Pull any hill at 65mph in an 80 series - Video (1 Viewer)

[trucruiser]

It can be done indeed, but I hate to think of what gas mileage you were getting at 4,000+ rpm. Committing to 2nd gear definitely helps keep pace with traffic. The annoying thing about taking these trucks in the mountains is you really have to drive them - lots of shifting, maintaining momentum, etc. Add high elevations to the equation and it gets worse.

Out of curiosity I looked up some long and steep grades in the U.S. shown below. These would not be fun in an 80. In addition, the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 west of Denver at 11,000 feet is one of the highest tunnels in the world - would be interesting what an 80 could do on that.

I drove my old 91 fj80 from Colorado to California, including Eisenhower pass and Vail pass, I had 33/12.5/15 BFG's on a stock rig excluding headers and i was able to maintain 70 mph on the whole drive using second gear of course. Ita all about the RPM's

 

[COLX450]

This weekend I drove from Denver, up through Eisenhower, over Vail Pass, up into the Mout of The Holy Cross wilderness to the Halfmoon Trailhead, then back. I run in 2nd to keep it at about 60mph. I filled up yesterday after work, 323 miles @ 18.5 gallons = 17.46 mpg.
When I first got an 80 I was nervous about doing that but I've learned a lot reading this forum! No need to be afraid of running 3000-4500rpm with a well maintained truck.

 

[cary]

That's nothing, Mauna Kea = 9000 feet in less than 12 miles

My personal favorite is Old Priest Grade off of Highway 120 in California. It is the old way the road would run before the 6 mile bypass was brought in. 1000 feet of elevation in 2 miles, average grade 14%, max in the 25% range. It is a slow, tight road, that requires first gear up and down. As a result it is hell on the cooling system on the way up with little airflow, and is the only road I have ever overheated brakes to failure (due in part again to lack of airflow). It is not a problem going down in first and saves a lot of brakes.


There have been enough issues with the road that the California Vehicle Code has a section specific to the Old Priest Grade:

35715.1. (a) The County of Tuolumne may by ordinance prohibit the
use of Old Priest Grade in that county by a vehicle or combination of
vehicles that exceeds a weight limit of 7,500 pounds or more. The
weight limit shall be determined by the County Board of Supervisors
and specified in the ordinance.

 

[ttubb]

Thanks to Phil and Tools!

I live in Colorado (Crested Butte @ 10,000') and Arizona and I drive back and forth several times a year. I have a 95 FZJ-80 with stock 4:10s on 35' tires and my rig does very well using the same techniques Phil and Tools are espousing here. Orig HG, 168,000 miles.
I did just install the P/T Kit and Low Range gears (Thanks, Christo), however I have been driving this rig for several years just like they suggest and it works great! I have a Scan Guage II and see temps similar to Phil's video. My wife folllows along in my 09 FJC.

It is all in the technique. The vehicle will do the task!

I do agree the fan mod is critical to the engine cooling performance....T

 

[1FZj80]

Remember these are fork lift engines and fork lift operators run at full throtle all day everyday.

What a concept, forklift racing It would be a funny sight to watch the warehouse where guys are driving forklifts WOT all day every day

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

That's nothing, Mauna Kea = 9000 feet in less than 12 miles

Mauna Kea is steep and long but my favorite steep road on the Big Island has to be the road into Waipio Valley. I believe its the steepest in the USA at 800 vertical in 6/10 of a mile. As hawaiicruz knows its paved and 4WD only. It a pull in low range not sure if one could make it high range without issue. There are others 25% grades on the island but I dont remember the names.

My favorite speed limit sign from down in the valley.

 

[1FZj80]

A lot of 80 series owners complain about lack of power to climb a hills.

I'm posting a video to shows how it is done.

I'm sure we can all get similar results, but I still complain about the lack of power Elevation is the killer and any slowdown is almost impossible to recover from.

