What is harder on the truck?
- Thread starter 03 D-max
- Start date
As someone who has run both sled-pulling and drags with the same setup, sledpulling is harder on the driveline. You can feel it. The engine strains as the RPM drop when you're pulling. In drags, the engine just climbs rapidly.
I agree. Racing is harder on the trans, t-case, axles, ect. but easier on the motor.
If you have your truck setup right (traction bars, bump stops, torsion bars, sleeves and centerlink, ect) pulling isn't really that hard on the drivetrain relatively speaking. If you are breaking U-joints you need to get axle wrap and hop under control. Pulling is harder on the motor though.
Both are hard on converters.
If you think a 1.5 60' is at all easy on the drivetrain. On the track with good traction the power has no where to go - on dirt the lack of traction softens the abuse.
I didn't say drag racing was easy on the drivetrain, just not as hard on it as pulling. Lack of traction??? WTF! When is the last time you were on a asphalt drag strip and it had so much traction it stalled your motor?
Might want to try hooking to a sled with a track that has a good clay surface before you take this thread any further.
Put slicks on your truck and pull a sled on asphalt and I'd bet it'll stall your motor. Of course you aren't going to stall it during a boosted launch - the trans is taking the abuse. Everytime I've sled pulled when the truck stops it digs itself in from the tires spinning. If you let out suddenly the engine will easily stall.
IMO that is due to the D.F.C.O. (deceleration fuel cut off) feature that our trucks have. From the factory if you are above 1000RPM and 10mph and go under 1.17% throttle it will completely defuel in 0 seconds. You are spinning over 1000RPM and spinning the tires 10mph then let out all the way it completely defuels expecting the truck to coast - as soon as it defuels the resistance on the tires stops them and the motor stalls before it has a chance to refuel itself to idle quantities. I think I even have a log showing that fuel went to 0 before RPM did.
Adjust table B1202-B1210 (LB7 & LLY) to disable this on your sled pulling tunes. Adjusting just B1210 to 5 should do the trick and still leave DFCO functional for on the street.
And I already said that pulling was harder on the motor.
In general I don't think slowly putting more tension on the drivetrain is as hard on it as slicks on all 4 corners and a boosted launch. Once you have enough power to be over what driveshafts and axles and such can hold then it's obvioulsy a little different - if you have the traction and torque to shear an axle shaft then yeah that's hard on things. Most people don't have the power AND the traction to do this though.
IMO that is due to the D.F.C.O. (deceleration fuel cut off) feature that our trucks have. From the factory if you are above 1000RPM and 10mph and go under 1.17% throttle it will completely defuel in 0 seconds. You are spinning over 1000RPM and spinning the tires 10mph then let out all the way it completely defuels expecting the truck to coast - as soon as it defuels the resistance on the tires stops them and the motor stalls before it has a chance to refuel itself to idle quantities. I think I even have a log showing that fuel went to 0 before RPM did.
Adjust table B1202-B1210 (LB7 & LLY) to disable this on your sled pulling tunes. Adjusting just B1210 to 5 should do the trick and still leave DFCO functional for on the street.
And I already said that pulling was harder on the motor.
In general I don't think slowly putting more tension on the drivetrain is as hard on it as slicks on all 4 corners and a boosted launch. Once you have enough power to be over what driveshafts and axles and such can hold then it's obvioulsy a little different - if you have the traction and torque to shear an axle shaft then yeah that's hard on things. Most people don't have the power AND the traction to do this though.
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I say drag racing is harder; most of the time. Most pullers are in low range which helps and the tires are spinning most times which also helps. I have seen more transmissions break drag racing and more engines blown too.
Nothing on my truck has ever broke drag racing, ive broken an axle shaft sled pulling, and i wasnt wheel hopping one bit. Its hard to say tho, id definatly say drag racing is harder on the trans, but pulling is harder on the engine, and you sure do see a lot of truck breaking axle shaft sled pulling but ive never heard of any breaking during drag racing.
i think mike l is right about the low range everything has less stress with the gear reduction . think of a bycicle how hard do you have to push with your legs when your in low gear vs high gear . i will say drivetrain parts has to go to sled pulling , axels ect .
I agree, but just think how much load is being applied, when you can bring a 800+ hp duramax to it's knee's, even when the t-case is in low while sled pulling.
Enter the Diesel Power Challenge. You drag race with a very heavy trailer attached.
IMO that is due to the D.F.C.O. (deceleration fuel cut off) feature that our trucks have. From the factory if you are above 1000RPM and 10mph and go under 1.17% throttle it will completely defuel in 0 seconds. You are spinning over 1000RPM and spinning the tires 10mph then let out all the way it completely defuels expecting the truck to coast - as soon as it defuels the resistance on the tires stops them and the motor stalls before it has a chance to refuel itself to idle quantities. So this is why if I get stuck snow plowing and I try going from drive to reverse and back and forth my truck stalls sometimes?????
I thought the converter being locked is what stalls the truck at the end of a pull?
EGTs were always a big concern when i was drag racing. Pulling never saw the same EGTs. Still bad, but not as bad.
I still think drag racing is worse based on launch and EGTs.
EGTs were always a big concern when i was drag racing. Pulling never saw the same EGTs. Still bad, but not as bad.
I still think drag racing is worse based on launch and EGTs.
AFAIK it's the converter staying locked that kills it. Otherwise if you "lifted" when spooled up to 2500rpm, the engine would die, but it doesn't. Reason? Converter won't lock in first. But I could be wrong. Popping it in 1st always seemed to avoid killing the engine for me.
I want to do a similiar poll:
WHAT IS HARDEST ON A DODGE GUY:
A) Making it home after a dyno session.
B) Trying to spool their truck before the dragstrip closes.
C) Getting the ratio of concrete to water right for a rebuild.
D) Graduating elementary school.
WHAT IS HARDEST ON A DODGE GUY:
A) Making it home after a dyno session.
B) Trying to spool their truck before the dragstrip closes.
C) Getting the ratio of concrete to water right for a rebuild.
D) Graduating elementary school.
When I say some tracks will bring a truck to it's knees, I don't mean the truck will kill when suddenly letting off the accelerator during the spin out, I mean they physically run out of power and stall if the tranny isn't thrown in neutral.
Try this. Strap your truck to a dyno where there is little to no slip between the tires and dyno drum. Next give her the beans in 4th gear. When at least 3000 rpms are reached, add load to the dyno so that in about 3 seconds you take your rpms from 3000+ to <idle. This gentlemen is sled pulling.
Problem with a dyno is it's 2wd and steel. I can't load fully on a dyno with Casper. It spins the tires.