Jump to content

Please help with 4.3L HP increase?

TomBrady80

By TomBrady80
in Engines & Drivetrain

 Share

Recommended Posts

TomBrady80 Enthusiast

TomBrady80

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 hours ago, Donstar said:

 

I bought my Defenders because of my past experience with the LTX MS2/LTX MS series of tires.  I read that the Defenders were an improved version.  When I first replaced my factory Bridgestones with the Defenders, there wasn't the "wow" factor like my previous switches but I simply attributed this to the fact that the Bridgestone was also a smooth running tire. Maybe Defenders are a rougher tire than the MS2's.   I have found them a great all year round tire and very good in the snow.   Another type of Michelin may be the answer and I notice they still offer the LTX MS2 in the 275/55/20 size.  I would suggest giving Michelin a call and explain your concerns.  They could possibly make your call worthwhile and give you a coupon or something to help you with a new purchase. You could also check at your place of purchase.  My son-in-law swears by Pirelli tires on 20's for his Navigator but not a fair comparison as I do not know first hand how it handled without Pirelli's.  Tire technology has improved to a point where I believe light truck tires with an aspect ratio of 55 on a 275 width can meet the expectations of truck owners with smaller rim sizes.    Many of us recall thinking 16" rims were big on a 1/2 ton and I believe now 20's are the new norm.

Thanks! And yeah I remember when 18s were considered a bigger rim and upgrade and if anyone had a 20” then that was big news lol! Now most have 18” or 20”. They just look so much smaller and I guess over time I’ve grown to see those as normal too. I’m sure with the smaller rim back on my ride would be better, but it sure looks better now. The vibration still has me puzzled at 70mph though?

  • Replies 73
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

i82much
i82much

Stop!  You are wasting your money.  I had the old 4.3 Vortec and I never *needed* more power, your truck is a rocket compared to my old one.  If you want a faster truck, buy a truck with a bigger engi

TXGREEK
TXGREEK

Looks is what gets everyone into hating their ride. My truck came w 22”’s, had dealership downgrade to 20”s then had to order new rims, made the mistake going back to 20”’s cause they look good but wi

newdude
newdude

Procharger?  Would have to be a custom setup, but that might be a way to go.  E85 is the cheapest mod for the 4.3 as that adds some HP.  And the 4.3 comes flex fuel equipped.  If it can be tuned and o

Posted Images

WHITESSTOWPIG Enthusiast

WHITESSTOWPIG

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have driven every engine in every cab configuration numerous times and the 4.3 is a fine little motor even when compared to a 5.3.Box stock they are putting down 255whp on gas and 270whp on E85 which is what bolt on previous gen 5.3's use to put down.When speaking on the newest gen Ecotec 5.3's for me it was a crap shoot when purchasing because they honestly felt similar even when better gearing was put on the V8.The 6.2 however really feels like a different beast all together.The biggest thing with the V8 is the sound being more desirable and the aftermarket support being of course much greater.That being said here are some bolt ons I have on my RCSB 4.3 errand truck which seem to be working well

 

E85 gas

JET maf

Range AFM

Overkill  TB

K&N intake

Gutted 3rd cat

Muffler delete

Edited by WHITESSTOWPIG
  • Thanks 1
TomBrady80 Enthusiast

TomBrady80

Posted
  • Author
Posted
21 hours ago, DONWT15 said:

That is a really good looking tire and wheel set up in your picture.

More sidewall would help the harsh ride some people experience. The vibration you have at 70 mph, if you didn't have it before, is likely the tires or wheel balance issues.

Thanks! I love the rims I got for it but it’s got to be the tires that’s causing the vibration at that speed. It’s pretty smooth until I hit 70mph.... I just got some used tires with the new rims until I got the leveling kit installed so that way the new tires wouldn’t rub. 

TomBrady80 Enthusiast

TomBrady80

Posted
  • Author
Posted
3 hours ago, WHITESSTOWPIG said:

I have driven every engine in every cab configuration numerous times and the 4.3 is a fine little motor even when compared to a 5.3.Box stock they are putting down 255whp on gas and 270whp on E85 which is what bolt on previous gen 5.3's use to put down.When speaking on the newest gen Ecotec 5.3's for me it was a crap shoot when purchasing because they honestly felt similar even when better gearing was put on the V8.The 6.2 however really feels like a different beast all together.The biggest thing with the V8 is the sound being more desirable and the aftermarket support being of course much greater.That being said here are some bolt ons I have on my RCSB 4.3 errand truck which seem to be working well

 

E85 gas

JET maf

Range AFM

Overkill  TB

K&N intake

Gutted 3rd cat

Muffler delete

Thanks! I also came across this too....

