Whats next????

[moodygunner]

OK guys I'm trying to get more performance outta my engine without diving into a $6000 super/procharger or turbo. I do fancy a turbo, the whistling sound and the power it produces I do like. With the super/pro charger its the whinning sound that turns me away.

But let's think things under $1000 that will get me accelerating faster. Right now I'm running AirAid CAI, MagnaFlows, Superchip 3865, SRT hood with air duct running to the CAI and dropping the suspension with Ground Force 2/4. Any more ideas for under the hood????

 

[ramin44s]

Headers, cam, custom tune would be my choices

 

[WhiteExpress]

^^ What he said. After that you'll be tearing into the motor (stroker etc) to get more power without abnormal aspiration.

 

[quietpeen]

gears would be real nice, but with a 4x4 it would cost more than $1000 unfortunately.

 

[talon6]

i would also say gears. 4x4 isnt that much more than 1000$. just wait a week longer and save the additional monies needed.

 

[ramin44s]

truee.. 4.56s would make a big difference and help pull those 22s around, what do you have now? 3.92 3.55?

 

[TheSatinPumpkin]

Another one for gears.

Sent from my SCH-I405

 

[EJM05]

Gears then everything that ramin44s said.

 

[truckin151]

Aside from gears, which I would also suggest, pick up a ported TB, sonax line booster and some headers, make driving quite a bit more peppy, also could do a new converter and free up some parasitic loss through the drive train but if you plan on camming it later on id either wait or if you know the cam you want already pick up one that matches the cams powerband. Personally adding the new converter on mine gave me more of an improvement than the 4.56's did.

 

[OlDirtyJohn]

Aside from gears, which I would also suggest, pick up a ported TB, sonax line booster and some headers, make driving quite a bit more peppy, also could do a new converter and free up some parasitic loss through the drive train but if you plan on camming it later on id either wait or if you know the cam you want already pick up one that matches the cams powerband. Personally adding the new converter on mine gave me more of an improvement than the 4.56's did.

ditto. but both gears and a TC are even better.

 

[truckin151]

Tis true, but he said cheap..... tc + gears + cam + custom tune = a hell of a lot of fun (aka empty wallet)

 

[moodygunner]

With the gears..... who makes solid gears for the 2008? Is this something i need to have professionally installed? Do gears give you a quicker bottom end or top end? Is the power noticeable?

With the tune...... Whats the difference between a tune and the superchip. If i get the tune do I even still need the superchip still, or does that go right out the window?

With the heads..... What is a good brand to go with here? short tubes vs long tubes? Are headers gonna give my truck a louder acceleration or is that bigger cams I'm thinking about. How do they soud running down the interstate?

With the cam..... Does this involve tearing into the engine?

The only thing i have to gague a power change with my truck (from sitting in the seat) is when i installed my superchip. That to me was noticeable, unlike my CAI (small change) that was suttle.

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

Gears- need to be tackled by a pro

Tune- for your current mods SC is fine but when you go cammed you will benifit from a custom tune through DSP

Headers- you will get alot of opinions

Cam- yes you will have to go into the motor and also pull apart the heads to do the spring and pushrod swap. The worst part IMO is swapping to the 6.1 springs because of the buckets and only a few tools can do it on the truck.

 

[truckin151]

With the gears..... who makes solid gears for the 2008? Is this something i need to have professionally installed? Do gears give you a quicker bottom end or top end? Is the power noticeable?

get a pro to do the install, not something you want to tackle on your own if you have never done them before. They are highly noticeable after the break in period where you can really romp on it. They do not add any power but they get you up and moving quicker.

With the tune...... Whats the difference between a tune and the superchip. If i get the tune do I even still need the superchip still, or does that go right out the window?

Your superchips tune will work fine for the basic mods and smaller/not as aggressive cams. A custom tune, will be tailored to your truck pulling out as much hp/tq as it can based on your mods and will allow you to run a bigger more aggressive cam. Really a personal choice there as to what you want to do with your truck.

With the heads..... What is a good brand to go with here? short tubes vs long tubes? Are headers gonna give my truck a louder acceleration or is that bigger cams I'm thinking about. How do they soud running down the interstate?

Really they are all real close to one another as far as hp/tq numbers go. I went with pacesetter longtubes, depending on your area though, if you have inspections you may not be able to run long tubes period. Shorties give a little less power but deliver it in a lower rpm range, Long tubes give you more overall hp/tq but higher in the rpm range. They will make the exhaust louder/more agressive sounding, but its not bad at all.

Here is mine with the LT's installed (pre-cam). Keep in mind that I do have a louder muffler on mine as well

[yt]ubT2tJI5o_k[/yt]

With the cam..... Does this involve tearing into the engine?

Yup, no way around that. If you want to do a cam swap the front of the motor has to be disassembled so you can take the old one out and put a new one in. Plus the heads will need some work to add in new springs/push rods (this is a must if you are going to a new cam, big or small).

The only thing i have to gague a power change with my truck (from sitting in the seat) is when i installed my superchip. That to me was noticeable, unlike my CAI (small change) that was suttle.

The mods that I have done that produced the most feelable power changes are (in order):

New Torqe Converter
4.56 Gears
Cam
Tune
Headers
Ported Throttle Body*

* not everyone gets the same feelable results with this mod, mine was a noticeable change in how the truck launched off the line and the throttle response was very nice too.

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

^Yep th TB is just going to be noticable part throttle and around town. Being an 08 his computer might react better to the small mods also.

 

[moodygunner]

Ryan........Can you tell me more about a torque converter and is it a DIY install?

Kenneth.....What's the TB you were referring to?

 

[truckin151]

The torque converter is relatively easy to install, you just have to unbolt the trans, back it out, slide the old converter out, put the new one in and bolt it back together.... Well not exactly that easy but its pretty simple. You can do it in your driveway but it be a royal PITA, we did mine on a lift which made it pretty simple. Still a 3-4hr job though. Basically your drivvetrain is resoponsible for around a 28% parasitic loss from the engine to our wheels. The TC is responicble for around 14% of that loss. So a new converter that has a stock or few hundred rpm over stock will reduce the parasitic loss down to around a 6% loss (so freeing up a min of around 35rwhp) and depending on the stall will get you into your powerband faster. Again it is one of my favorite mods to date

The throttle body he is reffering to is a fastman ported throttle body. I had one on mine for a while and it made the truck a bit more peppy in town driving, pretty cheap too at around $200-$250. Thing about them is they are hit and miss with the butt dyno on feeling the added pep. Half will say it made quite a bit of a difference and others will say it didnt do a thing.

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

Ryan he is a 4x4 and might have the same carrier plate mine had for the trans that adds another hour to a quoted job for that. The plate im referring to holds the trans, engine and front diff, and is a PITA to deal with. What converter did your truck have in it when you were non cammed, that could also make a difference for him being the stock cam powerband is diff then say your comp 268 or my inertia one.

 

[truckin151]

Ah that's right, you 4x4 guys always have so,e extra work that needs to be done. The converter I ran pre-cam is the same one I have in there now, 2800 aps converter. I already knew the cam I was going to go with and all that good stuff. I still want to up the stall to a 3000 though