Just bought a new Tahoe with a 5.3 and a 6 speed auto. I need more power! :/ can the 5.3 be modded the same way the camaro and corvette can? I'd like to add atleast 100 whp and at the same time add MPG at cruise and keep the tranny safe. Any ideas?
I called LMR here in Houston and they were great. Suggested a cam head port tune exh and intake. Any idea how much I should expect to pay? Or would a SC be MORE practical?
Thanks,
Ryan

 

Same as any LSx. You could do an intake/cold air/exhaust/tune. Or go bigger and do cam/heads or a blower.

I'd probably just do a blower along with a intake/exhaust/tune.

 

Don't be surprised to get a trans problem in the future if done. Depending on year, well sorta, you would be amazed to see how many new body Chevy trucks are in the shop for trans rebuilds/replacing with no mods and even low miles. Just keep that in mind that something possible could happen down the road. They motors are built great, but trans are absolute garbage these days.

 

Never heard that before, and I know about 12 guys with that tranny.

 

Maybe its the climate conditions? I dunno. But our transmission line has 14 bays between both techs and to my surprise its Chevy trucks most of the time with issues.

 

The new 6L80 transmission is stout, don't mind Kschroers1, he's probably talking about the old 4L60E trannies from many years ago.

I'd go Magnacharger blower to get the power you need.

 

I've always liked the supercharger package because it's efficient, powerful and not hard on the motor. The whipple type that replace the intake manifold are the best ones. I think. And the transmissions, GM re-engineered the reaction sun shell that was notorious for sheering the teeth in 05. They are a fantastic transmission. What year did you get?

 

ls1tech.com

 

That sounds right. It was the 4L60's that are in alot. New body style's haven't came in often for trans concerns, more often trim than anything with new body style chevy trucks. But if i recall, Joe Gibbs had a special edition tahoe with either the 5.3 or the 6.0 with a supercharger on it from factory. It was on the last generation tahoes. Don't get me wrong, Chevy blocks are built great and we like to say "their barely broken in at 100k" because of how well they perform.

 

100 shot of Nos going in my 07 Chevy Tahoe LTZ 2WD. This should help the pig out. Has a MagnaFlow Exhaust, Predator TUne and K&N FIPK right now.. The TUne did the biggest improvement..

 

It's a 2009 with a 5.3 and the new auto 6 speed.

I talked with LMR here in houston and they are saying for 6000 I can get a new set of cams rockers AMH headers exhaust torque conveter and it will put 400 to the wheels. I was really only looking for about 300-350 to the wheels.

Any ideas, for less money? So far I'm leaning towards headers, cat back, CAI, and tune, but I don't know what brand of any of these are the top performers.

LS1Tech hasn't been much of a help. Probably because I have no idea what the differences are between LS1,2,3, etc...

Thanks for all the help.

 

The differences in brands is going to be pretty marginal in general. Longtube headers, cold air intake, underdrive pulley, and true tune (not programmer). I think you'd be really pleased and surprised with those upgrades.

I hear really great things about LMR.

For bigger, instant, dependable power I would definitely look at the Magnacharger.

 

Just be sure to be careful with that tune. I just had a 08 Avalanche at work with a "rattle", thats what the customer described it as, well it was an engine ping. The truck had alot more ***** than stock one's had and suspected that it wasn't anything close to stock. Opened the hood, yup CAI, headers, and injectors were installed. Connected my Tech2 to the vehicle and checked the ECM codes and sent them to GM for verification. GM sends us an email saying it wasn't factory codes on the vehicle and that all warranty is terminated from that day forward. My advisor called the customer and he admitted it was stage 4 tune. Now the vehicle has a branded title and will never have a warranty for the rest of its life.

All im saying is their are some things you may want to consider before opening up a brand new truck. As a GM tech, we are now told to pull ECM codes before any engine work can be performed these days due to other dealerships lack in diag, warranty costs, and the large amount of aftermarket componets that are out there.

 

Well, that's why you flash back to stock code before you take the car back to the dealership. And what does modifying the engine ecu have to do with, for example, a broken power mirror motor. It seems that that is actually not a legal approach to handle voiding a warranty.

What tune do you recommend?

 

Predator Handheld is great.. woke up my Tahoe big time.. about $350 bucks or so.. well worth it..