FEBBDCF4-7AAC-4726-8F78-38867FDAB524.jpeg

  • Like 1
WHITESSTOWPIG Enthusiast

WHITESSTOWPIG

Posted
Posted (edited)

A tuner is going to show the biggest gain in the form of better shift points but overall horsepower will be less of a gain than if you just ran E85.IMO the benefits of having an active warranty outweigh the increases of a tuner which is why I did not bother with one and just stuck to simple bolt ons.If these trucks where forced induction ofcourse it would be alot more tempting because the gains would be much more aggressive.

Edited by WHITESSTOWPIG
  • Thanks 1
TomBrady80 Enthusiast

TomBrady80

Posted
  • Author
Posted
11 hours ago, WHITESSTOWPIG said:

A tuner is going to show the biggest gain in the form of better shift points but overall horsepower will be less of a gain than if you just ran E85.IMO the benefits of having an active warranty outweigh the increases of a tuner which is why I did not bother with one and just stuck to simple bolt ons.If these trucks where forced induction ofcourse it would be alot more tempting because the gains would be much more aggressive.

Thanks. I didn’t think about warranty being voided.... Will getting someone to tune it for E85 mess with the warranty? I’m still unsure what all an E85 tune does.

WHITESSTOWPIG Enthusiast

WHITESSTOWPIG

Posted
Posted
30 minutes ago, TomBrady80 said:

Thanks. I didn’t think about warranty being voided.... Will getting someone to tune it for E85 mess with the warranty? I’m still unsure what all an E85 tune does.

One of the advantages of the 4.3 is they all come standard with the ability to run E85 if I am not mistaken.If you look at the sticker inside of your gas door it will indicate if the truck is E85 compatible or not.Not all gas stations carry the fuel but E85 compatible trucks can run on any mix between gas and E85 allowing it to be added to a tank at any given time.As the E85 content in the gas gets higher the vehicles computer is going to make the tuning progressively more aggressive 

  • Thanks 1
TomBrady80 Enthusiast

TomBrady80

Posted
  • Author
Posted
10 hours ago, WHITESSTOWPIG said:

One of the advantages of the 4.3 is they all come standard with the ability to run E85 if I am not mistaken.If you look at the sticker inside of your gas door it will indicate if the truck is E85 compatible or not.Not all gas stations carry the fuel but E85 compatible trucks can run on any mix between gas and E85 allowing it to be added to a tank at any given time.As the E85 content in the gas gets higher the vehicles computer is going to make the tuning progressively more aggressive 

Oh okay. Sorry for the ignorance, but all I have to do is use the E85 ethanol? It’s alrwady got the yellow cap and ready for it, but when I here people talk about tuning to the E85, I was thinking they meant some kind of additional mods needed to happen besides just filling up the tank with E85. I never used the E85 before but it’s definitely equipped to handle it. Thanks 

WHITESSTOWPIG Enthusiast

WHITESSTOWPIG

Posted
Posted
28 minutes ago, TomBrady80 said:

Oh okay. Sorry for the ignorance, but all I have to do is use the E85 ethanol? It’s alrwady got the yellow cap and ready for it, but when I here people talk about tuning to the E85, I was thinking they meant some kind of additional mods needed to happen besides just filling up the tank with E85. I never used the E85 before but it’s definitely equipped to handle it. Thanks 

E85 is optional on the 5.3 and is not available equipment for the 6.2 so alot of trucks out there do need to be retrofitted as well as tuned for E85 usage.The 4.3 however is mainly a fleet engine so they usually come standard with this capability and do not need anything additional to take advantage of E85 fuel.I am sure further gains can be realized even when tuning a truck already using E85 just as they can on gasoline but 10hp and some better shift points is not worth dumping a warranty over IMO

KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted

It one really amazing performance option that GM did with the E-85 tune. It’s baffling how little it’s appreciated. Twenty five HP by adding fuel, E-85. You could build a single cab 6-8 cylinder, E-85 equip, gear, tune 12s would be easy and not expensive. If I wasn’t so happy with my old truck I’d do it myself. It wouldn’t be the first time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

