Wanting opinions for mods

[sphinxxz]

I'm going to be lifting (w/ 35s) my 14 sierra 5.3 ccrb. I would like some input/ advise/opinions/experience on cai, headers, exhaust and a tune, to make up for power loss from the lift. I have a 3.42 gears. Thank you.

[adamj2121]

The best way to recoup lost power is regearing. A tune, or at least speedometer calibrator is essential in my opinion, it greatly improves shifts and drivability. I am currently using a hypertech speedometer calibrator but plan to get a black bear tune.  My setup is a 16 silverado 5.3 ccsb with 3.42 gears and 35s, so we will have pretty similar setups. The power loss is noticeable, but the truck is still completely drivable. There are a few places where I would like more power but I don't need it to be able to drive the truck and enjoy it.

[aseibel]

A full cold air intake replacement won't make that much more difference. The stock airbox is large enough to supply all the air you need. Just replace the stupid stock tube with all the baffles with a straight tube like Airaid MIT. Lots of people on here are fans, including myself.

[sphinxxz]

Thanks for the input. Will probably go with airaid Jr kit. As for regearing, last I knew 3.73s require a complete different axle

[bgbdwlf2500]

34 minutes ago, sphinxxz said:

Thanks for the input. Will probably go with airaid Jr kit. As for regearing, last I knew 3.73s require a complete different axle

regearing is the best option. you can get any ratio for your truck as long as its the correct size. the gears are fairly cheap, the install usually is not.

[sphinxxz]

3 minutes ago, bgbdwlf2500 said:

regearing is the best option. you can get any ratio for your truck as long as its the correct size. the gears are fairly cheap, the install usually is not.

Thank you 3.73 and 35s would be almost identical to stock tire/ gear ratio. Will try more affordable options first. Thank you very much for input.

[bgbdwlf2500]

2 minutes ago, sphinxxz said:

Thank you 3.73 and 35s would be almost identical to stock tire/ gear ratio. Will try more affordable options first. Thank you very much for input.

If I was going to run 35's I would probably go to 4.10. if you decide to go bigger you will have the gears for it. nothing any more "affordable" will work as the power from a tune (on a gas engine) is minimal. if you were going to supercharge then id say ok, leave the gears alone but a SC is way more than it would cost in the gears. just my .02 though

 

[sphinxxz]

Thanks for your input. But I would definitely not go bigger than 35s. And not interested in a supercharger.

[adamj2121]

If you were to regear I would definitely jump up to 4.10 ratio from Yukon gears. You won't notice a major change with 3.73s and you are also moving to a heavier and wider tire than factory, so the diameter is not the only factor impacting power loss. 4.10s will feel closer to factory gearing if not slightly more aggressive.

 

If I were you I would find an exhaust you like the sound of, if you want increased sound, and get a tune from black bear. Then if you still feel like you need more power you would need to regear or go forced induction.

[truckguy82]

Regearing is so expensive on a 4wd

 

you would see way more benefit spending the money on power adders

[Bash74]

Definetly regearing especially if you ever plan on towing anything. Tunes and other power mods are good but you will still be putting a lot of strain on the trans with the lift and rolling 35s. Regearing is not cheap and will probably run you $2500, but it's cheaper then a trans. Truck already has power but it's lost when lifting and putting bigger tires on. Love 4.56s but 4.10s will do.

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[truckguy82]

2 hours ago, Bash74 said:

Definetly regearing especially if you ever plan on towing anything. Tunes and other power mods are good but you will still be putting a lot of strain on the trans with the lift and rolling 35s. Regearing is not cheap and will probably run you $2500, but it's cheaper then a trans. Truck already has power but it's lost when lifting and putting bigger tires on. Love 4.56s but 4.10s will do.

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Trans is gonna fail because of gears? Come on

 

Gears are so overrated, yeah great mod for a rwd muscle car or older 2wd truck, stupid not to do when they are $300 bucks.

 

it’s over $2k to change the front and rear gears in our trucks. Such a poor investment for performance. I’d take 30hp over gears any day.

 

 

[Bash74]

Trans is gonna fail because of gears? Come on
 
Gears are so overrated, yeah great mod for a rwd muscle car or older 2wd truck, stupid not to do when they are $300 bucks.
 
it’s over $2k to change the front and rear gears in our trucks. Such a poor investment for performance. I’d take 30hp over gears any day.
 
