I am getting ready to drive from Michigan back to Idaho on my elk hunt, I will be towing a 7x14' trailer with all my hunting gear and two atv's. So not a really heavy trailer by any means. My question is do i HAVE to tow on my tow setting? Is there a certain weight rating? My 87 performance seems to tow better then my tow tune. I surely get better gas mileage with the performance tune towing. What do you think?

 

It is my understanding that you should use the tow tune. The performance tune is set up to shift at different rpms and the torque range is totally different. It is my understanding that if you are towing much at all, you need to use the towing tune to make it easier on the transmission. If you have custom tunes from Bill, send him an email, he may tell you it's ok.

 

I'd talk to Bill about this too. But, if your "tow" tune is designed for 6-7000# trailer weights and corresponding wind drag, then it's not designed for the work you're giving it. I believe the wear and tear on a transmission comes from shifting, especially under heavy load, but not from just "pulling" a heavy load, as long as there's no "slippage".

So, I'd hazard a guess here that you CAN probably pull your trailer on just about any tune if the trailer is small and weighs at or less than say, 2000 pounds.

But Bluejay was right too. For an ordinary trailer, you probably do not want to use anything but the tow tune.

DO talk to Bill here - I'm just "guessing".

- Jack