2018 Tahoe RST Family Hauler Build

Mlcurtis62 · May 23, 2020

Quick about me info. I’m an active duty Navy Submariner and a single father of 3 after the normal deployment ex-wife story. Divorce left me with a lot of debt and needing a bigger vehicle than my built Audi A3.

I looked hard for a performance SUV because I didn’t want to give up going fast. With 3 kids the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk was both too expensive and too small, I really wanted 3 rows. No Dodge dealers had the Durango SRT in stock and I still felt like it was a little cramped for space. Then I found a dealer locally with a leftover ‘18 Tahoe RST in February of 2019. Chevy was having a 0% financing deal and the dealer cut me a great deal on the trading in multiple vehicles. It was a match made in heaven. My Tahoe has everything except adaptive cruise (which I’m glad about), front brake upgrade, and the exhaust upgrade.

The Tahoe was the nicest vehicle I’ve ever had, packed with features, good on gas, plenty of space, and didn’t feel terribly slow for a big SUV. That didn’t mean I didn’t need to do some customizing and upgrading still. First thing was front window tint. Then I wasn’t happy that my big honking V8 was quieter than my old 2.0L turbo Audi, so I ordered a 3.5” Magnaflow muffler for a simple swap to keep the sleeper look. It could be a tad louder but I was MUCH happier. Then I broke my own rule and decided to do an intake for my 1 yr anniversary with my Tahoe, usually I hold fast that you should save that money towards forced induction (I should’ve listened to my own rule). I ordered a Corsa intake with the Donaldson filter, I’ve had good experiences with Donaldson filters on diesels in the past and decided I’d give it a shot. I can’t say I noticed any real seat of the pants difference from either the muffler or intake, but the sound is nice and I’m sure there is a performance gain that’s just not huge, which wasn’t expected.

Flash forward to now, I’ve had my Tahoe for about a year and a half and already put 36k miles on it. The passing of my grandfather (miss him dearly) and another dispersement of my contract bonus left me with some money burning a hole in my pocket. I’m typically cheap to a fault, but if kids, deployments, and losing loved ones has taught me anything then I’m learning that life doesn’t wait for you and sometimes I need to be a little less responsible and tight. So after much thought I decided it was time to do the upgrade I really wanted... forced induction.

I loved my big turbo Audi but I knew I didn’t want to deal with any turbo lag in this massive SUV, so I decided I wanted a positive displacement supercharger. I’ve been following a local shop for years waiting for when I had a domestic for them to work on and after talking things over with them I decided on the 2.9L Whipple Tuner kit , LT4 injectors, and a LT4 HPFP (and possibly some WMI). I found a killer Memorial Day sale deal and ordered everything at over $1.1k off list price just yesterday.

Now I wait...

Bob2C · May 23, 2020

Quick about me info. I’m an active duty Navy Submariner and a single father of 3 after the normal deployment ex-wife story. Divorce left me with a lot of debt and needing a bigger vehicle than my built Audi A3.

I looked hard for a performance SUV because I didn’t want to give up going fast. With 3 kids the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk was both too expensive and too small, I really wanted 3 rows. No Dodge dealers had the Durango SRT in stock and I still felt like it was a little cramped for space. Then I found a dealer locally with a leftover ‘18 Tahoe RST in February of 2019. Chevy was having a 0% financing deal and the dealer cut me a great deal on the trading in multiple vehicles. It was a match made in heaven. My Tahoe has everything except adaptive cruise (which I’m glad about), front brake upgrade, and the exhaust upgrade.

The Tahoe was the nicest vehicle I’ve ever had, packed with features, good on gas, plenty of space, and didn’t feel terribly slow for a big SUV. That didn’t mean I didn’t need to do some customizing and upgrading still. First thing was front window tint. Then I wasn’t happy that my big honking V8 was quieter than my old 2.0L turbo Audi, so I ordered a 3.5” Magnaflow muffler for a simple swap to keep the sleeper look. It could be a tad louder but I was MUCH happier. Then I broke my own rule and decided to do an intake for my 1 yr anniversary with my Tahoe, usually I hold fast that you should save that money towards forced induction (I should’ve listened to my own rule). I ordered a Corsa intake with the Donaldson filter, I’ve had good experiences with Donaldson filters on diesels in the past and decided I’d give it a shot. I can’t say I noticed any real seat of the pants difference from either the muffler or intake, but the sound is nice and I’m sure there is a performance gain that’s just not huge, which wasn’t expected.

