5.3 L83/6L80e Twin Turbo Kit.

Gavin Faulkner · November 14, 2022

Hey everyone,

I have a 2015 silverado 1500 2wd with about 100000 miles on it. I want to do a twin turbo kit, i only was thinking of pushing 5-6 pounds of boost, just because i’m not going crazy yet. just want the cosmetics of the turbo in the engine bay, the quick spool up, the added power, and of course the sound. I want everyone’s general thoughts on the transmission and how much it can handle (respectively. i’m not going to boosted launch 20 times a week kinda deal), and some other recommendations would be appreciated

Thank you

SeekAndDestroy · November 14, 2022

17 hours ago, Gavin Faulkner said:

I have a 2015 silverado 1500 2wd with about 100000 miles on it. I want to do a twin turbo kit pushing 5-6 pounds

general thoughts on the transmission

The guys on PerformanceTrucks.net have more experience with boost and go fast mods. Should ask on that forum.

IMO get a 4wd truck, you will have trouble hooking up. At least get traction bars and race tires. 6L80 will handle the power for a while, you can get aftermarket parts to beef it up, but it won’t be cheap. Stock driveshaft is a weak link. Do an AFM delete with LS7 lifters and get the revised oil pump. Just a few things off the top of my head.

CamGTP · November 15, 2022

The transmission can handle an easy 500-600hp if you are nice to it and the transmission/engine tune is spot on.

Things like heavy ass aftermarket rims and tires along with a lift kit will put more stress on the driveline, so you need to keep that in mind. The transmission won't want to take as much abuse if it's doing more to get it moving. The factory driveshaft needs to go, it's a weak link and the factory G80 rear locker doesn't like a ton of abuse either.

Traction bars for sure.

CajunFries · November 15, 2022

Depends on how much power you’re after. Like the 2 post above me said, G80 and driveshaft will let go pretty quick. Trans if it’s healthy, with the right tuner, it’ll hold 700-750. I was beating on mine for 2 years at about 580 and turn turn up to 750-800 and it STARTED to slip 4th. You’ll need injectors, HPFP and in tank pump if you wanna do E85 or any decent amount of power. Stock injectors will probably limit you to about mid-high 400. Depends on dyno and the whole setup. Stock engine can probably handle 600 if it’s tuned right.

P.S. blowers are more fun at lower power level. Makes it feel more alive. INSTANT TQ

KARNUT · November 15, 2022

I’ve had two super charged trucks. The first was a Ford with a vortec. It was a factory oil user they called normal. At 20K miles the vortec went on at 5lbs boost. I traded in at 120K miles, normal maintenance. The second was a Chevy that a whipple from new. It had 5lbs boost and shift kit. At 80K started using oil. It got stroked modified 30K miles later the transmission got beefed while being rebuilt. I owned it after that for 12 years just doing maintenance. Most diesels and gas I’ve owned have been modified. My secret to longevity with my vehicles not constantly mashing the throttle at take off. Id always leave the tires stock except my toys. Useless burn outs and constant full throttle from take off prematurely wears them out, obviously. Knowing I was the most likely winner at the stop light drags was better that taking the risk. I was usually in competition with my brothers for bragging rights. Didn’t care about the rest. The sensation of speed was my drug of choice. I’m still addicted.

diyer2 · November 15, 2022

I was addicted to speed also Karnut. Went to motorcycles for my fix, a long time ago.

KARNUT · November 15, 2022

27 minutes ago, diyer2 said:

I was addicted to speed also Karnut. Went to motorcycles for my fix, a long time ago.

I had dirt bikes. Lots of dirt pits and dirt roads in New Jersey. My wife hated murder cycles she called them. Her father wiped a scooter overseas. Was all scraped up. That and I knew no one to street ride with. She was ok with drag racing. The compromise.

Gavin Faulkner · November 30, 2022

On 11/14/2022 at 4:53 PM, SeekAndDestroy said:

The guys on PerformanceTrucks.net have more experience with boost and go fast mods. Should ask on that forum.

IMO get a 4wd truck, you will have trouble hooking up. At least get traction bars and race tires. 6L80 will handle the power for a while, you can get aftermarket parts to beef it up, but it won’t be cheap. Stock driveshaft is a weak link. Do an AFM delete with LS7 lifters and get the revised oil pump. Just a few things off the top of my head.

What trans parts would you recommend building up? My trans literally just blew and i’m buying a new stock trans. It was abused by my brother when he was towing 24/7 so it’ll be nice to start with a fresh slate. Was thinking aftermarket torque converter since that may be a weak link, what do you think?

SeekAndDestroy · December 1, 2022

4 hours ago, Gavin Faulkner said:

What trans parts would you recommend building up? My trans literally just blew and i’m buying a new stock trans. It was abused by my brother when he was towing 24/7 so it’ll be nice to start with a fresh slate. Was thinking aftermarket torque converter since that may be a weak link, what do you think?