TXGREEK Senior Enthusiast

TXGREEK

Posted
Posted
Oh okay. Sorry for the ignorance, but all I have to do is use the E85 ethanol? It’s alrwady got the yellow cap and ready for it, but when I here people talk about tuning to the E85, I was thinking they meant some kind of additional mods needed to happen besides just filling up the tank with E85. I never used the E85 before but it’s definitely equipped to handle it. Thanks 

 

E85 may give you a bit more HP if you even notice it but it caused my 14 5.3 issues back then. The one thing that’s [emoji817]% is that you won’t get near the mpgs that you’d normally get with regular gas. Give it a try, try super and worse case would be trade it in or just keep it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

TXGREEK Senior Enthusiast

TXGREEK

Posted
Posted
I would definitely bring this to the attention of my sales outlet and/or to Michelin. I buy my Michelins from Costco and they are good with customer satisfaction.  I once found a tire weight in my driveway where I normally park my truck.  Costco pulled all four wheels and re-balanced them to make sure it wasn't one of theirs and to make sure I was a satisfied customer.  With your experience with the Michelin brand I am confident your complaint will be taken seriously. You have nothing to lose and may gain a considerably good deal on a great set of new tires!


Had a couple hours to kill, tossed the defenders and installed the new Michelin Premier LTX. Going on a short 3 hour road trip in the hills in a couple weeks, I’ll let you know how well they ride but so far so good.
FYI: I was warned that they may wear out quicker than their 60K advertised.

dc2ebc2d9504a2bd4ca3f6fad66ec033.jpg

200e8507bd1c7de2da8c7a8ceba8e93a.jpg

9fd457b6b8aa41f357975bbe7ed798ac.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  • 3 years later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • Grumpy Bear
      Some Assembly is Required

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      Common Sense Assembly   Your driveline is forgiving of the occasional mistake. It will even often forgive the random serious blunder. But it will not forgive a continuous bad habit.      What? Not everything needs to be a five thousand word essay.       
    • Grumpy Bear
      Gas Prices

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      We drove about 15 minute east today to visit a friend and saw a steep increase in price in the same county. About 50 cents a gallon steepper. 
    • Grumpy Bear
      Wow I'm in a pickle. (Broke down truck) and a story.

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      Sure about that? A degree wheel and a dial indicator would lower your degree of assurance in that statement. 😉    It why we have offset keys and dialable timing sprockets. Just say'n.... I've built a few and have never seen one "On the money". 
    • Chuck FB
      Tire psi

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      I will admit I haven't experimented much with pressure drops beyond the numbers I put in and part of that is that the numbers I used are fairly low and then found out it would trigger regardless at that 35 psi. Having said that I had tried before had changed the placard pressures and being that I have a 1 ton set to 80 on the placard for the rear I believe it triggered close to 60, the front I don't recall now for sure but thought maybe it could get close to 45 from that factory 60 placard pressure. So I never did figure out if it was a number of psi from placard pressure to the alarm or a percentage of the total placard number as some figured it was like a 25% drop from placard pressure would trigger it. So as to try and answer your question, I believe I set the placard pressure on the front to 47 or so and while I run the front tires at 40, they have dipped below that some if its colder and I haven't put "winter air" in yet and never once have had the front alarm go off. I would say that the answer your looking for is no, that if you set your placard pressure to 45, you have a certain amount of room to drop below that pressure before the alarm will go off.    The pressures you decide to run in your truck, that ends up being what makes sense to you based on what your carrying in your truck or if towing, then have to bump them back up to something that will carry the load in the rear and the fronts typically left at the same pressure. It all comes down to that chart I put the link to and using an accurate roadside scale to be your guide, both unloaded and then loaded to know your minimum safe pressures.    I just wish GM would allow a person to change the readings for the tire pressures to the English system of pounds as I have to look at that goofy metric reading that will never ever jive in my head and will go over and change it just to figure out what they are if need be and then change it back. 
    • TrueBlue
      No Software Updates - Old Build

      By TrueBlue · Posted

      That part I understand, that the dealer can do it. But I'm not understanding why updates that were available to the truck since it left the factory, or the dealership originally, would not still be available to it without dealer intervention.   I'm thinking along the lines of recalls. They stay available until they are completed, regardless of whether they are in warranty or not, or in the hands of the original owner or not. Why not updates as well, especially since some of those can be safety related also?

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...