I owe a 2004 Chevy Silverado SS and I would like to upgrade the engine for more horsepower and speed. I am not mechanically inclined but where do I start. I have a Volant cold air intake and Gibson muffler but that is it. Can anyone help.

 

Depends on your budget......

I would start with some kind of Forced Induction on your truck. The SS responds real well to the Radix from MagnaCharger. Where in SoCal are you? I would be more that happy to take you for a ride.

 

www.silveradoss.com
That may help..
A cam would help, all of the boltons you can do for other trucks work... How much power do you want>?

 

Well welcome to the Forum!

I'd consider parts like these...

LT headers (Thorley, The Other Guys, Arizona Speed & Marine)
Custom Tune (LS1 Edit, Nelson, Westers, etc.)
Electric Fans (Flex-A-Lite, LS1 setup, etc)

After that, a cam, stall converter.

 

Welcome For Sure. I love the way the SS handles. I had an SS 2003 dealership loaner for 2 days.
In my humble opinion I would start with a Nelson Tuned PCM. To me it is the best money I have spent. Every time you add a modification you can get a free (Only Shipping Charges Apply) PCM update to complement your changes, from exhaust to blowers.
I say humble because I do not have a radically modified vehicle. See my "The Truck" link in my signature. I have a hand held Predator programmer and the Nelson Tune is hands down showing me how much money I wasted on it. I out pulled a late model Mustang GT on I-75 from 70mph until his speed limiter or Adams apple kicked in. I can go to 135mph and feel I could have held him off until then. Just be sure you have the correct speed rated tires for what you will be running.
Your OE muffler flows a decent 160 or so more CFM compared to my Z71 OE. So you can hold off on that until you get tuned. Just keep the SS pipes around until your happy. You can sell that muffler & pipe. If you don't the muffler shop will.
I am for sure one of the least experienced here in tweaking these late model motors. Going to The SilveradoSS Forum is good advise. A good group of folks. I got my SS muffler from a member there for free.
Most folks go to a K&N air filter right off. A good tip is to take it out of the bag and let it sit fins down on some news paper for a few days, changing the paper until there is no more drip. Then after 50 miles or so and a few WOT runs, disconnect and pull the MAF sensor and carefully clean the elements with contact cleaner. The oil from the filter element will make the MAF lie to the PCM with negative results. After the first cleaning your good to go. I clean mine every oil change for peace of mind.
If you get a tune, get your hands on a diagnostics reader, (borrow one?) and send the data to Nelson Tune for dialing in.
Good Luck and don't forget us after you go to the SS forum.

 

If youre serious about power I'd skip all the expensive 5-10hp mods and just go for the Radix. You can have an ASE tech install it for you and Magnacharger will warranty your drivetrain as long as you don't up the boost or do too many other mods.

But if youre not interested in that, start with a Nelson tune

 

The SS and the Radix supercharger were made for each other!!!!

 

About the Radix? When installed on a stock 5.3 motor, other than a mild exhaust, and a Nelson Tune, how does it effect gas mileage under non aggressive driving? Also, I would like a link to their site.

 

wow dave, pretty clean in that picture.

as for mods, you've got an airbox and exhaust already so you're set there. the other more common would be pcm tuning, headers, pulley, shift kit with servo's, higher stall converter, and oh yeah... a blower....

 

We have seen MPG gains around 2-3 with the Radix under "normal" driving conditions. The only problem is driving normal www.magnacharger.com

You can also check out:

www.tbyrne.com
http://www.speed-eng.com/store/