Exhaust and cold air intake choices

[Greg88106]

I have a slt crew cab 2018 with borla cat back exhaust is there a recommended fit for a air intake and tune?

Thanks for any help.

[CamGTP]

It's whatever you want to do.

 

Anything from Airaid to the GM performance intake. The stock airbox is not a big restriction and most people just want the stock hammer head shark intake out of the way. So I personally run just the Airaid intake tube with no issues.

 

The tune stuff comes down to what you want and how much you wish to spend or learn. They make plug in tuners like HyperTech and Diablo. Or they make custom tuners like HP Tuners that you learn yourself. Just know that HP Tuners is the only one that can do transmission tuning and it will not be cheap on the 2017+ trucks. HP Tuners would run you like $700-800 for PCM/TCM tuning on top of buying the tuner.

[Ozer]

AirAid tube with the stock air box and K&N filter inside is working great for me. Gives a nice growl on acceleration. 

Run a quality catch can setup since your truck is still new-ish

[njs2247]

I had the airaid 200-285 on 2014 5.3L and liked the sound it gave. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that the filter housing relied on the hood to create a seal. I know it wasn't a very good seal either because the filter would get dirty in no time flat.

 

On my current 2016 5.3L Sierra I have the Cold Air Inductions Intake and love it. The filter housing comes with a lid to actually seal off the air filter from the rest of the engine bay. I just cleaned and re-oiled the filter after 20K miles and it was not very dirty at all. Also, I think the sound it gives is a little more throatier than the Airaid 200-285.

 

As for tunes, I always go with Blackbear Performance but that's just my preference. I've always had good experiences with them.

[LDM]

I have the AFE 51-74104 and a borla touring cat back on my truck.  Data logging with HP tuners showed about a 10HP/TQ increase for each.  I did notice a bit of an increase in noise at WOT with the AFE but nothing too loud.  I'm also glad I went with the borla touring rather than one of the louder exhaust options, the touring gives a much nicer sound over the stock exhaust but doesn't wake up my entire neighborhood when I start the truck in the morning (I have one of my Camaros for that if I really feel like it).  Also I don't notice any drone when in V4 mode, at least in the cabin.

 

Data logging hasn't shown any need for a tune with these changes although I'm sure the truck would benefit from it and see even better gains.  Waiting until the warranty is up before I start the tuning process.  And I need to work out the best way to get the extra T87A controller I bought setup to work with my truck.  HP Tuner unlock is great but expensive if you need an extra controller so you truck isn't down for a week or 2.