Flash forward to now, I’ve had my Tahoe for about a year and a half and already put 36k miles on it. The passing of my grandfather (miss him dearly) and another dispersement of my contract bonus left me with some money burning a hole in my pocket. I’m typically cheap to a fault, but if kids, deployments, and losing loved ones has taught me anything then I’m learning that life doesn’t wait for you and sometimes I need to be a little less responsible and tight. So after much thought I decided it was time to do the upgrade I really wanted... forced induction.

I loved my big turbo Audi but I knew I didn’t want to deal with any turbo lag in this massive SUV, so I decided I wanted a positive displacement supercharger. I’ve been following a local shop for years waiting for when I had a domestic for them to work on and after talking things over with them I decided on the 2.9L Whipple Tuner kit , LT4 injectors, and a LT4 HPFP (and possibly some WMI). I found a killer Memorial Day sale deal and ordered everything at over $1.1k off list price just yesterday.

Now I wait...

Nice ride. Thanks for your service. Have you ever thought about getting a custom tune? I did and let me tell you. Wow. And I only have the 5.3 with the 6 speed

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Mlcurtis62 · May 24, 2020

45 minutes ago, Bob2C said:

Nice ride. Thanks for your service. Have you ever thought about getting a custom tune? I did and let me tell you. Wow. And I only have the 5.3 with the 6 speed

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Thanks. It’s been my pleasure to serve. I’ve had tunes on NA vehicles before and just didn’t find it nearly as satisfying as a tune on a factory turbo vehicle. My Tahoe will be custom tuned on the dyno with HP Tuners by the same shop who’s installing the Whipple and fueling for me.

I’m considering a pulley change right off the bat too. Looking for input there.

Louie.c · May 24, 2020

Just looked up the pricing and wow you got a good deal, did they end up giving military discount with that price?

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Mlcurtis62 · May 24, 2020

2 hours ago, Louie.c said:

Just looked up the pricing and wow you got a good deal, did they end up giving military discount with that price?

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No military discount but CSP Racing is having a Memorial Day sale. Their list was already a couple hundred off and then they put another 6% off. Worked out really good for me

Louie.c · May 24, 2020

No military discount but CSP Racing is having a Memorial Day sale. Their list was already a couple hundred off and then they put another 6% off. Worked out really good for me

Sweet deal! Look forward to seeing your build. I'm still waiting for my Whipple to show up and start my suburban

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JimCost2014 · May 24, 2020

19 hours ago, Mlcurtis62 said:

Quick about me info. I’m an active duty Navy Submariner and a single father of 3 after the normal deployment ex-wife story. Divorce left me with a lot of debt and needing a bigger vehicle than my built Audi A3.

I looked hard for a performance SUV because I didn’t want to give up going fast. With 3 kids the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk was both too expensive and too small, I really wanted 3 rows. No Dodge dealers had the Durango SRT in stock and I still felt like it was a little cramped for space. Then I found a dealer locally with a leftover ‘18 Tahoe RST in February of 2019. Chevy was having a 0% financing deal and the dealer cut me a great deal on the trading in multiple vehicles. It was a match made in heaven. My Tahoe has everything except adaptive cruise (which I’m glad about), front brake upgrade, and the exhaust upgrade.

The Tahoe was the nicest vehicle I’ve ever had, packed with features, good on gas, plenty of space, and didn’t feel terribly slow for a big SUV. That didn’t mean I didn’t need to do some customizing and upgrading still. First thing was front window tint. Then I wasn’t happy that my big honking V8 was quieter than my old 2.0L turbo Audi, so I ordered a 3.5” Magnaflow muffler for a simple swap to keep the sleeper look. It could be a tad louder but I was MUCH happier. Then I broke my own rule and decided to do an intake for my 1 yr anniversary with my Tahoe, usually I hold fast that you should save that money towards forced induction (I should’ve listened to my own rule). I ordered a Corsa intake with the Donaldson filter, I’ve had good experiences with Donaldson filters on diesels in the past and decided I’d give it a shot. I can’t say I noticed any real seat of the pants difference from either the muffler or intake, but the sound is nice and I’m sure there is a performance gain that’s just not huge, which wasn’t expected.

