"Vehicle Speed Limit"

[max49]

I have a new Damon Daybreak with a 8.1 ltr. engine. The engine shuts down at exactly 80 mph. That's only 5 mph over the speed limit and most people will be passing me on many stretches on interstate 70. Is this a Workhorse or Damon thing. Does the Ford V-10 have this also. I've seen so many ads and or articles about how much more power the 8.1 has over the V-10, but nobody said it will only go 80mph.
The new Damon is about 5000lb heavier than my old Minnie Winnie with it's 460 engine but the 460seemed more powerful with more low end torque without the noise of the engine screaming.
I never drove a MH with a V 10 but if the 8.1 has a lot more power and torque , like they say it does, the V 10 must be pretty wimpy

[max49]

I have a new Damon Daybreak with a 8.1 ltr. engine. The engine shuts down at exactly 80 mph. That's only 5 mph over the speed limit and most people will be passing me on many stretches on interstate 70. Is this a Workhorse or Damon thing. Does the Ford V-10 have this also. I've seen so many ads and or articles about how much more power the 8.1 has over the V-10, but nobody said it will only go 80mph.
The new Damon is about 5000lb heavier than my old Minnie Winnie with it's 460 engine but the 460seemed more powerful with more low end torque without the noise of the engine screaming.
I never drove a MH with a V 10 but if the 8.1 has a lot more power and torque , like they say it does, the V 10 must be pretty wimpy

[Catdave]

I'm a huge fan of the 460 from way back. I think it was the best MH engine available (Ford or otherwise) till the 8.1L came out. But I can honestly say- drop it into the same coach as your Damon and the 8.1L will walk away from it like it's moving backwards. The 460 felt more powerful in the Minnie because of the power-to-weight ratio in the lighter coach.

If you think the 8.1 is noisy and/or underpowered, go test drive a V10-powered coach of the same size & weight as your Damon. You'll feel a whole lot better about your 8.1!

As for the 80mph limit- that's the governor holding the speed back, not a lack of power on the part of the engine. All I can say is if you want to do 80+ in a MH then, then like the man said- "You got serious thrill issues, dude..."

Happy trails,
Dave

[Tom N]

The '06 Ford V10 will have 362 horsepower. The Ford chassis GVWR has NOT increased over the current 22,000#. THe Workhorse W24 will still be the GVWR leader at 24,000#.

[Cruzer]

Yes, Workhorse governs the engine to 80 MPH as a safety issue. This is done in the eCM. It's certainly not a lack of power that keeps it there. I found that out in my Suncruiser when I rolled down a large grade and gave it the gas to power up a really steep upgrade. I wanted to give it a good head start to run up the grade but it kicked out at 80.

Then again, do you really want to move 22K down the road at over 80 MPH?

Personally I feel that the government probably pressured Workhorse to limit the speed to 80. Otherwise that 8.1 would be able to go 120 MPH and the cops would never catch it.

[ISLAPP]

max49,
I hate the governor issue also. My Ford is the same. Only mine has that 80MPH governor for when I am in reverse! Don't have any limiting factor for forward gears
You will be fine on I70. Since it is an interstate, there is that extra lane for people to pass you. So just sit back and enjoy the scenery. I personally fine 60-65MPH a nice speed, except here in Ohio where technically it is 55MPH. At 60-65MPH, no one needs to peel my fingers off the steering wheel when I get to my destination!
Mike

[BobbKatt]

Don't forget alot of tires used on the motorhomes are rated at 75mph max speed by the manufacturers.
I personally would not want to experience a front wheel blowout at 80 mph, that is, if I lived to tell about it.

[max49]

Islapp, so the Ford does not have a governor? I have always liked Ford better than Chevy but I heard so much about the 8.1 ltr, having so much more power. I like power to get up hills and to use when I want to. I hate to follow a RV up a hill that absolutely should pull off the road to let ppl by cause they are so underpowered. IMO slow drivers are more dangerous because they affect way more other drivers.
Come on guys, I have'nt had a ticket since '88 and and no accidents since sometime in the '70s. I don't have any thrill issues either, but I do take long trips over a normal weekend, and have to be at work Mon AM
I agree about the front tire blowout thing. It was brand new ,and riding so smooth that I did'nt even realize I was going that fast and I would seldom go that fast, but I still don't like Workhorse or who ever decided to put that limiter on telling me how fast I can go. At very least, they should put a disclaimer in their ads, letting us know that even tho it has way more power than the V-10, we have decided to restict it to 80MPH. Maybe I would have tried a V-10.
BTW, I owned the Minnie Winnie for 8 yrs, and 80mph was the fastest I ever had it going, and not very often. It would go faster but it did'nt feel as stable as the new Damon/ Workhorse.
So how do I get the restictor upped a little, like maybe , "let me decide", since it's mine?

