please read and help

**4gstarion** · 06-17-2008, 02:04 AM

hey guys im 17 years old my parents gave me their 2001 suburban and i have a cold air intake from k&n and i know they are not race cars or anything and was not made to be fast but i want a little more power b/c i haul alot of things what are some good performance parts for the 5.3L vortec motor? i want to stay away from turbo or supercharger or a motor swap. also want to keep away form tearing the motor apart some ideas i have a throttle body spacer and list some others and would a flowmaster 50 series just muffler make a difference on stock exhaust tube ? please help me out just a kid who wants a little extra power to haul loads or things .

thanks,

**GoFastPadre** · 06-17-2008, 05:03 AM

Hey Man, A K&N Cai is a good start. If the TB Spacer is new send it back, it is a waste of money. The hext thing you need is a Custom Tune from Nelson Performance. He will hook you up with a good HP Boost and better gas mileage to boot. The tune is $375, but you get free retunes, this will be important because as you add mods you will need to retune. Next get you some LT headers, HF cats and two of those Flowmasters on custom bent TRUE duals, then you can think about doing some E-Fans and an underdrive crank pulley. All of these are pretty simple mods, but they will get you closer to where you want to be. Don't buy an exhaust kit because you can get it done a lot cheaper at a custom shop..

**Pete95Sierra** · 06-17-2008, 10:42 PM

I would also recommend a custom programer, but also a lot of people here have had great success with hypertech prorammers. also a cat back exhaust from magnaflow, flowmaster, or gibson is always a good choice and will give you some good power. or a custom one bent up by your exhaust shop will work the same and be about the same price. also as the gofastepadre said a pair of headers will definitely help with exhaust flow and will make a difference, mine sure did.

**4gstarion** · 06-18-2008, 03:54 AM

Originally Posted by GoFastPadre

Hey Man, A K&N Cai is a good start. If the TB Spacer is new send it back, it is a waste of money. The hext thing you need is a Custom Tune from Nelson Performance. He will hook you up with a good HP Boost and better gas mileage to boot. The tune is $375, but you get free retunes, this will be important because as you add mods you will need to retune. Next get you some LT headers, HF cats and two of those Flowmasters on custom bent TRUE duals, then you can think about doing some E-Fans and an underdrive crank pulley. All of these are pretty simple mods, but they will get you closer to where you want to be. Don't buy an exhaust kit because you can get it done a lot cheaper at a custom shop..

thanks man the tune how would i do that ? send my ecu or my car to him ? and the e fans is that electric fans? how do i convert from my red belt driven fan ? im kinda new to this car stuff

**MrShorty** · 06-18-2008, 10:31 AM

i want a little more power b/c i haul alot of things

It seems people only think of engine mods without considering the rest of the drivetrain. IMO, sometimes the best bang for the buck "mod" is to regear the differentials, especially for towing/hauling. What gear ratio is currently installed (the RPO code list in the glove box will tell you what was installed at the factory if you know it hasn't been changed)? If you have unusually high gears (3.2 or 3.5), putting 4.1's in will dramatically increase the torque at the wheel.

**omegafiler** · 06-18-2008, 02:54 PM

Regearing would definately help. Keep in mind that if its 4x4, you'll also need have the front done as well. So that can potentially add up rather quick. Not to mention can have a negative effect on daily drivability. Higher RPM, worse highway MPG, etc.

Custom tune is always going to be best bang for your buck if you're looking for more power and improved driveability. Do a search for custom tunes. Theres lots of tuners and info floating around on the forum.

**4gstarion** · 06-18-2008, 04:06 PM

ok thanks will look around for costume tunes

**4gstarion** · 06-20-2008, 12:48 AM

hey i see u have a wait4metune done how did u get it done ?

**Family Force 6** · 06-30-2008, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by 4gstarion

hey i see u have a wait4metune done how did u get it done ?

I wanted to bump this- I don't think this question got answered- how do custom tunes get done? Do they have to be done locally?

**Pete95Sierra** · 06-30-2008, 11:28 PM

wait4me has a website i forget what it is probably wait4me.com or something but google it and you will find it. just give them a call and they will hook you up. they have tested most of the vehicles up to today so they have chips basically made already i believe and they can ship them out to you to the specs you want, whether its gas mileage improving or full blown performance.