Ouch, that sucks! Get a torque converter for sure, and do the pill flip. Sonnax makes a kit that replaces the crappy factory stuff. I have a stock 8L90 that has been tuned, and have 520 hp/540 tq going through it. So far so good.

I’m not an expert on transmissions. There are a few guys on here that have experience with them. GrumpyBear, Black02Silverado, and CajunFries all have beefed up their 6L80’s. Search the forum for trans threads or DM one of them

CajunFries · December 1, 2022

16 hours ago, Gavin Faulkner said:

What trans parts would you recommend building up? My trans literally just blew and i’m buying a new stock trans. It was abused by my brother when he was towing 24/7 so it’ll be nice to start with a fresh slate. Was thinking aftermarket torque converter since that may be a weak link, what do you think?

Depends on your power level goal. If you’re going to make 600-650, stock trans is perfectly fine. Few things I would do tho. 1. Make sure your current trans cooler gets professionally flushed out. 2. Add an aftermarket trans cooler ADDITION to the stock one. 3. Flip the thermostat pill like SeekandDestroy said. 4. Upgrade the converter to a minimum 6L90 converter. Or jump into something from Circle D. Single disk is perfectly fine if your tuner doesn’t lock up in WOT. And the most important part after doing all that…. Make sure you get a tuner that knows how to tune these trucks!!!!!!

Gavin Faulkner · December 5, 2022

On 12/1/2022 at 5:02 AM, CajunFries said:

Depends on your power level goal. If you’re going to make 600-650, stock trans is perfectly fine. Few things I would do tho. 1. Make sure your current trans cooler gets professionally flushed out. 2. Add an aftermarket trans cooler ADDITION to the stock one. 3. Flip the thermostat pill like SeekandDestroy said. 4. Upgrade the converter to a minimum 6L90 converter. Or jump into something from Circle D. Single disk is perfectly fine if your tuner doesn’t lock up in WOT. And the most important part after doing all that…. Make sure you get a tuner that knows how to tune these trucks!!!!!!

honestly i’m only looking for 550-575 at the crank. Not going too overboard since it’s a daily. Probably going to boost it but very lightly just to reach my power goal. that way it’s still manageable and i don’t risk everything in the truck under one pull. I’m definitely doing to do the thermostat pill, and probably cooler as well.

Gavin Faulkner · December 5, 2022

On 11/30/2022 at 5:25 PM, SeekAndDestroy said:

Ouch, that sucks! Get a torque converter for sure, and do the pill flip. Sonnax makes a kit that replaces the crappy factory stuff. I have a stock 8L90 that has been tuned, and have 520 hp/540 tq going through it. So far so good.

I’m not an expert on transmissions. There are a few guys on here that have experience with them. GrumpyBear, Black02Silverado, and CajunFries all have beefed up their 6L80’s. Search the forum for trans threads or DM one of them

what do you have done to your truck? 520hp is definitely around my

power goal. would love to know how it has been treating you.

SeekAndDestroy · December 6, 2022

6 hours ago, Gavin Faulkner said:

what do you have done to your truck? 520hp is definitely around my

power goal. would love to know how it has been treating you.

It’s a 6.2L with a BTR 220 cam, headers, CAI, throttle body, custom dual exhaust, and a good tune.

Really fun to drive. Have to launch in 4wd or it will just burn rubber. Will break the tires loose if I floor it under 50 km/hr. Chirps the tires shifting into 4th at 100. I have sticky summer tires and the “best” winter tires. It needs traction bars if I increase the power more

CajunFries · December 6, 2022

14 hours ago, Gavin Faulkner said:

honestly i’m only looking for 550-575 at the crank. Not going too overboard since it’s a daily. Probably going to boost it but very lightly just to reach my power goal. that way it’s still manageable and i don’t risk everything in the truck under one pull. I’m definitely doing to do the thermostat pill, and probably cooler as well.

Even at 550 at the wheels is easy. I was DD mine for about 2 years at 560+ beating the crap out of it any chance I get and it was perfectly fine. Just make sure you use the right tuner that know what they are doing. A lot of trucks don’t run right or last long because of the tuner. Goodluck! Ask away if you got any questions.

Gavin Faulkner · December 7, 2022

On 12/5/2022 at 11:46 PM, CajunFries said:

Even at 550 at the wheels is easy. I was DD mine for about 2 years at 560+ beating the crap out of it any chance I get and it was perfectly fine. Just make sure you use the right tuner that know what they are doing. A lot of trucks don’t run right or last long because of the tuner. Goodluck! Ask away if you got any questions.

Thank you!

So currently I just got a new stock trans, which they installed and was broken out of the factory.. Which is bad because that was the last 6L80e in the state so i was looking at the Supermatic 6L80e. I can currently only find it for LS motors, i am not sure what would need to be changed to pair it with GEN V LT. Or if there are better options, but that seemed good for my price range and considering we are close with the GM parts dealer in our town. I would appreciate any help