Jonblarc7

00pooterSS

I'm just saying your arguing the point that you didn't feel any power difference or MPG gain. But you haven't had it re-tuned, Get it re-tuned and you'll change your mind.

Bgbldodge

Gotta have cats. They don't offer with cats. I've got an email out to them to see if they've had a customer install cats with their true dual and headers.

Texas speed is about 5 miles from my house so I'll be going with them if Speed Engineering doesn't have a way to deal with cats.

Bgbldodge

It's possible. I called the two local joints and that was the price with parts. Didn't spend time calling anyone else because I bought a Big Green Egg instead. Maybe once my bonus comes around I'll pick up the hunt then. I really would prefer gears over headers but not for that price.

00pooterSS

iTrader: (40)

I hear you loud and clear and agree.

Originally I made a comment about headers. Then within a week or so of that comment I had them on my truck and said btw after just throwing them on I don't notice a difference but maybe I will after tuning and i'll let you know then.

I mentioned several times that at this time it isn't noticeable but after a tune this and after a tune that. So to me I made it clear I'm getting it tuned. Maybe it wasn't as clear as I thought.

So I'm just giving info as I have it. And some people like to know what first impressions are and how it is before tuning and after.

However, I've modified enough cars to know when something is going to make a difference, not trying to brag but I've done pretty much every kind of build you can imagine and every bolt on there is and every power adder there is on all kinds of cars and motors... 23 years of repairing/building cars daily you kinda get a feel for when something has potential, even untuned. There's no doubt that they will add some power, but I get the feeling they won't make as much of a difference as they did on F bodies and other cars I've put headers on. Which after I looked at the Y pipe and catback on this truck closely, that's no surprise, the stock stuff is pretty damn good. So that leaves less room for improvement from headers. I went into this feeling the way I have always felt about headers.. but didn't realize how much better the stock stuff was compared to the ol F body days.


Some of this may seem contradictory, and it somewhat is because I initially posted in here with this vision of headers that is now kinda falling apart. But I am jumping the gun as you pointed out. I think I'm just bummed about it man.

Jonblarc7

I get where your coming from but for the price if your going to get a tune anyway. I don't think headers are a bad investment.

I just didn't want people to think. Headers will give you no gains just because you didn't get it tuned for headers. And I agree with you that gears will give you a bigger seat of the pants feel. But unless you can install them your self. It's going to be triple the cost.

I wish I knew how to re-gear my truck. I would have already done it.

00pooterSS

iTrader: (40)

I agree, and I don't have to pay for a tune I've already paid and touch ups are free. Again if it wasn't clear for those reading my comment about headers it is untuned and it is getting tuned soon.

Doing gears isn't hard brain work necessarily, it is hard labor though and takes patience. The worst part is shimming the pinion and carrier to set your pattern. You need to get two inner pinion bearings and ream the inner shim out on one so that you can take it on and off as you shim and measure. For final assembly you press the new one down to the shims then install it. The crush sleeve is a pain too, you have to go real slow cause once it starts to crush you can over do it quick. They are cheap so getting two is a good plan. It does require a few specialty tools and patience. You'll need a dial indicator and an inch pound tq wrench, the cheap bar type works great. You can get the tools for under $100 I believe. I have taken carriers out before and swapped the diff only and slapped them back together with good luck. If you use the same OEM bearings which are usually timken you can often get by without setting up the rear since the same brands keep the same tolerances. I rebuilt my rear in my 04 truck and ordered a bearing kit from a local supplier, they didn't have the timken set so I got the national brand set and the bearing races and rollers were a different angle than the timken (angle of the wedge of the race and wedge of the rollers if that makes sense) which made us want to check the gear pattern even more than we had already planned to. It was a good thing we did because it did not lay a good pattern reusing the original shims in their original spot so we had to do a full new pattern setup and that can be a bit stressful but not undoable if you're patient. I had paid for a gear swap before using $300 AAM gears and an auburn and me doing my first full setup on gears was a hair quieter than the set I paid a pro rear end shop to do. So take that for what you will.

If you get timkens and a really good diff you can likely pull the carrier and keep track of which shims were where and slap it back together and likely be okay. But always run a pattern check.

When I did a yank and stick back I used an auburn.

00pooterSS

iTrader: (40)

That 3k-3500 would make a lot more sense if it's 4wd and I didn't even ask if it was, just assumed it wasn't. Still seems a bit high but I've also never tore apart the front diff so it may be a major mf'er and that's why it's so high on price.

Bgbldodge

00pooterSS

iTrader: (40)

**** for 3500 you could buy a 6.2 and swap that in (if you pay someone to put it in obviously it's higher) and not need the gears headers or cam. The 6.2, even though it isn't rated at a whole lot higher power, rolls the f out on 5.3's. I raced a buddy in his wife's 6.2 Yukon Denali 8 speed and ho ly ****. There's some videos on youtube of a crew cab 4wd 6.2 truck with a tune and intake vs a reg cab with intake headers exhaust and the 6.2 truck rapes the regular cab. And they both launch in 2wd. Both are 6 speeds too. After the 6.2 CC jumps out 2 cars the reg cab holds the gap but that's it. And it's about 700 pounds lighter with more mods.

Why do you have to have cats? The smell?

00pooterSS

iTrader: (40)

Found the vid