I have a 4.3L with a 5 speed MT. Do you think the tune would really be worth the price for it? Being a MT, I really wouldn't benefit in the tranny department, but what about torque and horsies?

 

Simply put, no.

 

Nope. I would say with a 4.3, a tune REALLY helps part throttle/full throttle shifting. But you in a manual so you would not see anything.

 

Thanks Brendan,
So, I'm thinkin best bet is to force more air into the sucker? That is, after I fix my annoying clutch problem.

 

I know this'll make most guys cringe but on my 97 C1500 4,3l 5 speed truck I installed a hypertech power programmer. Set the top end to 128 MPH and adjusted everything the way I wanted it. It made a great improvement in throttle response and trust me, a 4.3L 5 speed truck with 3.42 gear WILL HIT 128mph

 

Wanna see what a HPP buys you on a 4.3.... Attached are stock and HypeTech tunes from the same truck (A Low Dime's truck). The only change is added timing, and PE leaned out by 0.1...

Stock


HyperTech

 

Maybe the '97's are different. I'm not saying it's a 100% difference, but I bet it's a 5-10% difference. At least on my truck it was. I at least selected the 160deg thermo setting assuming it added more timing along with the 93 octane tune. It still hits 128 mph. Pretty impresive for a little V6 in a 4100 lb truck

 

I dunno man, i was not doubting you or anything, maybe brendan's was different but when i first downloaded both from his truck it made me laugh... His is a 2000 s10

 

I say yes on the custom tune if it's done right. You need to be careful on the timing curve with a stick because it will rattle on the low RPM if you have too much advance. I know on a vortec 350 with the same chamber design 26~32* of timing is worth 25+ HP. I went from 19* to 28* on my 2K 4.3L S10 and it made a big difference. It was still a dog but picked up over 1/2 a sec and 4MPH on the G-tec from timing alone. Also ran best with the stock or lower shift points. After 5K power falls bad.

 

Im only running 24* timing now.

Mine falls off nasty above 5k as well.

If I had not planned of going boost or sprayed, Would I have spent $200-$400 on a programmer or a custom tune? No.