I'm finally turning my head towards addressing the performance of my truck. I've done the turbo thing (DSM's), I've done the H/C thing (LS1), so for my truck I'd like to do a SC. I've got a ton of reading to do, and am planning on seeing something come to fruition in the early spring of next year.

I'd like some advice on what would be the best set-up for me. My truck is an '05 rcsb 5.3. I daily drive the truck between 10-60 miles per day depending on my schedule. I'm not looking for insane power gains, because it still needs to be driveable, but obviously being faster is the goal here.

If some one could give me a brief run down, or even some links on the most popular applications, and the pros/cons of each I would greatly appreciate it.
I'd also like to know ahead of time what supporting mods are needed/reccomended. Keep in mind this is going to be a fairly tame set up, so I'm not too concerned with things like meth injection.

Are any of you guys out there DDing you boosted rides? any reliablility issues?

Another concern I have is tuning. There isnt a ton going on around here in terms of performance shops and tuning. Are there any companies that can do GOOD mail order tunes for such an application?

Lastly, when all is said and done what am I looking at ballpark for a final price tag?

 

Majority of the guys here will recommend a radix. From what I hear it's a complete kit that you can bolt on yourself in a weekend. As far as daily driving, you'll be fine. Your tranny will def need to be beefed up if not replaced with a better one. For tunes, everyone will probably say Nelson. He's a tuner based out of somewhere in Texas who does really good work. As far as price you're looking at about 5k for the radix. Dunno about the tune cost.

 

Mine's my DD, when it doesn't break something. I loved the meth, when it worked. I'd strongly recommend it. I average anywhere from 15-100 miles a day, depending on where our projects are located. My 4L60E with a TT2600, Transgo hd2, servos, etc... lasted exactly 2 weeks with the blower. I got a level 5 from FLT, and it's been trouble-free since. If i could do it all over again, I'd get the tranny first, and avoid the downtime. It will fail. It's just a timebomb. I normally average 10-18 mpg, depending on how I drive. 90% of the time, it's closer to 10.

I didn't want to invest all this cash, and leave power on the table with a mail order tune, so I made a vacation out of it, and went to see Allen Nelson. He has experience with boosted trucks, and I wasn't going to skimp on something so critical. He's tuned several by mail though.

It's depressing to add it up, but I have about 10k in parts on mine. This includes tranny, whipple kit, cam kit, injectors, full exhaust, meth, nitrous, gauges to monitor everything, and alot of odds and ends.

Most here will recommend the radix kit. I got a good deal on a used whipple kit, so I went that route. There are some great comparison threads in here, but it'll take you a few days to read em all.

 

Here's something that might give u an idea on what way to go.I put a Radix kit on the truck at 30,000 miles. I've been to the drag strip countless times, i've towed a trailer all the way to Glamis and back and take the dirtbikes out about twice a month.The truck has 96,000 miles on it and i just had to replace the tranny, but thats been the only thing so far.Just make sure u have someone who knows what there doin tune ur truck. Good Luck

 

I also vote for the radix. Sounds like you are kinda like me in what you need. I decided on the radix based on others reviews and research. I thought about turbos and all the other stuff but I wanted something that I could bolt on and go which is exactly what I got.

With the turbo kits and alot of the other blower kits there is alot left up to you to figure out such as injectors, tune, etc.

The radix had everything i needed, bolted on in one day, and drove the next. It was very straight foward, great instructions, and a great quality kit all around.

As for reliability, I drive my truck anywhere from 10-100 miles per day in the florida heat. I have not had one hiccup yet. Everything is working good. I decided to change the pulley and get a dyno tune and man did it wake up even more. Im hooked now and will be adding a cam as soon as i can find time to install it.

You wont regret the radix but make sure you do the research and feel that its the right choice for you.

 

I know everyone is going to say Radix, but I really would like to see you try one of these http://www.w2wpowertrain.com/pc-81-7...se-system.aspx They have a intercooled version now and it would be interesting to see how they perform. If you like to be different and try new things that not many have done, give this a spin. I would LOVE to see it

 

is there a cheapish way to beef up the tranny sufficiently? I really dont want to get into dropping another couple grand on a tranny

 

I'm at 25,000 7psi boosted miles (about 400 rwhp) with only a DACCO reman trailblazer stall, a Transgo shift kit and a Vette servo, but turbo are easier on transes then radixes, I don't drive like a wild man all the time. but it is my DD.

 

yup...im with everybody else on the radix....

 

This might be way out of the budget, but an 80e swap might be the last tranny you would ever put in your truck. I killed my 4l60 in my last truck at 40K miles with the stock 5.3