Thinking of towing my GN to the nationals with the Lightning and have some basic questions.

Tow in Overdrive or is that a no-no?

Leave chip in or take it out?

What to expect for gas mileage while towing?

(right now I am getting 14-15 in town...and when I go on trips I've been getting 19 with the cruise set at 85)

Any other sugestions for tow mode that I am missing?

Thanks

 

NO O.D Never tow with that on. Make sure it is off. That is all I can tell you on that.

 

I towed a friends 4000+ lb boat back from Havasu (325 miles) 2 weeks back, no problems. Left the OD on (I've got 4:10 gears in mine), my chip is a 2way, tried the stock setting and the motor pinged, flipped it back over to the 'tune' mode & pinging went away. Used cruise control on the flat terrain, but switched it off for the hills. I usually get 16 MPG @ 75 MPH (remember the 4:10?), but it dropped to 12.6 towing the boat back at 62 MPH (stupid CA towing laws...).
Robert

 

If the transmission hunts between gears, turn overdrive off. This is what heats the trans up and toasts it. This is clearly stated in the owner's manual. A properly tuned chip is fine while towing. Your mileage drop is going to be based on how heavy of a foot you have during take offs; it's marginal at speed.

 

I tow with mine and leave the overdrive alone when on the highway.

When I come to a hill with or without the cruise I let it downshift on it's own and then turn off the overdrive until I get back on level ground or am going down hill again.

In town durring stop and go I turn if off to keep it from constantly hunting for the sweet spot.

Mileage will take a beating depending on the load. I get 15 in town and it will drop to 10 or 11 when loaded.

Don't forget to add a little air to the rear tires!

Hope this helps.

 

I hauled a 65 corvair roughly 1000 miles on an 18 foot flatbed through mountains with the cruise and a/c on. In overdrive. Got crappy gas mileage.

 

Have a good Time! I can't make it this year, I am going to do the Ohio event instead.

I have put around 6K miles on my Lightning towing cars up and down the east coast. I always tow with the OD on, I have 28K on the truck and no problems yet. I average about 11.5-12mpg with the cruise set at 80mph.

I tow with my chip and 4lb pulley, just don't go WOT and it shouldn't make a difference. If you do hear it ping, just pull over and take it out but I haven't had a problem.

Have Fun! There will be another GN owner there with a 2002 Black Lightning, although he isn't bringing his GN. Actually there are quite a few of us Turbobuick guys with Lightnings as tow vehicles, come over on www.turbobuicks.com and join us. There are 6 memebers with Lightnings and TRs and we are always looking for more!

 

Thanks for the feedback guys


Bowling Green Kentucky is a little ways from Orlando Florida and hadn't done any towing with the Lightning.

Thanks for the invite Mike.I visit the GN boards once and a while but don't post much.Incidently a couple of questions on the Nats.What kind of turnout do they get(hundreds or thousands)?Also I see they start the nats on tues and go thru sat,what's the best days for attendance?Thanks Brian

 

how in the hell do u get 14-15 in town and 19 on the highway, thats impossible.

 

The event is getting smaller and smaller each year. You'll see a couple hundred cars probably. It will be dead all week, Friday and Saturday and the days most people come in.

 

Wellllllllll....I get between 310-330 miles out of 22 gallons regular driving to and from work.The difference between the 310 and the 330 is if I hammer on it and how much.

Okay, for the 10 hour drive to the FFW event in Atlanta I was never really able to set cruise because of the hooligan's I was following.I never dropped below 70 much of the time and was up at a 100 for spells.Trust me I waas not happy about it but I followed the caravan.For a majority of the time it seemed as though we were going 85-90.A little to fast for my taste but again stupid me followed.I went 420 miles on 22 gallons.The next fill up netted me 445 miles on 23.5 gallons of 93.

I purchased the truck in New Jersey.I drove it 18 1/2 hours home and got the same 19mpg with the cruise set on 78.So the speed really didn't do a whole lot for my gas mileage(as far as killing it).

What can I tell you it's just what it gets.I've checked it numerous times driving to work and highway.

 

Griffey,

what all mods do you have, and are you running stock wheels/tires?

 

Yes stock wheels(chromed however),stock good year F1's.

Mods are: Long tubes,high flow cats,magnaflow muffler,cobra water pump,electric fan,01 meter(my L is a '00),throttle body,4lb lower,2lb upper,air aid cold air,stall converter,TR-6's,heat exhanger,and single chip.

Best so far has been a 12.49 on et streets letting out.Best mph going out the back without letting out has been 107.71.Best 1/8th mile which I always run all out is a 7.88 at 87.42 with a 1.69 sixty.All runs are complete full weight with hard tonneau,hitch,everything there.I wished I would have weighed it in Atlanta as they had a really nice scale there but my brain farted.

I believe the chip is responsible for the gas mileage.On 93 and just getting into it a little hard...it detonates like crazy.I'm not talking a little detonation..I am talking OMG detonating.So the only way to really drive it is to either baby it out of the hole and take off like your in a Hyundai or matt the living snot out of it and burn up some tires until it grabs and takes off.It really dosen't like in between too much.I'm kind of scared to mess with it though because everything else is perfect.I'm thinking it might detonate while towing and if it does I'll just pull the chip.(this btw cures the detonation issue.)Anyways enough rambling..LOL