I've got an '04 Z71 Suburban and am looking to follow a "TO DO" for maximum bolt-on performance for the 5.3L Vortec.

I've followed the basic steps so far but was looking to see what people would suggest further down the line. I know with my LS1, there was Lid, Pulley, MAF, Converter and tires and you were in 12 second land, some in 11...

Curious as to what the recipe for the Vortec is.

From what I've gathered, I was thinking the following:

1. Exhaust (Have a Corsa)
2. Intake (Have AEM)
3. Tuning (Was thinking about Nelson)
4. ASP Pulley? (Is it worth it on the Vortec?)
5. MAF? (Is it worth it on the Vortec?)
6. Plugs-N-Wires (Old Faithful NGK and MSD)

Anything else you would suggest? How about ported TB? Are they the same as the LS1? Headers? Converter? Transgo?

I'd like to hear some input and succes stories as well as manufacturer suggestions and who to stay away from or what to avoid.

 

Convertor

 

Headers, e-fans (either Flexalites or LS1/LT1 F-bodies), maybe a small cam?

 

Thow in a Heads/ cam job. simple as hell to do!!! You can do it yourself for under 2grrr. Add some custom tunning for 3 or 4 hundred. Careful on the verter since you have a 4wd, don't want to go to big. I'm sure you would want max towing from the type of vehicle you have.

 

Start out getting the Tune to stay up to date with youre mods I realy like the 93 Hot tune. Then Id go to work on the Trans get a Yank TT 2600 and a Trans go and use 1 washer. Then Id get 3.90 gears & ASM Headers & some Electric Fans. If thats not enough then you can S/C it or Heads & cam it. Thats what I would do.

 

Unless you want to swap in a 6.0 and go from there

 

Cam, long tubes, and a converter and a good tune are the biggest bang for buck differences you are going to get without going into a power adder... Gear suck for 4x4s unless you are going to go nutty and get 4.56s. $1200-$1500 for a gear swap is way too much cash unless you plan on going big...

With all the bolt-ons and a cam I went 14.29@97mph. Not bad considering I went 16.2@86mph stock..

 

Throttle body spacer(Helix Tower of Power)
Tornado
Air filter bypass kit(check out www.kalecoauto.com performance section-LMAO)
O-pipe

Ill stop being a jerkoff
(1)-Exhaust and Intake should be done instantly & if you have the $ headers will
complete the exhaust and you will gain some good HP/TQ
(2)-Custom Tune or LS1edit-if you plan on doing any real mods either of those is
a must have because they can bring more out of mods
(3)-Nitrous can give you a second off the 1/4 but its only on demand
or
Torque Converter can give you almost a whole second but it will give you
power at all times instead of having to activate it.
(3)-Cam kit(cam,springs,pushrods,etc...

 

MAF is a waste of money IMO. Go for the cam, cold air intake, exhaust, headers, TUNE, Corvette servo...for more power: converter, shift kit, heads, etc.

 

And make sure that you have a good tranny cooler thrown in there somewhere. I should have gotten a cooler a LONG time ago.