Flash forward to now, I’ve had my Tahoe for about a year and a half and already put 36k miles on it. The passing of my grandfather (miss him dearly) and another dispersement of my contract bonus left me with some money burning a hole in my pocket. I’m typically cheap to a fault, but if kids, deployments, and losing loved ones has taught me anything then I’m learning that life doesn’t wait for you and sometimes I need to be a little less responsible and tight. So after much thought I decided it was time to do the upgrade I really wanted... forced induction.

I loved my big turbo Audi but I knew I didn’t want to deal with any turbo lag in this massive SUV, so I decided I wanted a positive displacement supercharger. I’ve been following a local shop for years waiting for when I had a domestic for them to work on and after talking things over with them I decided on the 2.9L Whipple Tuner kit , LT4 injectors, and a LT4 HPFP (and possibly some WMI). I found a killer Memorial Day sale deal and ordered everything at over $1.1k off list price just yesterday.

Now I wait...

Welcome to the site my neighbor to the south.

Once again, thank you for you service to our country!!!

How do you like the 6.2 overall? We have a 16 LTZ with the 5.3 and 6 speed, does ok for such a big SUV. What did you think of Good Chevrolet, never have dealt with them.

Mlcurtis62 · May 24, 2020

1 hour ago, JimCost2014 said:

Welcome to the site my neighbor to the south.

Once again, thank you for you service to our country!!!

How do you like the 6.2 overall? We have a 16 LTZ with the 5.3 and 6 speed, does ok for such a big SUV. What did you think of Good Chevrolet, never have dealt with them.

Thanks. I really like the 6.2. I had a rental Yukon with the 5.3 and the 6.2 feels sooo much less doggy. Coupled with the 10 spd I’m really happy. I do a lot of highway driving and I’m usually averaging 24 mpg, which seems crazy to me. I’m sure the Whipple will fix those numbers though.

Good Chevy treated me fairly on my trades and with the purchase. They have lifetime oil changes too so I’ve been back for several of those and always been treated well.

gat0r · May 26, 2020

Thank you for your service.

& Nice ride. it will be nicer & more fun after the whipple & supporting mods

JimCost2014 · May 26, 2020

On 5/23/2020 at 5:42 PM, Mlcurtis62 said:

Thanks. It’s been my pleasure to serve. I’ve had tunes on NA vehicles before and just didn’t find it nearly as satisfying as a tune on a factory turbo vehicle. My Tahoe will be custom tuned on the dyno with HP Tuners by the same shop who’s installing the Whipple and fueling for me.

I’m considering a pulley change right off the bat too. Looking for input there.

Have you seen these, think Evergreen Chevrolet in Issaquah was selling them at one point. I know Hennessey makes a version too.

Mlcurtis62 · May 26, 2020

14 hours ago, JimCost2014 said:

Have you seen these, think Evergreen Chevrolet in Issaquah was selling them at one point. I know Hennessey makes a version too.

I’ve seen the Callaway and Hennessy models online, they’re really proud of their products though ($$$). By buying a last year new RST and getting a deal on the Whipple I’m sure I’ll be probably $20k+ under that budget

JimCost2014 · May 26, 2020

30 minutes ago, Mlcurtis62 said:

I’ve seen the Callaway and Hennessy models online, they’re really proud of their products though ($$$). By buying a last year new RST and getting a deal on the Whipple I’m sure I’ll be probably $20k+ under that budget

No doubt on the savings, since you are new to GM was not sure if you had seen these, maybe and opportunity to "borrow" some ideas for your rig.

Mlcurtis62 · May 26, 2020

4 hours ago, JimCost2014 said:

No doubt on the savings, since you are new to GM was not sure if you had seen these, maybe and opportunity to "borrow" some ideas for your rig.

Thanks. Looks like Callaway uses the TVS2300 and throws an intake and exhaust on it for 560bhp and Hennessey uses the Whipple 2.9L with intake, exhaust, and rods for 650bhp. Neither one seems to do anything for fueling. I’ll be using the LT4 LPFP, HPFP, and injectors. My tuner wants to throw a dual nozzle WMI setup on too. So I think I should be able to easily beat the Callaway numbers

Mlcurtis62 · May 30, 2020

Just talked more with the installer/tuner. We are going to go with a Walbro 450 in tank pump and dual nozzle water meth kit to finish off the LT4 fueling setup.

I’m still iffy about whether or not we will be sticking with the stock Whipple pulley or running a smaller one.