04BL53SLV

Here is your truck...It is an 04' ECSB with a 5.3, 3.42 gears, 20's. The only mod you have is a Magnaflow SS catback. It is a daily driver, object is to get best mods without any serious mechanical needed.You are not mechanically inclined and do not know a local shop or person that you have found that does the kind of mods discussed here (cams,gears,etc.)I am only 130 mi. from Atlanta though. Just put that in for possible referrals.... Act like it's yours and tell me what you would do. I definitely want to be quicker than the next guy, but at the same time the truck only has 3700 miles on it. Warranty? BTW my dealer says CAI's (k&N, Volant) messes up MAF sensors! You can see what I'm dealing with. Don't flame if you don't want to participate. But then again after some lenghty lurking I know this is the place to ask. Thanks in advance....Man this is long...!!!!???

cstchevy

truck looks good, I would like to say if your dealer is saying that fined someone else to do waranty work. tyhe first thing I would do is put a nece free flowing exhaust like the magnaflow on. after that it's hard to say. Do yu know how much money you would like to spend. one of the biggest and best mods would be to put either radix or sts turbo on it. the best mod for the money would be a custom tune pcm and a stall converter. Let's see how much $$ you have to spend to figure out a really good plan of attack.

04BL53SLV

Magnaflow is on already...My only mod. Money isn't really my main concern. More or less interested in how you guys would approach in my situation. ie no good shops, me being mechanically dumb etc. Thanks

cstchevy

Well then I would start with a CAI and then get a tune and a shift kit. Unless you can install some LT headers and a stall which would really wake things up. this is what I am gdoing in order 1. CAI(done) 2. magnaflow(Friday) 3. tune (hopefully soon) 4. stall 5. shift kit 6. cam and springs 7. new tires. hoping to have this all done this year but their is no telling. this I am hoping will put me in the mid to low 13's. Might even throw some nitrous intheir to get my ET's low for the track.

sfj

keeping daily driveability go with a smaller stall but it will wake it up not too hard to install but does require some mechanical know how (not much just a little) or it is pretty cheap to pay someone to do it as well CAI is a great idea and again tuning will help a bunch a baby cam will run you about 3 hundred and some springs to go with it and gaskets prolly total somewhere near to 6-700 dollars with cam and all goodies and will prolly run you about another 3-4 for installation that is what i would suggest

BADMOFO

I would do what I've already done, since I have basically the same truck and motor. It really depends on how fast you want to go. If you want to run mid 14's for around another $1100, get a Yank TT3000 converter ($700), a USED Hypertech (around $200, and don't tell anyone around here as they will flame you for it!), and a cold air intake (my AEM was $236). These mods took my truck to a 14.57 with Escalade wheels and 275/55/17 tires. If you want to go faster then 14's, I'd consider the Magnacharger Radix and save the money from the cold air intake and Hypertech and put it towards that. I think that is the best way to go, and if I had it to do over again I would have just bought the Radix instead of the 6.0L that I haven't even installed yet. 2005 is gonna be the year I get off of my ***, start drivin' the wife's Maxima more, and get my motor installed and dialed in. Good luck to you as well! Where do you want to be as far as ET goes?

greentahoe

iTrader: (2)

If you have the desire, you can learn how to do most everything by following the write ups that are abundant through out the site. Ive paid thousands for shops to install various parts and I always had to go in and fix something they forgot or didnt get right.
My second piece of advice is dependant on how fast you want to go. If you are looking for a little extra, then get a good mail order tune and a cold air intake. If you want to go fast, get a tuning program and start learning (HPTuners). From there go with one of the bolt on supercharger kits. I hear the Radix is very well explained and easy to follow.

04BL53SLV

Thanks for the input guys. 1. Add CAI (Volant?) 2. Already have Magnaflow cat back. 3. Tune...Nelson or Westers? 4. Shift kit (Transgo?)BTW what are corvette servos? What is their function? 5. T/C (stall? still learning) 6. Cam and springs,etc.( Is it an LS6 cam?) Stop there. Never been to a dragstrip, how do you guys think it will run? Will this put me out of the normal trucks running around? Not a speed freak but fairly quick? Based on these mods pretty reliable? thanks again for your input.

styleandspeed

Hypertech doesn't make a programmer for his truck, and it sucks anyway. Go with a nelson, or pcmforless tune. HUGE difference, and you can't see it

The mods that I am going to do that don't really require a lot of know how, but do require a bit of patience are as follows:

UPD CAI - Killer sale on them in the for sale section right now for $135 for the black ones and they perform great

Magnaflow(which you already have)

Trailblazer TQ converter a.k.a. "stall", basically this will allow you to powerbrake it higher and launch harder. This also looks close to stock, and most dealerships wouldn't know unless they are looking for it. The trailblazer one will "stall" at around 2400-2500 for you and is only about $250+install

Z06 cam -you might not want to do this if you are not mechanically inclined, but dealer cannot visually tell the difference unless they rip your whole motor apart

Corvette servo - $15 part that goes on the side of the transmission that will basically make the 1-2 shift better and stronger.

Pcmforless tune $250+125 core because I would keep my old computer for when I took it into the dealer for warranty

04BL53SLV

Thanks for all the info styleandspeed! A little more studying and few more questions(later) I'm on my way. Thanks again everyone for all the input.