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Best Value Tuner

Potato110
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Potato110 New Member

Potato110

Posted
Posted

Hey All,

I just bought a 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 5.3L Extended Cab Z71 4x4 and would like to get a little better gas mileage and more responsiveness if possible. I'm new to this site and new to tuning. Please forgive me if this topic has been covered already. I found another thread similar to this but it was different enough that i wanted to put my specific situation out there and get your opinions on it. I'd like to get a little better gas mileage and more responsiveness if possible without spending $500 or more for a powerful tuner that I'm not going to use the features on. Except for the Flowmaster mufflers the previous owner installed I believe it's bone stock and I don't have any plans for changing that. What tuner would get me the best bang for my buck?

 

Thanks,

 

Brian

CamGTP Senior Enthusiast

CamGTP

Posted
Posted

I've been using HP Tuners for like 7-8 years now and from everything I've done, it is tough to get any major gains in power and mpg from the stock engine.

 

The maintenance on the engine and the way you drive are going to determine everything. No matter what it's still going to be about a 13-15 city avg and 19-20 on the freeway if you are going the speed limit or slightly under.

 

Most of the "power" gains come from changing up settings within the calibration to make it less lazy.

 

Hypertech, dialbo, SCT tuner and maybe the edge tuning kinda all have that canned tune where it changes those settings and may get you want you are after.

 

Otherwise you can get into a HP Tuners for $400 and learn to do it yourself.

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Potato110 New Member

Potato110

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Posted

Thanks CamGTP. HPT is $400 for the unit then add $50 per credit and it'll do waaaaay more than i'll ever need. I figured there'd be some "bloatware" I could disable so i could get mileage gains without sacrificing power. I'd be happy with 1-2 mpg increase. in my situation do you think there's an advantage to doing it myself over using a canned tune?

 

Thanks again

CamGTP Senior Enthusiast

CamGTP

Posted
Posted

The $400 is for the product and the 2 credits. Just the MPVI2 unit itself is only $299.

 

It's only at advantage if you want to be the one controlling the changes and seeing the results first hand. Some people like to tinker and learn how everything works. It would allow you make it do exactly what you want (within reason) instead of what the "canned" tunes allow.

 

The other products offer the plug and play ability if that is something you don't want to do/learn. Again the results would be different for every vehicle and health of the engine and driving style would still be a big role in miles per gallon gain/loss.

 

 

  • 4 years later...
K Snell New Member

K Snell

Posted
Posted

I have 2013 GMC Sierra SLE 5.3l is there a tuner that you can buy to change your trucks governor? Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated 

CamGTP Senior Enthusiast

CamGTP

Posted
Posted

Yes, if you do your research you'd have found that out. This thread even had a few answers.

 

But just remember that going over 100mph with a stock driveshaft is playing with fire, they can explode over that speed.

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KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted

I certainly don’t suggest you do what I did. I never had a vehicle limited to 100 mph. I was mindful of tire limitations. I ran cheater slicks on my 74 barracuda. My first car 73 Mazda when the  front end got lite and the doors started rattling I let off. It was a dream come  true moving to  Texas. Miles of roads straight as an arrow. My 74 Ford elite topped at 120. Most of my  early gas  trucks modified had  no problem passing the  century mark. My later trucks took can tunes. Some needed superchargers to even think about it. The diesel’s needed Gearvenders and help from Banks. The 94 Z-28 got lite, the Impala ss had no problem. The 06 Trailblazer ss  I lost my nerve. That doesn’t count my countless hot rods. By now the  roads started to have traffic and I got older. But drive shafts I never gave a thought never had problem. Not until I started reading this website. I did have loops on some of my 1/4  mile cars. Times are different now I guess. No regrets. Guess I was lucky or good. People who know me know. I could tell stories, you wouldn’t believe it. But i had fun. I thinking of seeing what the wife’s Genesis will do. Don’t tell her.

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