Help With My 09 Avalanche

HOFFandGOLDMAN · October 24, 2011

Hello all,

I have a 2009 chevy avalanche LT 5.3L 6 speed auto. I have done numerous upgrades to it such as the helix throttle body spacer, magnaflow exhaust (not dual but cut off all the extra resonators and cats minus the main two cats with sensors), and a bully dog triple dog tuner.

I have a few questions.

I am not sure how much HP gain i will get with a cold air intake. Everyone always tells me its basically a louder engine and that's it. But if i do gain HP how much will it actually bring me up based on all of my other upgrades?

Also, CAMs, what the frigg is a CAM? Everyone tells me i need to get cams in my truck to gain a lot of HP, but i really have ho idea what they actually, and when you type CAMs for a chevy avalanche into the Google search bar it thinks you want back up cameras. Lol. Anyways, what is a CAM and how much HP will i gain?

Lastly, on my Bully Dog Triple Dog Tuner it wont let me change the shift points, in the manual it says you can change the shift points when you do the install download but there is no option to adjust them? My buddy can change the shift points in his 06 chevy silverado with the exact same bully dog triple dog gas tuner, but i cant? This just dosen't make sense to me.

Help will be much appreciated,

Logan

4wd · October 24, 2011

the Intake is a wast!...instead get a custom tune like BB and others..

AirForceAngler · October 24, 2011

They are probably referring to replacing your camshaft with a more aggressive one. Your buddies truck has a different transmission in it, that's probably why the tuners work differently.

pm26 · October 24, 2011

Hello all,

Also, CAMs, what the frigg is a CAM? Everyone tells me i need to get cams in my truck to gain a lot of HP, but i really have ho idea what they actually, and when you type CAMs for a chevy avalanche into the Google search bar it thinks you want back up cameras. Lol. Anyways, what is a CAM and how much HP will i gain?

Try googling "camshaft". 'Cam" is short for camshaft. Camshaft is a shaft located in the middle of your engine block which operates the valves via pushrods. Some engines have several cams located on top of the cylinder head(s). Such engines do not use pushrods.

I think you should leave your vehicle alone (at least for now).

MikeNH · October 25, 2011

You can D=ditch the throttle body spacer as it does absolutely nothing for your truck. Intake won't do a whole lot, maybe gain a bit of power at the very top end of the RPM range if anything. Without doing actual motor work the best thing to do is a custom tune like Blackbear.

You won't be able to get into the tranny controller with the unit you have. Your buddies '06 uses the 4L60 transmission that has essentially been around as long as overdrive transmissions have existed and it is a much simpler design/controller.

HOFFandGOLDMAN · October 25, 2011

Really? The throttle body spacer does nothing? Cause before with traction control off i couldn't spin my tires what so ever, but after the throttle body spacer alone i could spin my tires. And i especially noticed it when i went to pass someone on the highway. The response time is noticeably different.

Thanks for all the help you guys. I will look for a place to get a custom tune done to it.

Stevens03 · October 25, 2011

Thanks for all the help you guys. I will look for a place to get a custom tune done to it.

The only place you need to look for a custom tune is Blackbearperformance.com. I've used him twice and highly recommend him.

pm26 · October 25, 2011

Just mount a 2 ft diameter muffler/tail pipe on the truck. It will add all the power you'll ever need.

(A lot of teenagers actually believe this. Excessive relief of back pressure causes a substantial reduction in torque at low speed, which is very undesirable if wheel spinning is the objective).

MikeNH · October 26, 2011

Really? The throttle body spacer does nothing? Cause before with traction control off i couldn't spin my tires what so ever, but after the throttle body spacer alone i could spin my tires. And i especially noticed it when i went to pass someone on the highway. The response time is noticeably different.

Thanks for all the help you guys. I will look for a place to get a custom tune done to it.

The spacer absolutely was not the factor that enabled your truck to do burnouts, sorry. They're proven paperweights on new engines.

spankrz · October 26, 2011

the transmission control module on your truck is paired with the actual transmission, where as on your buddy's truck with the 4-speed, it can be modified with the tuner via the obdII port. hate to tell you, but the tb spacer is useless. the intake will help a little, but if you are looking for a large difference in power, it won't happen. a new intake, more than anything else, will make alot of noise. that is why i have one. actual hp increase will be little to possibly even none. the cam is in the heart of your engine, so if you are not experienced, i would stay away from one. if you have the money, i would take the truck to a shop and have them cam it, put in a stall converter, go ahead and put an intake on it, and then have it blackbear tuned. oh, and take the tb spacer off too. any more questions?