 

Yes. Trans has to work a lot harder with bigger tires and if towing is in the mix then it is just worse. Actually a lift and big tires put more stress on the whole drivetrain, but the trans is the expensive part. 1500s of the past always had the option with 4.10s straight from the factory but that went away because of fuel economy crap. 30hp what is that going to do? I can guess it will make the truck maybe just shy of still being a slug on the road. Ontop of that I will always choose power/torque/brute force over hp all day long. I want to get to the speed I want to get to quickly not chugging along and finally getting there. When it comes to off roading, towing, and hauling more hp then the truck already comes with does me no good unless you are talking 100+ more hp.

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[Penguin VII]

You are going to hear a ton of differing opinions on all the topics you mentioned. Here is my $0.02.

 

Intake

You are going to get a bump of around 10-15hp and prob the same for tq. Don't believe me, look at the testing blackbear did (http://blackbearperformance.com/IntakeTestResults_2016.asp). Now, whether or not you feel that spending the $300ish bucks on a full intake is worth the increase is up to you. (note: testing was done with 6.2 engine, BBP claims similar rate of increase, not total numbers increase)

Regarding the MIT tube, results show pretty much 0 increase across the board on the 6.2, and from what I recall the only years they helped were the 14-15, supposedly there was a small change in the 16s+ and it's not a difference. This is all hearsay so take it for what it's worth.

Exhaust

Makes your truck sound like a truck. Find one you like the sound of and give it a shot. Know that if you don't tune out v4 mode you'll likely find the sound of it unbearable and remove it. Unless it's one of the GM/Borla kits with the flapper valve. You can expect a small bump in numbers but not much from what I've seen. Maybe comparable to the intake.

 

Headers

I know less about headers but I'll tell you what, long tube headers sound like a ****ing beast. One day I'm going with them so my neighbors know every day I go to the gym at 5:00am.

 

Gearing

From what I've read if you bump up your gearing so it's closer to stock with 35s you're looking in the area of 4.10s. Those will give increased acceleration but decreased mpg on the highway because they are pushing the band back towards acceleration. This will then make it so that your truck has a lower top end speed (not a huge deal if you're not racing) but will also increase the rpms at highway driving speeds by a noticeable amount. This will lead to a louder truck at speed (because of the increased rpm) and as mentioned lower mpgs. You can select from a large number of gearing choices to try and fine tune what you're looking for and in combo with a tune you can get it to a decent spot.

The big question here, is it worth the cost of gears, loss in mpg and louder ride to have better acceleration and less strain on the transmission. One could argue that these trucks are meant to tow, and if you already have the 3.43 gears than you're not putting too much extra strain on the tranny by not swapping gearing. A lot of guys never change gears and are fine, I'd imagine it has more to do with how you drive and take care of your truck than absolute numbers but I'm not a mechanical engineer so take it for what it's worth.

 

All the bashing I just did on gearing and I do plan to swap my gearing at some point in the future. Once the girl moves from a daily driver to a plaything I'l prob do the gearing to give her some more pep around town.

 

Tune

Can't recommend a tune enough. Could totally be just placebo effect but when I had BBP tune my truck it was night and day different. Really "woke it up" and for the cost (although high) I get to have a lifetime of tuning done. So when my new exhaust arrives (hopefully by Sunday) and my intake arrives (in a few weeks) I'll be able to throw them on and call up BBP for a tune to take even more advantage of them. Plus they can tune things like AFM out and recalibrate the speedo and such.

 

As is everything, this is all personal preference to a point. Gotta figure out what you want your truck to be and start down the road of testing and retesting.

[Bash74]

The last poster had some good points and a tune is always a great thing to do on these trucks. The reason I bring up gearing is because most people tow with these trucks and if you have 3.43 and put 35s on it you are essential down to 3.08 ratio and that sucks for towing plus the added weight of the tires and lift. It just kills the power and puts undue stress on the drivetrain. Now if you are not really going to tow, or not worried about acceleration, or somewhat rough off roading, and not be heavy with the right foot then don't regear. I like acceleration, and being able to tow with no problem and that torque to the ground. When it comes to mpg on the exact some 500 mile trip I take every few months pulling my atvs and just rolling around without towing anything on the trip I get better mpg after I regeared.

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