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5.3 Weak!


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Hey guys. New to forum and just purchased my first Chevrolet. It is a 2011 Silverado Z71 4x4 with the 5.3 and 3.42 gears. It is lifted 6" with 35" tires. I traded my Toyota Tundra which had PLENTY of power. Needless to say, so far I am not at all impressed with the 5.3. I understand with the lift and tires it takes away some of the power, but wow. This thing is SLOW! So this is what I'm thinking. Long tube headers, full exhaust, cai, 4:10 gears, and a custom tune. I can probably get all this done for around 2500.00. Will doing all this be worth it and wake this truck up or am I stuck with a awesome LOOKING truck that drives like a Yugo? My Tundra would blow the doors off this thing. Any comments appreciated.

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I'm sure this has been beaten into the ground on here and I apologize in advance. My buddy is saying 4:10 gears are the way to go because I do a ton of highway driving. Right now I'm averaging 12mpg on the highway and really need to get that number higher. Don't get me wrong, I love the look of the truck and it only had 15,000 miles when I bought it so it's practically brand new. Would the 4:10's wake it up enough along with the other previously stated mods? I don't need to win races, but when I push the pedal I want response.

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Did I say I wanted to race? No I didn't. I said when I push the pedal I want it to go. There is a difference. When I am on the interstate the truck spends it's entire time shifting between gears because it doesn't have enough power. I understand with a lift and tires it threw off the gearing and I am trying to fix this issue. If you don't like lifted trucks that is fine and I don't have a problem with that. But if you have nothing productive to say to assist me with my problem go troll somewhere else.

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I'm sure this has been beaten into the ground on here and I apologize in advance. My buddy is saying 4:10 gears are the way to go because I do a ton of highway driving. Right now I'm averaging 12mpg on the highway and really need to get that number higher. Don't get me wrong, I love the look of the truck and it only had 15,000 miles when I bought it so it's practically brand new. Would the 4:10's wake it up enough along with the other previously stated mods? I don't need to win races, but when I push the pedal I want response.

 

 

The gears and a tune will make a huge difference.

 

The CAI, headers and exhaust will help too, but most of the gain will come from gearing and a tune.

 

I see what you are trying to do, make it a stock driving truck as if you didn't have the mods it has on it. A tune would help for sure as well.

 

I would think a 4.10 gear set would do the trick. With your current gearing and using the ratios of the 6L80 (I see you have a 2011)and the 35" tire, you are probably spinning around 1300-1360rpm down the highway at roughly 62mph. That is lugging that powertrain for sure I would think, and would probably be gear hunting a decent bit. With a 4.10 gear set, you would see 1650-1700rpm at the same speed. Throughout the powerband as well, it will greatly help just in general accelerating and driving. 4.56 would be about 100rpm higher than the 4.10 gears. For comparison, a stock 4x4 with 3.42 spins around 1600rpm at the same speed I would think that if you plan on towing frequently with the truck, the 4.56 might be better suited. If you tow once and a while, say 2000-5000lbs the 4.10 would work.

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I would concentrate on the gears and a custom tune. The other stuff isn't going to do all that much, but if you have the money then why not. 35" tires and 3.42 gears are not a good combination for acceleration.

 

Get those gears up to at least 4.10 and then get a good tune from black bear.

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The gears and a tune will make a huge difference.

 

The CAI, headers and exhaust will help too, but most of the gain will come from gearing and a tune.

^^^^ This

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As far as headers go, the Doug Thorley Tri -Y headers are hard to beat for the price. Great quality piece.

 

Justin at Black Bear can set you up with a tune and headers. I bought my headers from him.

 

I also think 4:10 gears would be a great all around choice.

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Next question, I will probably get my gears done first. when that is done, will I need to reflash my ecm to

accommodate the 4:10 gears? I don't want to be throwing all kinds of codes and hard shifting. Guess what I'm

asking is can I get gears done, then wait a couple of weeks and get tune/headers ect. Will my truck be drivable

without an immediate tune?

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yes. you're speedo wil be off and you may throw abs/stabilitrack codes. Shifting may be a little wonky. Most custom tuners will re-tune you for free. Black Bear for one

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