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS]

We drove East up the Eisenhower tunnel two weeks ago in our 330k 92 with a loaded m416 trailer. (Stock geared and 33's). I'm thinking 25 to 30 mph in 3rd with the transfer case in Low. Rpm's were around 3K. I can't imagine running the 3FE above 3,400. BTW, we never passed anyone, had the hazards on and probably pissed off a few 18 wheelers. Oh well.

 

[alia176]

Dang, I thought I was flogging my poor 80 climbing grades at 10,000' in CO this past weekend! I was towing a 1700lb camper in 1st gear spinning at 3500 rpm, doing a whopping 22 mph. If my exhaust was more free flowing, I would feel much better about spinning her. 315s and 4.56 gears. I was getting 4.2 mpg at the time.

 

[doc_random]

My two cents on running cool base on this thread and observations:

1st penny: The fan clutch mod high on my list: "Fan clutch – performance tuned by ToolsRus." I assume you mean high viscosity fluid. Higher RPM's + Higher Viscosity = Higher airflow.

2nd penny: Your picture shows a low profile bumper and no big lights blocking the airflow to the radiator. I had been running a ARB, with two 6" lights mounted right in front of the radiator, with a Super Charger, in AZ - ran hot all the time. Swapped bumpers for a Slee Short Bus with no lights and it runs significantly cooler.

Interesting information on minimizing the transmission shifting. . .

 

[cc93cruiser]

If you are climbing significant grades in the heat, lugging the motor in higher gears is not "babying" it. Some of us have been doing this for a longtime and when lugged the temp will be 10f+ higher and will be much slower going uphill.

Look at the power curve, if you are attempting to climb at say, 2500rpm, the motor is only making ~125hp, not going to be very successful?

True.....
Quick overdrive off for my cruiser and I'm good.. But then again, I have the luxary of lower gearing..

 

[lordbater]

with the 3fe I just ignore engine temps till they get in the red...
so far that's only happened once, right before I needed a HG

I don't tow anything as heavy as yall are talking about, I do tow my hobie cat, it has so much wind resistance that I think it might compare to weight. but, again, we don't have any hills down here to speak of... a 3rd gear drop works fine, and occasionally I'll hold 2nd getting on the freeway longer than it would normally stay..

What is it? 155 in the 3fe and 212 on the 1fz? big difference..

I've only driven 1 1fz, and it was in pretty bad shape, I was test driving it for a mudder in Cali, he was gonna buy it and have it shipped to cali.. had lots of problems, one of which was a way advanced timing problem and vacuum leaks. it would still smoke my 3fe...

a

 

[surfpig]

How far down in the gears do you guys who live near the mountains push your 80 series when descending? I have pretty much used all of the gears when in the mountains and have always wondered if I was putting undue stress on the transmission or transfer case. I have to travel to get to the mountains so I don't know the result of doing this frequently over a long period of time.

I am about to go to Colorado again and your feedback will be appreciated.

I drop into 2nd a lot, let the engine do the braking. Dirt roads maybe even 1st if it's steep. A lot more control that way.

I don't think you're stressing anything at all doing that.

 

[hawaiicruz]

Waipio is always fun, pretty uneventful in the dry but if its raining that's a whole other story.
One time we were coming up in the rain and some jackwad tourist was coming down in a rented 4wd. He either didn't read or understand the sign about downhill traffic yielding, and using the turnouts.
So he misses the turnout and comes face to face with the truck in front of me. (Now keep in mind that you do not want to stop on the way up. Sliding backwards is a real possibility.)
After some choice words from me and my friend, he began to attempt backing up into the turnout, well he wasn't making much progress spinning the tires and sliding sideways on the road.
So then he has the bright idea to have his wife get out and guide him up the hill. She gets out and stands between his car and the uphill cliff side. Meanwhile the uphill traffic line is getting longer and everybody is yelling at this guy. So he really punches it this time and starts making some uphill progress, tires spinning the whole time. He turns the wrong way and barely misses pinching his wife between the car a and the cliff!!
He finally makes into the turnout and is subjected to rampant verbal abuse from the five or six trucks that he put in jeapordy, as we head up past him

Good times!

