I have a 04 5.3L 1500 4x4 silverado. I have been reading these forums and researching stuff for a while.
THis is what i think i want:

long tube headers
magnaflow 5x11x22 muffler 3" SI/SO 3" piping
K&N FIPK intake kit
transgo shift kit
computer tune

i have some questions about this combination of bolt ons...
1. are these good choices of mods and brands? is there something i would be better off with than these parts?
2. what brand headers? i want some cost effective long tubes. does ceramic coating help for performance or just for looks and durability?
3. should i go to a shop and have them swap out my piping and muffler or should i get the magnaflow catback kit? what size is the factory y-pipe?
4. i want to do the tuning myself. i am pretty handy with computers, but have not that much knowledge about timing and stuff like that. i am liking efi live and hptuners. which program is the best?
5. what order should i buy and install this stuff in?
6. would possibly geting a cam installed later on influence what choices of stuff i should get now?
7. what other stuff should i consider?
8. i've never opened up a tranny. will it be too hard for me to try to install the shift kit myself? what kind of prices should i expect for pro installation? what other stuff should i get put in at the same time?

would be great if you could answer those questions and help me decide what to do and tell me if these are good choices.

thanks
jerome

 

well, as far as long tubes go, you are gonna have to look into the ASMs, TOGs, supermaxx long tube headers because you are 4x4. the pacesetters are cost effective, but will not fit the 4x4. as far as cermaic coating goes, yes definatly get it, it will help performance, but mainly longevity of your headers. you dont need to get a cat back, or the 3 " piping. you will most likely loose power with that. unless your gonna go with some sort of forced induction, i would reccommend keeping your stock exhaust setup, and just changing out the muffler with the magnaflow muffler you want. i really wouldnt screw with the rest of it, it does pretty well for a NA motor.

as far as tuning goes, i think most guys on here as well as me, will tell you to order a mail order tune. its a very good bang for the buck. but if you want to do it yourself, i believe the new efi live is the way to go. you could learn timing, afr, etc pretty easily by just reading this forum alot, and go from there.

you can install the shift kit yourself. just jack it up, unscrew a few bolts, replace some springs, etc and your set.

the mods you listed are pretty basic bolt ons, and wont really influence a cam selection too much. there is a whole sticky note on cams you can read up on, and go from there. or just call comp cams or some other like place and tell them what you have and what you want, and they can tell you what cam would work well for you.

if your gonna do a bigger cam, you might wanna look into a higher stall too. thats a good mod without a cam as well. a yank 3000 will be my next mod, and i still have the stock cam.

 

thanks for the advice. i have a few more questions...

i see you have wires and plugs. do you feel those are worth it?

for headers, are tri-y headers like those from S&S headers comparable to long tubes? are long tubes something i can just bolt up myself or does that need to be welded and pro installed?

even if i free up the exhaust with headers and muffler, you dont recommend an intake kit? because improvement over stock is not much?

for shift kit, i have read people usually install corvette servos while they are at it...is there anything else i should consider getting for the tranny?

cam is something that is not user installable right? how much would an average installation be?

is this order of getting stuff installed good?
1. headers & exhaust
2. intake
3. shift kit
4. tune

 

i didnt feel any seat of the pants (SOTP) difference at all, but they are supposedly more efficient/less resistant and for 60-70 buck what the hell. i heard of decent 5 hp gains on dynos too.

i have heard good things about the tri y design, but i think the set doug thorley makes, is actually a shorty stlye(they dont call em that, but iam pretty sure they are just as short as stock exhaust manifolds)

installing long tube headers can be a pain in the ***, but its something you can do with mediocre wrenching skills. you will have to take it somewhere to get a piece of pipe welded into the y pipe that will bolt onto the long tube collectors. it sounds kinda complicated, but its actually a quick, simple job. if you go with the supermaxx kit, its a complete bolt on header kit that comes with a new y pipe and aftermarket cats. they will run you about 1300 dollars though.

yea, i would reccomend an intake kit. if i had to do it again, i would buy the kit thats for sale on ebay now for about 30 bucks. i have the 250 dollar k and n setup, and my brother has the 30 dollar ebay intake. i think its a great kit for the price.

you might as well throw either corvette or superor servos while you are under there. you just have to remove the head shield to get to it and take the stock one apart. you could look into getting a higher stalling torque convertor and a big tranny cooler for other tranny mods. other than that there really isnt much, unless you are wanting to go big HP then you might want to look at getting a built 60/65 from one of the pref. vendors to the right.

a cam is user installable. look at the CAM sticky thread, it will tell you everything about cams there is to know.

how long are you planning on doing these things over. if you plan on saving up here and there and getting different parts as the months go by, get either a custom mail order tune, or a tuner, and start tuning yourself. as you get more mods, you can retune it to that. there is alot to be had over the stock tune.

todd

 

you could also do a TB bypass and underdrive pulley

 

does underdrive pulley create problems with not enough a/c or alternator power? does it just give better throttle response and less parasitic drag?

 

there are a couple of pulleys one goes on the crank one goes on the alternator and one goes on the water pump i'd only put the one pulley on the crank the alternator pulley sucks cause your volts drop way down put if you get a larger alternator youd be ok. yeah i'd deffintley get the tune first i'd go through Allen Nelson heres his web site www.nelsonperformance.com