From what I can tell the 300 hp c8.3, still has more torque than 3208 cat. Coach in question is a 92 u280. Will the 4 speed leave me crawling up the Rockies. Did the 6 speed come out in 93?
We live in the Rockies and as yet have not felt the need for more power or gears. The 4 speed and 3208 works well enough for a 30 yr old coach. The last trip we did before the winter was Golden Gate SP at 9,000'+ and had all the get up I required. A few years ago we came out of Red Lodge, MT up Beartooth pass the only thing that slowed the climb was the curves, could have gone a lot faster but had to slow for the curves.
Start the new season next week with 110,000+ mls on the coach so don't sweat it........unless you feel the need for more power and that's always a personal choice.
It's all relative, speed wise. 300 hp will haul you and your toad over the Rockies just fine. Will you be "crawling" as you state? You will be pulling steep passes at 30-35 mph, truck speed. Saying you a fast coach is like saying you have a fast turtle. There are no fast coaches. The really big deal is the downhill side, easing down under complete control without touching the service brakes thanks to the marvelous retarder.
Seriously, pulling mountain passes is done by managing engine speed, torque and heat. 50% more horsepower might gain you a few mph uphill.
We had a 92 U280 and had we kept it we would have another 100K in the bank (or would have blown it on something else.)
I definitely liked our 97 U295 with the Cummins better because of the 6 speed and retarder but for the money it's hard to go wrong with the 92 if it is well cared for. Sitting in that pilot seat is like nothing else out there.
Horsepower is like money, you can never have too much. Had a 300 hp 295, 35 mph up some hills. Had a 500 hp 320, 50 mph up the same hills. You can be 70 years old, and still be a "boy racer".
Yes.
Our '93 has the 6-speed Allison, but no retarder. I can't comment on how the 4-speed would affect performance of the 300hp C8.3, because I've never driven one. We've crossed the Rockies 4 times in the 4 years we've owned our coach, and I've never been embarrassed by the climbing performance of our coach. Yes, I've encountered a some "4th gear at 40 mph" climbs, but they are few and far between. 95% of the time, our coach will run as fast as I would ever want to go, regardless of how much power I had, and that's good enough for me!
I worried with my 93 280 36 about the 4 speed. No issue. I did have a leaky charge cooler that was limiting my boost to 13#. A new U320 cooler with cast ends and a Banks kit and it was ready to fly.
Thanks for all your inputs
If you could pull the Beartooth, you dun well with your coach! I pulled it at record speed because the DW has vertigo and was screaming bloody murder all the way.
The four speed is a good transmission but limited off the line by the relatively tall first gear and the freeway mileage is down slightly from a six speed. The biggest annoyance is being stuck without a good gear on long grades. Ours will go 57 mph in third but it would be nice to have another gear between third and fourth. If you keep it in fourth, it will "hunt" between third and forth with abrupt gear changes so best is to drop it to third and relax to the top of the grade.
This is not a deal killer but the six speed would be great.
Pierce
I'd never had a six-speed until this coach. Wow! She's a dragster off the line and rapidly finds a "comfort zone". We pull I-17 from Phoenix to Flagstaff often. With our old gearing, shift points were too far apart, could not pass big rigs. This dear senses that we need to go by, and does! ^.^d
We like to boondock east of Miles City on the snow-mobile loading area, lots of room and NO signal of any kind. Problem is the road in is Beartooth or Chief Joe hwy out of Cody or 214 from Sheridan either way it's vertigo central for herself.SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) sits in the back until we get to the valley.
b^.^d