[ISLAPP]

To be honest, I have no idea if Ford has a governor system on the V10 or not. My statement was my attempt at some humor! But I see no reason to find out what the max speed for the V10 is. I have never personally driven out west or down south where speed limits are 75MPH.
I am quite comfortable with the way my Ford chassis on the Winnebago handles. Especially once I put the Bilstein shocks, Trac Bar and Steer Safe system on. But I do not care to do the speeds you are talking about. These rigs were never designed for that kind of speed and to attempt those speeds are not, in my opinion, a wise choice.
As to your question of can the governor be overridden, I do not know. My guess is that it can't be. But maybe that is more of a HOPEon my part!
Mike

[rvjer]

Actuaaly, if I remember right back when I had my V-10 "Fix Or Repair Daily" It had a rev. limiter that was set around 4800 RPM.I never tried to see at what speed that was but at 65 it would run about 3800RPM. As a WAG I would say 4800 would be about 75.


[QUOTE]Originally posted by max49:
Islapp, so the Ford does not have a governor?

[Tom and Patty]

My MBZ shuts me down at 155! Opps I don't own a MBZ, but I had an AMC!

If you want to go faster, a Hyper Chip would probably do the job. I would think the ECM is the same as in a Chevy or GMC pick-up truck. BTW GM limits the pick-ups to 98 mph, and that is much smaller brick!

We are trying to slow down when we get into our MH. 70 was plenty on I-80 and I-70 when we wanted to make time and we weren't in anyones way. But 62 gets us 9.8

I would think your 8.1 won't slow anyone down going up a hill!

[Horsepowerfan]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by max49:
It was brand new ,and riding so smooth that I did'nt even realize I was going that fast...

So how do I get the restictor upped a little, like maybe , "let me decide", since it's mine? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi max49,

I experienced the same thing while driving my rig home from the dealer the day we picked it up. I was on the highway just cruising along with traffic and took a look at the speedo and I was doing 75! It's a real testament to the power and smoothness of the 8100 Vortec and the Workhorse chassis . I never hit the fuel cutoff though.

Like Cruzer said the ECM controls fuel cutoff and unfortunately there's no "Hypertech" chip that can be installed because the EEPROM is soldered in to the ECM's circuit board. The only way to change the calibration software is via a scantool connected to a GM Techline terminal. This process erases the data on the EEPROM and re-programs it with the latest data which is written by GM or Workhorse engineers and is specific to your vehicle's VIN. There MAY be a "power programmer" available in the aftermarket that could change the calibration, but I wouldn't recommend it. I've seen a number of ECM's fried while attempting to re-program with incorrect software.

According to the service information I have here's the low down on the 8100's fuel cutoff strategy...

Fuel Cutoff Mode
The ECM cuts off fuel from the fuel injectors when the following conditions are met in order to protect the powertrain from damage and improve driveability:

The ignition is OFF. This prevents engine
run-on.

The ignition is ON but there is no ignition
reference signal.

This prevents flooding or backfiring.

The engine speed is too high, above red line.

The vehicle speed is too high, above rated tire speed.

During an extended, high speed, closed throttle coast down. This reduces emissions and
increases engine braking.

During extended deceleration, in order to
prevent damage to the catalytic converters

I'm sorry I don't have the RPM figures. Sometimes they're listed and sometimes they're not. Jim.

[rgrstndgby]

Another "Goodie" post, thanks "Horsepowerfan". Long closed throttle downhill is interesting, happens alot out here in the West... Any Idea when and under what parameters that begins??..rgr...

[Horsepowerfan]

Yer welcome, rgr!

I'll see if I can find out more detailed info.