Towing compounds: s476 or s480

[chevyburnout1]

Boy has it been a while! Seven years since my last post. Amazing how time flies when you have kids

Anyhow, I have been slowly neutering the truck these past five years as my desire for peak hp and 11second quarter mile times are being replaced by usable power, zero smoke, and most importantly; towing. This truck now lives basically hooked to a 12,000lb fifth wheel camper towing doubles with either a SXS or jet skis. Most importantly most of my towing is between 5,500ft to 8000ft+ elevation. I absolutely hate smoke and am just looking for a quick spooling, noisy, cool running, super fun to drive setup that tows great.

The truck as of right now:
-s362sxe/68-.68ar
-93mm Comp Turbo atmo
-40mm external gate
-45% DDP oval bowl injectors
-Goerend R converter

I have been out of the game for a while that I figured it was going to be the old debate of either an s475 or an s480 to replace my atmosphere with. But now I see there is an s476 available. I was debating going this route with a 1.15ar housing. Any other suggestions?

 

[gmduramax]

S480 ball bearing would be my choice

 

[malibu795]

S480 with smaller turbine wheel..

 

[Chevy1925]

You can keep popping your head in here Dustin . Always great to see OG’s stopping by. Hows the kiddos? Gotta be big now cause im pretty damn sure you were having your girl around the same time i had mine

Majority of your smoke should come from the small charger before it comes alive, above that it should run clean and smooth. The 475 is quick and has a hell of a whistle to it. It would make the truck fun while towing and around town. Should keep you in the 750-800hp range still too with a big tune but it will be smokey.

My 483 doesnt care about the elevation as much as the stock charger but i did notice it feels like i lost some torque in the 2-2300rpm range area compared to the 480 or 475. Ive debated on a 1.15 t6 housing on it.

 

[pl_silverado]

S476 will probably be a better bang for your buck, I picked up 2 new ones in box for less than one S480. Have one on an L5P over Stock, with a pretty tight converter and the truck is an absolute blast to drive & tow with.

 

[chevyburnout1]

You can keep popping your head in here Dustin . Always great to see OG’s stopping by. Hows the kiddos? Gotta be big now cause im pretty damn sure you were having your girl around the same time i had mine

Majority of your smoke should come from the small charger before it comes alive, above that it should run clean and smooth. The 475 is quick and has a hell of a whistle to it. It would make the truck fun while towing and around town. Should keep you in the 750-800hp range still too with a big tune but it will be smokey.

My 483 doesnt care about the elevation as much as the stock charger but i did notice it feels like i lost some torque in the 2-2300rpm range area compared to the 480 or 475. Ive debated on a 1.15 t6 housing on it.

She's a whole whopping 9 years old now! The saying "the days are long but the years are short" hits waayyyy harder these days for sure! But it's all worth it! The best and worst thing about having kids is watching them grow up! She's been the driving factor to detune the truck as we do about 10 camping trips a year and this truck is the backbone for it

I'm hoping this change will increase boost a bit in the mid-rpm range so I can bring in some fuel down lower. Trying to stay in 5th or even 6th at interstate speeds while fighting Wyoming winds is my biggest goal. It's close! With conservative fueling at 1700rpms I can get 20psi total, with that 93mm atmo contributing about 2-5lbs tow-cruising. Then about 10-13psi with about 40psi total on a full throttle pull towing on my smallest tune. It has all the power I need up high in the rpms though! It's been 13 years since I've towed with a stock LB7 so I tend to forget how great this truck tows compared to stock.

My whole life I've always bought go fast parts one level higher than I needed and I'm finally learning that I never get the true results I want So I feel like the s480 is out of the picture because of this. So this may be turning into an s475 vs s476 argument now haha.

 

[pl_silverado]

For what it's worth, the 476 came with a billet/fmw and a 360 degree thrust bearing right outta the box. Part number was 14969880029, compressor cover inlets is machined a bit more than the typical cast s475 171702.

Work did a video on the new 476 a while back.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZaa8OpdJJE

 

[chevyburnout1]

I feel like the 476 will be the way to go. Should I stick with the smaller 87mm turbine as well for what I'm needing? Or do the 95mm with the 1.15 housing? I have a turbo speed gauge I could throw in just to make sure I'm not going to explode it for the 2% of the time I turn the fuel up.

 

[pl_silverado]

I’d go 96 1.32, exactly how it comes outta the Borg box. I would let ya try one of em if you were local. Cardinal Parts has em under a grand, just search for 171702 and all the different variants will pop up.

 

[Dozerboy]

I know nothing. I’m just now going to put on a VVT64mm and 480 compound kit. I think the fact that you’re at high elevation, you should consider something larger. All that torque down low so you can keep it in fifth and six gear is gonna be really tough on the engine. I’ve been watching lots of videos from the power driven Diesel guys. Yeah they’re Cummins guys so I don’t know how much it transfers over in the Duramax, but they love big compound set ups for high Elevation.