We had our first camping trip of the season this past weekend, and it was the first time I really had an opportunity to work the new engine pretty hard. Overall, I'm really pleased with the performance of the engine and upgraded turbo. I was a bit concerned the HX35 turbo might produce too much boost, but on long, somewhat steep grades with the transmission locked in 3rd and the engine at around 2500 rpm, the boost stayed steady between 10-12 psi with EGT's hitting a max of 1150*. The coolant temps were more stable than before as well; the old engine always ran hot, even with every 6.5L cooling upgrade available. I'm beginning to suspect the coolant passages may have been blocked with sediment. The new engine never even reached the halfway/210* mark. It would start to climb a bit, the engine fan would kick in, and then the temp would come back down to around 185*. This was with the A/C on and the ambient temp about 83*. Much better results than before.
All in all, even with just a stock build, the engine seems to have more power and pulls strong. There is a bit more turbo lag, though, as it blows a ton of black smoke until the engine can build up a bit more RPM and then the exhaust clears up and just keeps pulling. I can hit 15 psi in the upper RPM range at full throttle, so I do keep my eye on the boost gauge, but it doesn't get that high as easily as I thought it might.
An intercooler is next on my radar. I want to make sure this engine lives a long life.
Couple of pics of my rig below. 1995 Tahoe towing a 2017 Springdale 1800BH; trailer weighs approx. 4500 lbs and is 21' long; it's not a huge trailer, but is a pretty good load for a short-wheelbase 1/2 ton vehicle.
First pic is at Devil's Tower in Wyoming about 3 years ago; second pic is north of Mulberry Mountain in Arkansas:
Casey