HP upgrade

[Phil57]

I had service work done today at the local Cummins ship and I got talking to the tech about performance chips. He told me that they can reflash the computer and give me 360 HP and it would cost around 350. I was interested but when I checked with Allison they said the max torque allowed with the 2500 is 700. When Cummins does the upgrade it is on the record and would void the warranty for the Trans. Of coarse I would not do that but I will the day the warranty expires. What do the smarter folks think.

[boowho]

Originally Posted by Phil57

I had service work done today at the local Cummins ship and I got talking to the tech about performance chips. He told me that they can reflash the computer and give me 360 HP and it would cost around 350. I was interested but when I checked with Allison they said the max torque allowed with the 2500 is 700. When Cummins does the upgrade it is on the record and would void the warranty for the Trans. Of coarse I would not do that but I will the day the warranty expires. What do the smarter folks think.

I would avoid it like the plague..... IMHO, you gain nothing except the extra 20 HP, which is 20 / 340 = a touch over 5%. It does nothing to increase your towing capacity (as you already know), and could easily damage your tranny.

Just my $.02 worth, YMMV.... and I ain't necessarily smarter.

Boowho??

[NV245]

The difference between the 340 and the 360 is in the software. $350, someone wants to eat well that night. The Allison engineers rated the 2500MH at 700 lb/ft max, and the 6.7 Cummins can easily exceed that with a software change. Dodge is advertising 800 lb/ft in their trucks, and their transmissions are engineered to handle it. When driving your MH at max accelerator, maybe you notice the torque reduction from the engine during the shifts to allow the trans to "live" through the shift. Would the engine program take this into account? I've seen many Dodge trucks "turned up", and the powertrain expenses that follow, and that is with a vehicle that weighs 6500 lbs, let alone the 26,000+ of a Berkshire. I knew this, and the availability of upgrades when I purchased my 340, and I think I'm going to leave mine stock and spend money on travel, not self caused repair. My $.02 worth, good luck, and happy travels.

[Phil57]

I do know that the new program also has a torque reducer for the shift. The HP means little to me but the extra torque is what intrigues me. The "new" program increases that from 660 to I think 820? whatever the 360's are. This exceeds the 700 lb limit. I drive 65 or slower most of the time and only want for more to get up the hills. I am always running at max weight but seldom over. I have some time to think this over as my Trans warranty has a few years left. Thanks for the conversation as it helps to see the unforeseen consequences.