Add moderate power?

dakotap80 · July 29, 2015

Hi guys! I have a 2006 Sierra Denali, and I'm just curious if theres any way to get a more substantial gain in power than just the 20hp or so from adding aftermarket air intakes/exhausts? obviously there's turbo and supercharging but is there anything in between? just something around a 40-70hp gain thats not over the top like a form of forced induction would be. It has the 6.0l Vortec and i believe 3.73 gears if that affects anything.

2017SierraSLT · July 30, 2015

Cam, custom tune, along with the other stuff you mentioned.

kstruckcountry · July 30, 2015

Tune will make it drive a lot better.

dakotap80 · July 30, 2015

What sort of places could i get a tune done? I live in Missoula MT, not much here in terms of custom shops haha.. We frequently make trips to Spokane WA and Salt Lake City, I'm assuming those places would have somewhere to get it tuned?

dakotap80 · July 30, 2015

Or do you not have to take it to a shop, is it something you can do with a handheld device?

servantsalesmen · July 30, 2015

Black bear tuning! They are all over this site! Check em out

dakotap80 · July 30, 2015

Will do, thanks!

kstruckcountry · July 30, 2015

What will make the biggest power difference is leaving the pickup stock height on stock size tires honestly... as soon as it's lifted you're just trying to catch back up to stock.

If you're planning to lift it though, the tune can adjust your computer for the larger tires.

dakotap80 · July 30, 2015

I am thinking of doing just a leveling lift, and getting slightly larger tires (something around 32-33" as opposed to the stock 31ish"), would even that setup have a big negative effect on power? Also, how much of a power gain can be expected from a tune in terms of HP and torque?

dkjbama · July 31, 2015

If I remember correctly, I've read that the motor in your truck, the LQ9, responds quite well to custom tunes. I would start with a Blackbear tune using the Autocal and an Airaid Modular Intake Tube (MIT). See Autocal @ http://www.blackbearperformance.com/services.asp

The MIT replaces the factory air tube with a smooth one without resonance chambers while still utilizing the factory air box which flows quite well. It's much cheaper than a full-on cold air intake kit, and it gives most if not all of the performance gains of a full CAI while keeping the arguably superior filtration and easier maintenance of a standard paper air filter. See http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/145676-bbp-independent-intake-test-results/ It also gives a nice growl from under the hood under acceleration.

That's as far as I have been willing to go in my 5.3 truck. You could do a cat-back exhaust, but I'm not convinced the minor gains are worth the price.

A BB tune and an Airaid MIT might get you close to your 40hp goal, but it also might not even come close. It all depends on how much Justin can wring out of the LQ9 with his tuning.

I would start there and see if your happy. If that isn't enough for you, then I guess the next step would be longtube headers and/or a cam, but that's outside my area of experience. One bonus of Blackbear tuning, if you decide to make more mods after you get your tune, Justin will update your tune for the new mods for free.