hey, ive been lurking here for a long time now trying to learn and now i think its time to ask a few questions. I have a 2000 5.3 w/3.73's running a 33'' tire. As far as power is concerned ive done all the free mods which i realize are only gonna help a tiny bit when put together, and i am currently running straight pipes, not true dual straights tho. Ok now for my questions, Im thinkin i need to re-work my exhaust setup to include headers and possibly true dual exhaust, with power rather than sound being my main goal do you have any reccomendations to help me produce some more Low-end power this is where i feel i am coming up short. Also I would like to do a cam swap what would be a good cam for my needs? i drive around town alot and wheel only a little so low-mid is alot more important than top end power for me... Any other reccomendations ill certainly consider. Thanks in advance later

Wannabebadd

 

diffinatley get the exhaust dualed out with an x-pipe, and a set of long tubes. also go with edit, you will need it to adjust for the new cam, and to take out torque management once you have had the trans reworked(you will eventually have too do this. the stock internalls are not good enough to handle much more than stock. mine lasted a year and im runnin low 15's). find a good intake, most people here prefer the UPD, i have a True Flow intake. you should diffinatly notice a diffrence with these mods, also look at a stall for the trans. i have a 2500 and wished i would have gotten the 3000 stall but i will swap this out when the time comes. the cam i am looking at is a comp cam
54-412-11-114 grind# xr265hr 212/212 .522/.529
this is a good cam for these motors it has a noticable lope to it and is good through out the power band 1200-6000 rpms, gives you good torque and mid-range power. its a good performance cam.
later
daniel

 

I'm assuming you have a 4x4 truck. If that's the case, definantly get some headers for that beast, don't bother with shorties though. Whatever you get, get them ceramic coated.

I would put some Flowmaster's on there to give you some back pressure for the low end. Magnaflows straight through may flow to much for what your wanting.

I had a 2600 stall on my z71, and it really worked well with it. It wasn't to much and it was still very noticable. You may consider going to a lower gear in the rear like 4.10's too. You will have to change front and rear if your a 4x4, something to keep in mind as the price usually doubles on gear swaps with a 4x4.

Something else to consider is some electric fans. I wouldn't bother with EDIT unless you really wanna go for it. There is one hell of a learning curve to it though. I would go with something like a Diablo handheld or something similar.

If your gonna go with the cam, which you may decide otherwise after you see prices for them and new springs and see how much work it really is, you should go ahead and bite the bullet and go with EDIT. You will also need some logging software too though. I would suggest EFILive and not ATAP though. It also is extremely helpful if you have a laptop so you can log more than revving the engine in the driveway with 30 feet of serial cable ran out to your truck. You can always get it tuned too which would defeat the purppose of needing EDIT, logging software and a laptop.

WHere are you from?

Welcome to the boards too!

 

one thing about the Diablo you need to know. they are really nice and have more features than the Hypertech, but once you download the tune to your PCM its married to it. you will never be able to remove it, and you can not resale it.
makes a nice paper wieght though.
I had the hypertech and sold it for about half of what i paid for it and used that money and some that was saved up to purchase edit.
IMO the hand helds are not worth the money if you can learn how to use edit. they just dont compare to what you can get from Edit
just my .02

 

With the Diablo you're right; you can't sell it unless you also sell your PCM. I got around that by buying a space PCM from a junkyard for $50 and then I can sell the Predator with that married PCM. Just a thought...

 

Here is my plan that i have laid out so far, intake, UDP-K&N not sure which just yet, then ill be looking for a programmer or pcm, its here that im stuck between the diablo and the westers pcm, both seem to have their advantages, the diablo appeals to me simply because i would have the thing there to be able to change things while i would have to wait for a new pcm from westers. Then ill look into the exhaust again, probably go with long tube headers into true duals, with probably magnaflow mufflers, i LOVE the sound of my straight pipes, and was very disappointed in my flowmaster it was just too quiet. Is there a muffler that will give me a deep sound thats somewhere close to my straights? how will going to true dual magnaflows behind headers affect the sound? quieter than the straight pipes? What size piping should i look into? Ive redone the ehaust twice now and if i go into it again it will be tuned for POWER first and sound a VERY close second... after i sort through that if im still wanting a lil more power ill look into a cam at that point... Thanks a bunch guys, if ya have any other things you would do differently let me know im here to learn... later

 

As you can see by my signature, I have a 2000 2wd Extended cab short bed with the 5.3. I have only 3 performance mods on the truck. The AEM Brute force intake, which I highly recomend for the following reasons. The tube is Polished aluminum. Not only does it look trick, it also will never rust or melt. Also, truckin' magazine dyno tested it and got 13hp at the rear wheel. The heat sink (thing that keeps the filter seperate from the engine to stay cool) is made out of stainless steel. These are great features and I only paid like $240 for it. Its cheaper then the K&N and is really made better. Second, I have the Magnaflow stainless steel cat back. This system probrobally wouldn't be loud enough for your taste. The thing is, I have heard that these LS1's like a little back pressure. That is the single sided cat backs make the most power, although I am sure true duals would improve upon that. The third thing I have is the HPPIII Hypertech. I really like this alot. A monkey could use it, its that simple. Also, you can do alot with it and it really makes a difference. I spent a total of about $850 on these 3 things combined and I have run a best time of 14.98 and a worst time of 15.17. I know everybody has their own opinion, but I just wanted you to know mine. Welcome to the board, and good luck with your project!

 

If I were to do it again on a semi stock truck I would choose the Westers over the Diablo. I initially heard about the Diablo and liked the fast that you could have custom programs made. They weren't even charging me however after 3 programs I still had detonation issues with my truck (whipplecharged). I then went with the Westers because I like what he had to offer for the price; cheaper then Diablo and lifetime tweaking for free. You are never without the truck; he sends you a backup PCM before you send yours back.

Anyway, even Westers could not get it perfect and I would see KR during acceleration. I am now going with a custom dyno tune locally with the wideband sensors.

I highly recommend Westers for trucks with mild bolts ons. You'll be satsified.

 

aight ive done a little more research and have a few more questions, i want to go in and fix the exhaust before getting the pcm. So here is a plan, ASM headers, x-pipe, and either two dynomax bullets or two borla xr-1's, probably dumped. Will this be an improvement over my straight pipes? which do you reccomend? thanks a ton later