, still plenty of throttle response to execute passes, hill climbs etc.