Low cost upgrades

[machinistkeys]

Looking to do a few "cheaper" upgrades under the hood. Was thinking cold-air intake and possibly throttle body spacer. Getting mixed feelings on the spacer. Thoughts on that and/or best intake??? Also possibly tuner/programmer

 

[knucklehead27]

year/make/model?

 

[Z15]

Cold air intake and throttle body spacer are not going to do a lot, much hype but little proof of any benefit except to those who sell them. Here is the rub - the OBD computer is going to sense a change in the air mixture and negate most of the benefits of the intake. At best you might feel more power at 5000+ rpms . In normal driving they are useless, so whats the point? You are just falling for marketing hype.

 

[machinistkeys]

2008 sierra1500 sle texas edition 5.3l gas

I put on kn intake and airaid throttle body spacer, to go with my flowmaster. also got a hypertech max energy programmer and removed the wafer(honeycomb looking think) from my maf. power is much better!! i can spin the tires form take of with traction control on. great top end power. got it to 135mph so far. next im gonna do full exhaust. headers and true dual and thinking about a cam

You can tell a difference in the tbs. put it on first cause my intake was to be delivered the next day. had better throttle response. added the intake made it even better, then the programmer topped it off. decided to remove the wafer on the maf, cause my boss did it to his truck and said he could tell a difference, so did that today and it increased my take off dramatically.

All you nay sayers on the spacer and intake should try it before you knock it. not saying it add 100hp or anything, but for a low grade addons, well worth the money

 

[happy 2011]

plus one with Z15

You think you have more power becaues now you can hear the air intake.
Only think that may have helped you with more power is the programmer. But if you really knew how they worked and how they fool the pcm you may not want it in your tk.


Remember one think CFMS

 

[Z15]

Anecdotal evidence based solely on the experiences of individual consumers is insufficient to support product claims, including claims related to horsepower, torque or fuel economy. People’s opinions are not facts that can be substantiated.

 

[Jimmijackson]

Cold air intake and throttle body spacer are not going to do a lot, much hype but little proof of any benefit except to those who sell them.

GMC Custom Parts

 

[machinistkeys]

Falling for marketing hype you say? For 1, why would you keep anything stock when doing up grade? For 2 I can hardly hear my intake due to my loud ass exhaust. and yes I can tell the difference. my mid level power has increased. I could tell this before i even hooked up the programmer to it. have either of you tried these products? my guess would be no, or you wouldn't say it didnt work. It may not add a hell of a lot of hp, but it adds enough to tell a difference. and to quote Z15 "People’s opinions are not facts that can be substantiated." how can an aftermarket intake not be better than a stock one that constricts the airflow? What you are saying about the intake, would be the same as if you were saying aftermarket mufflers dont help either. do you agree with that? if you look at the intake on a stock 5.l vortech, you can see how larger the "reserve" is, where as on (example: mine is a k\n) an aftermarket intake its flowin straight into the throttle body. but you can say what you want, but I know how my truck ran before i put all this on and how it runs now! Next step; new exhaust headers and all the way back, and thinkin about a cam

 

[Molson02536]

Falling for marketing hype you say? For 1, why would you keep anything stock when doing up grade? For 2 I can hardly hear my intake due to my loud ass exhaust. and yes I can tell the difference. my mid level power has increased. I could tell this before i even hooked up the programmer to it. have either of you tried these products? my guess would be no, or you wouldn't say it didnt work. It may not add a hell of a lot of hp, but it adds enough to tell a difference. and to quote Z15 "People’s opinions are not facts that can be substantiated." how can an aftermarket intake not be better than a stock one that constricts the airflow? What you are saying about the intake, would be the same as if you were saying aftermarket mufflers dont help either. do you agree with that? if you look at the intake on a stock 5.l vortech, you can see how larger the "reserve" is, where as on (example: mine is a k\n) an aftermarket intake its flowin straight into the throttle body. but you can say what you want, but I know how my truck ran before i put all this on and how it runs now! Next step; new exhaust headers and all the way back, and thinkin about a cam

Skip the cam, the cam is large enough for your 5.3 vortec and try to sell your programer and buy a http://www.hptuners.com/.