 

[western flyer]

Maximum efficiency for an engine is between the torque and horsepower peak, in this case, 3000-4600. The engine is designed to redline at 5200 rpm. Why someone would artificially limit the engine to below its torque peak, much less its horsepower peak, is beyond me.

To give a comparison, lets look at the piston speed, as high piston speeds are what will normally destroy or cause premature wear of an engine. The maximum piston speed of the 1fze is 3241 feet per minute at the redline of 5200. The general rule when building high performance engines is keep the max piston speed under 4000 feet per second and under 3500 feet per second for engines designed for a long life. (the numbers are higher on newer engines with lighter pistons, but that is a different story). Here, even at redline, we are well below the limit.

As a comparison, lets look an engine designed to run under heavy load for long periods, a Mercruiser 502. The 502 has a maximum piston speed of 3346 at 5000 rpm's and designed to be run between 4600 and 5000 rpms at full throttle for extended periods. If you were to run a boat with this engine at only less than 3000 rpm's, you would never go anywhere.

The bottom line is you will not harm the engine climbing grades at 4500-5000 rpms. You are doing it for a limited time relative to where the engine normally runs. In my case, I do it every time I go up highway 80 from Truckee to Donner Summit in the Sierra's. It starts at 5500 feet and climbs to 7250 feet. I climb most of it in second gear at 65mph, which is about 4800 rpm's in my truck.

Cool data. Thanks.

 

[Tools R Us]

... Why someone would artificially limit the engine to below its torque peak, much less its horsepower peak, is beyond me. ...

So they can complain about not having enough power, passed by a Yogo, the trans hunts for gear, etc, some just need something to complain about?

The auto shifting maps mostly do a pretty good job, but when they don't do what you want, grab the shifter, it's really not that big of a deal.

 

[Tools R Us]

My two cents on running cool base on this thread and observations:

1st penny: The fan clutch mod high on my list: "Fan clutch – performance tuned by ToolsRus." I assume you mean high viscosity fluid. Higher RPM's + Higher Viscosity = Higher airflow.

IIRC, Phil's rig has an Eaton clutch with higher viscosity fluid and a tuned valve.

2nd penny: Your picture shows a low profile bumper and no big lights blocking the airflow to the radiator. I had been running a ARB, with two 6" lights mounted right in front of the radiator, with a Super Charger, in AZ - ran hot all the time. Swapped bumpers for a Slee Short Bus with no lights and it runs significantly cooler.

Interesting information on minimizing the transmission shifting. . .

A S/C rig will always run warmer, especially in desert conditions, with the stock stuff, will be very marginal on cooling capacity. With good airflow, better fan and clutch, bumper choice will make zero difference. There are several local rigs that have big bumpers, lots of lights, winch, etc, and don't run any warmer than those without, it's all about getting the airflow right. For desert conditions a strong fan is a requirement.

 

[04UZJ100]

I drove up pikes peak in lo with the cruise control on.

 

[landtoy80]

When I loaded up the cab of the 80 as full as I could and had a 6x12 Uhaul trailer loaded with my heavy garage stuff, I had to drive East on 70 over Vail and Eisenhower. It was 1st gear up both running at redline all the way up. I tried shifting to 2nd but the motor would not pull it in 2nd. No heating problems. Not bad for a motor with 370,000 on it.

 

[cary]

When I loaded up the cab of the 80 as full as I could and had a 6x12 Uhaul trailer loaded with my heavy garage stuff, I had to drive East on 70 over Vail and Eisenhower. It was 1st gear up both running at redline all the way up. I tried shifting to 2nd but the motor would not pull it in 2nd. No heating problems. Not bad for a motor with 370,000 on it.

You are going to grenade that engine. It will take 600k miles, but you will. Mark my words.