Question for those who've driven I-70 west from Denver

[broadrun]

I'm considering adding a chip to my 8.3 for a little added HP. The reason is because I plan to drive out west next summer and want to be prepared for how my rig will respond in the high country. So far, I've driven the tame hills of PA and Norther Michigan and have always been a little underwhelmed at the power of my 2001 8.3L ISC.

For those that have driven I-70 west from Denver, or any other high altitude climbs, what has been your experience like. Does your turbo stay pegged at 30 psi the whole way up the mtn?

It's hard enough for an SUV with four grown men and ski equipment to pull those grades at 60 MPH so I'm thinking my MH will be probably struggling to do 30 MPH.

I'd love to hear about anyone's experiences/advice.

Thanks.

[monacojim]

I have a 330 ISC in my 40' Scepter and tow an Equinox. I think about 40 is my minimum speed going up to and over Loveland Pass.

[xydial]

I chipped my ISC 330 with a Digi-CR. Said to increase HP and Torque by 10-15%. Disconnected it on my trip out west this September and didn't notice a huge loss of speed on grades.

I disconnected it because I was running hotter on long grades. Made a 10% reduction on temps with it off. Will deal with slower climbs to keep from overheating.

[Bigd9]

We just came over the the Vale Pass and through the I-70 Eisenhower Tunnel a week ago. I have the Cat C7 330 HP engine and towing our Honda. What slowed us down the most were the OTR trucks, heavy traffic and accidents (truck fire closed all traffic forcing a 11 mile detour) and some road construction. We just sat back, set the cruise control and relaxed looking at the gorgeous views. The coach would run mostly in 5th gear, with an occasional 4th gear thrown in. When the 4 wheeler traffic let up I would pass a string of 18 wheelers, pull back in.

BTW, my Cat temperatures would consistently fluctuated between 188 to 197 degrees climbing up the grade with 50 degrees outside.

[Windecker]

Not exactly an answer to your question however I tend to limit 100% max power to like 30 seconds or less to keep from melting something.

Good job doing some research on this before just doing it...

Windecker

[lwmcguire]

We travel I70 several times per year

No iss6at all , just stay with the trucks and coaches

Watch your temperature as it will cling

Coming down be sure the engine break works as it should

Be sure what your towing also has properly working brakes

Traffic may stop suddenly especially heading towards Denver

Leave room going up and down and especially In heavy traffic

[DenverTransplant]

We've done I-70 (tunnels and Vail Pass), US-50 (Monarch Pass) and US-160 (Wolf Creek Pass) multiple times with our F-53 based Thor ACE 30.1. It's slow going up the passes (worse going eastbound on most of them as the west sides are steeper) but its not exactly a race. We usually are doing 35-40 MPH on the steeper sections. You do have to plan your lane changes as its easy to get caught behind loaded trucks going even slower. I try and stay in the middle lane going up.

The thing to really watch is the going down part - with a gas rig, tow/haul is a must. In a DP use engine braking to save your brakes. As I said, the west sides of the passes are steeper than the east sides. You don't want to be learning about runaway truck ramps.

One of the surprise down sections is from Floyd Hill down into into Idaho Springs. Its pretty steep and curvy, with sharp turn at the bottom. If you aren't familiar with the road it will catch you unaware as its way east of the summit and you expect to be going up, which you will again when you get through Idaho Springs.

[robertkathy]

with my 8.1 pulling the trailer i am glad i did the banks power system other wise it would have been slow going. east side the smoky and appalachian mountains are not as bad as out west with rockies and the black hills

[Gdawgs]

Originally Posted by DenverTransplant

We've done I-70 (tunnels and Vail Pass), US-50 (Monarch Pass) and US-160 (Wolf Creek Pass) multiple times with our F-53 based Thor ACE 30.1. It's slow going up the passes (worse going eastbound on most of them as the west sides are steeper) but its not exactly a race. We usually are doing 35-40 MPH on the steeper sections. You do have to plan your lane changes as its easy to get caught behind loaded trucks going even slower. I try and stay in the middle lane going up.

The thing to really watch is the going down part - with a gas rig, tow/haul is a must. In a DP use engine braking to save your brakes. As I said, the west sides of the passes are steeper than the east sides. You don't want to be learning about runaway truck ramps.

One of the surprise down sections is from Floyd Hill down into into Idaho Springs. Its pretty steep and curvy, with sharp turn at the bottom. If you aren't familiar with the road it will catch you unaware as its way east of the summit and you expect to be going up, which you will again when you get through Idaho Springs.

Agree...The going up part is easy, going down is the scary part of your trip. Be prepared to pull off and let your brakes cool a bit.

[Bill767]

Originally Posted by Gdawgs

Agree...The going up part is easy, going down is the scary part of your trip. Be prepared to pull off and let your brakes cool a bit.

Looking at your rig I would be surprised with either a Jake brake or an exhaust brake, your brakes would overheat????

[Bigd9]

I didn't have any problems going down. The grades were only 6% on the East side and the exhaust brake worked well with only occasional use of the service brakes. Shoot, going snow skiing in West Virginia exposes us to grade double that. Or this one we encountered in Arkansas!

[TexasTom]

I have an 8.3 pushing 42’ Excursion. No problem to maintain around 50mph going uphill without pushing the engine too hard. I would say I target about 75% on steep hills (around 25-30 psi) and accept whatever speed that gets me. I watch the RPMs and engine temp is fine.

The final mile leading to the tunnel gets steep, and it takes a pretty heavy foot for me to stay above 55, so I typically back off a bit.

[super_rep]

It's a long grade. Be sure and watch your engine temp and rpms. I always force a down shift to keep my rpms above 2000 which will make your engine run cooler.

[RobRoy]

A few things that come to mind when reading the OP’s question.

What about the added heat, things like cylinder temps and also excessive trans temps that come with adding a chip and running under extreme loads?

A couple of major factors in transmission design are torque applied to the Trans and weight it will be hauling and there is a pretty good chance you may be exceeding both that it was originally designed for….and you should know this FOR SURE.. before doing so.

Most chip manufactures selling these chips buy a base fuel curve map and adjust it from there doing little to no testing of knowing what the Cylinder pressures are?... some not even doing little testing of cylinder temps for that matter.

I’ve been down many of the Rocky Mountain Pass’s mentioned here in this thread the likes of Eisenhower/ Monarch / Wolf Creek and many more …and more than just a few times and the last thing I want to have to be worried about is am I going to be capable of doing 55mph vs 50 mph up some mountain pass and it is worth the risk of excessive load and heat the original chassis was designed for from the manufacturer.

I'm thinking that I would be more worried about the condition of my brakes and things like the proper operation of my Jake brake.


With a chip comes more fuel and with that fuel a more aggressive injection timing map creating more power…with more power comes more heat as stated in one of the earlier posts.

So I say to myself in my best Clint Eastwood voice regarding the use of a chip in coach in the mountains …..”Do you feel Lucky Punk”

Happy Trails