Keep up the great work and keep us posted.
Molson02536

 

[nikolaiak2007]

Falling for marketing hype you say? For 1, why would you keep anything stock when doing up grade? For 2 I can hardly hear my intake due to my loud ass exhaust. and yes I can tell the difference. my mid level power has increased. I could tell this before i even hooked up the programmer to it. have either of you tried these products? my guess would be no, or you wouldn't say it didnt work. It may not add a hell of a lot of hp, but it adds enough to tell a difference. and to quote Z15 "People’s opinions are not facts that can be substantiated." how can an aftermarket intake not be better than a stock one that constricts the airflow? What you are saying about the intake, would be the same as if you were saying aftermarket mufflers dont help either. do you agree with that? if you look at the intake on a stock 5.l vortech, you can see how larger the "reserve" is, where as on (example: mine is a k\n) an aftermarket intake its flowin straight into the throttle body. but you can say what you want, but I know how my truck ran before i put all this on and how it runs now! Next step; new exhaust headers and all the way back, and thinkin about a cam

The only way that you'll be able to prove all of what both of you are claiming is if you put your specific truck on a dyno and run it through the paces before and after the mods. you can try to go back and forth about it all you want, but you won't know for sure 100% what changed, if any, has been made.

 

[sierra3]

I have been modifying GM vehicles for years. K&N and Hypertech have been around for years and I have been using them with good results. I have a 2011 Sierra SLT crew cab with a 5.3L. Brought the truck to a local dyno and Showed 237hp at the rear wheels. Installed dual exhaust and registered 250hp@ 4800. Added a K&N replacement filter and it added about 7hP@ 4000 rpms. Total hp at on a average 3800 to 400

 

[sierra3]

Sorry about that. But average hp 3800 to 4000 was at 257 hp at rear wheels. Next I installed Hypertech max energy and removed the honey comb screen from the mass air flow sensor hp went from 257hp at 4000 to 275hp @ 3800 rpms at the rear wheels. Hypertech tuning was set at 87 octane. You can definetly feel a difference in throttle response . Gas mileage improved by .5 to the gallon. Is this worth it? It depends what you want and how much you want to spend. As for as market hype it's proven at manufacturing sites with there own dyno results. Don't knock it if you don't know what your talking about.

 

[Z15]

Don't beleive it. There is no way a tune and a few add-ons raised the hp to 400. A 150 hp increase?

 

[happy 2011]

yes he can get 400 Hp with exhaust and k&n air filter. You see the exhaust will (claim) to add 15 percent. Now at about 370 HP and the K&N will add 20 horse (they claim) so if you do the math he's at about 390 to 400 horses.



Wow if you got that much more hP by exhaust and air filter your next job should be working for nascar my friend lol

 

[kwbudaman]

Eventually the oil from the K&N air filter will contaminate the MAF, too, not to mention most of the so-called "cold" air intakes actually raise the intake air temperature. Been there, done that, measured it too.

 

[nachi]

Volumetric Efficiency = suck + squeeze + bang + push. If you want to do it right then get a port & polish job get the headers etc and spend the bucks. Otherwise, if you want the most then add the most and spend the most up until you break something like your tranny or rear end! If you experience, if you feel it, and it makes your truck run better than let us know. My thought: I followed the book, schedule, PM's and kept her OEM to 190K. Now its time to give her some upgrades on her last legs and see how long & fast she goes. I feel it and she likes it! AFE + Hypertech + JBA + MAF cleaning + Throttle Body PM's + 8mm wires + Mobil + Lucas + 4wheelparts, etc. = Happy Driver!

GMC - Great Mountain Climber gone where only Jeeps were supposed to go!

 

[paulcapasso]

I'm reading the post a bit late but this is funny! a 5.3 with bolt on's at 400HP? LOL I had 400 stock in my gto, 6 LITRE that gave me 347.5 corrected at the wheels if I remember correctly. it might have been 330 something. regardless it's 18% loss for manual trans and 21 for automatic. So.. My 6.0 in my SLE 2500HD has 300 or 320 stock and with the LS2 cam and LS2 heads plus the HP Tuners Program I might make 400. I'm trying to get this confirmed. My point is 5.3 same block but not going to produce 400HP on just small bolt on's.