2008 Silverado 5.3 Upgrades to gain Low end Torque

[Jack Eaton]

In what order should I upgrade my Truck?
 

Right now my 2008 Silverado 5.3L has a 7" McGaughys Lift with 20" Wheels and 35" Tires. 

I want my truck to be a beast in the low end but also still have hwy passing power. 
 

Plan is

1: Re-gear front and rear with Yukon 4.56 Gears.

2:  BTR Low end Torque Cam. "this mild cam improved the power output by 59 hp at 6,400 rpm, but did so with an extra 20 ft.-lbs. of torque between 2,500-3,000 rpm." 

3: TSP long tube headers with Y pipe. Magnaflow exhaust system. 
 

When doing exhaust do I really need the flex pipe / resonator? 
 

What advice do you have in order of which these things should be done with cost in mind as well. 

[swathdiver]

Who drives a 6,000 pound truck at 6,400 rpms?  For how long?  Plus you won't even feel 20 ft lbs or torque up where you don't need it.  The only way to make that cam work is with a 3000 stall converter and 5.13 gears!  Long tube headers also move your power band north of where a truck needs it.

 

If this 4-speed truck were mine, I would change the axle ratios to match the tires.  I do not know the actual size of your tires to make a gear recommendation.  As usual, people recommend more than one needs, especially gears and camshafts!

 

The only things that reliably add torque down low are cubic inches or forced induction like a supercharger.  Now there are a handful of camshafts that will add off idle torque but most people laugh at them because their specs are little different than stock but that is where the torque is at down low, small numbers.

 

Remember, when camshafts are being sold for "trucks", think regular cab, short bed RWD pickups with street tires.  A truck such as yours and mine are a whole other beast. 

[Brian715]

+1 on the gears. My stock 01 burb with 4:10 gears tows way better then my 06 half ton with 3.42 even though the truck has a mild towing cam. 

[CamGTP]

Gears are going to be the best bang for the buck. It costs a decent chunk of money but it's a night and day difference if you are lifted with big heavy tires. That 4 speed auto needs as much help as it can get.

 

The camshaft and headers are shifting the power band away from the low end, so that won't be ideal for what you want. Now if you installed a supercharger, that would give you exactly what you wanted down low.

 

So with what the other said and me, do the gears and get the computer tuned for the changes. It will be way better to drive.

[Jack Eaton]

On 5/25/2020 at 3:29 PM, swathdiver said:

Who drives a 6,000 pound truck at 6,400 rpms?  For how long?  Plus you won't even feel 20 ft lbs or torque up where you don't need it.  The only way to make that cam work is with a 3000 stall converter and 5.13 gears!  Long tube headers also move your power band north of where a truck needs it.

 

 

If this 4-speed truck were mine, I would change the axle ratios to match the tires.  I do not know the actual size of your tires to make a gear recommendation.  As usual, people recommend more than one needs, especially gears and camshafts!

 

The only things that reliably add torque down low are cubic inches or forced induction like a supercharger.  Now there are a handful of camshafts that will add off idle torque but most people laugh at them because their specs are little different than stock but that is where the torque is at down low, small numbers.

 

Remember, when camshafts are being sold for "trucks", think regular cab, short bed RWD pickups with street tires.  A truck such as yours and mine are a whole other beast. 

I get what you are saying. I would be going to 4.56 ratio to put my truck on the plus side . 4.10 would bring me back to where I was before lift and bigger tires. 
 

The camshaft by BTR is a Stage 1 cam that does add torque in the low end ... is it super significant? No. I could just buy a Diesel.

 

I will start with the gear ratio and a Professional Tune and go from there. 

[swathdiver]

14 minutes ago, Jack Eaton said:

I get what you are saying. I would be going to 4.56 ratio to put my truck on the plus side . 4.10 would bring me back to where I was before lift and bigger tires. 
 

The camshaft by BTR is a Stage 1 cam that does add torque in the low end ... is it super significant? No. I could just buy a Diesel.

 

I will start with the gear ratio and a Professional Tune and go from there. 

Here's another guy's experience with a camshaft and experience similar to yours:

 

https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/walk-around-after-cam-and-heads.118189/

 

https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/towing-capacity.118457/page-3

Edited May 26, 2020 by swathdiver

[Jack Eaton]

10 hours ago, swathdiver said:

Here's another guy's experience with a camshaft and experience similar to yours:

 

https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/walk-around-after-cam-and-heads.118189/

 

https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/towing-capacity.118457/page-3

Pretty good! Saw a guy comment below his saying the BTR Cam worked great! So Im gonna go that route! 

[swathdiver]

1 hour ago, Jack Eaton said:

Pretty good! Saw a guy comment below his saying the BTR Cam worked great! So Im gonna go that route! 

You have that already, no?  He's going by feel not numbers.

 

Let me share something with you.  A long time ago I used to drag race cars.  One year, small, high stall torque converters were all the rage.  I put one in my car and boy did it feel great!  It would even snatch the tire off the ground on launches.  But you know what?  When we got to the track, the car was consistently three tenths and three miles an hour slower.  Even the 60-foot was slower even though it pulled the tire at launch!  Well, I was not having that!  Yanked it out and had my stock one mildly tweaked which not only restored the lost performance, the short times decreased even while running street tires.  So I was able to ditch the slicks and jack and sore back and go even faster.  The point is, not everything that feels good actually contributes to performance.  When I had my race shop, most of my time making cars faster was to remove all the garbage they had been sold by other speed shops.  They got rich but I had the faster time slips.  

[Jack Eaton]

On 5/27/2020 at 8:54 AM, swathdiver said:

You have that already, no?  He's going by feel not numbers.

 

Let me share something with you.  A long time ago I used to drag race cars.  One year, small, high stall torque converters were all the rage.  I put one in my car and boy did it feel great!  It would even snatch the tire off the ground on launches.  But you know what?  When we got to the track, the car was consistently three tenths and three miles an hour slower.  Even the 60-foot was slower even though it pulled the tire at launch!  Well, I was not having that!  Yanked it out and had my stock one mildly tweaked which not only restored the lost performance, the short times decreased even while running street tires.  So I was able to ditch the slicks and jack and sore back and go even faster.  The point is, not everything that feels good actually contributes to performance.  When I had my race shop, most of my time making cars faster was to remove all the garbage they had been sold by other speed shops.  They got rich but I had the faster time slips.  

Sweet thanks for the insight