Looking for ideas

Snakeking · February 3, 2007

Hey all, my first post here.

I've got a 99 pewter Silverado Z71. Its got dual exhaust, chrome on the side mirrors, and thats about it for upgrades.

My birthday is coming up and I want to get some ideas on upgrades/accessories.

My limit is about $200...so I was thinking bed rail protectors & bed rails OR fender flares. My only thing with the flares is....would black (front and back) look ok on Pewter? I can't find any pics with it so I'm not sure if thats a no or not.

Any other ideas for the future are appreciated! Its got the 5.3L engine as well.

Wingnut · February 3, 2007

Regular cab or Ex cab?

Black flares will look great (all a matter of opinion anyway), and if you don't like them...Take them down and have them painted to match the truck when you get a little more $$$ down the road.

But for my $$$...$200? I'm all about going faster.

A tune from PCMForLess or something is the direction I'd go.

Wingnut · February 3, 2007

Oh...And welcome to the boards BTW

Snakeking · February 3, 2007

Extended cab...I love it!

Can you explain to me what a tune does? I'm not too mechanically inclined but I'm learning more and more with this new truck. Somehow it sparked a little more interest in cars than I've ever had before.

carneyman · February 3, 2007

Extended cab...I love it!

Can you explain to me what a tune does? I'm not too mechanically inclined but I'm learning more and more with this new truck. Somehow it sparked a little more interest in cars than I've ever had before.

It basically changes how and when your truck decides to shift, what the speed limiter is set on, how much torque management you have, etc. Basically it lets you get up to "fast" even faster.

Wingnut · February 3, 2007

Extended cab...I love it!

Can you explain to me what a tune does? I'm not too mechanically inclined but I'm learning more and more with this new truck. Somehow it sparked a little more interest in cars than I've ever had before.

It basically changes how and when your truck decides to shift, what the speed limiter is set on, how much torque management you have, etc. Basically it lets you get up to "fast" even faster.

Remaps all the fuel and timing curves too...And you don't have to change when it shifts

It really will make your truck run better AND get better mileage.

Out of all the modifications that are talked about on this board, you'll get widely varying opinions about almost all of them. Like Cold Air Intake kits (CAI's) and dual exhausts. I've never had a CAI give me a whit of horsepower or mileage gain. I've LOST power with most catback exhaust systems. Others have different opinions (my opinion is hardly fact either). Everybody has their own experiences.

But I've yet to see anybody claim that they didn't get gains from a tune. Even the cheap tunes. They run from under $100 up to and above $600

I know that I picked up quite a bit of power, and I get about exactly 1mpg better than I was before it. Running on the same gas.

ZZebes · February 3, 2007

to be 100% honest a tune is the best bang for you buck. heres my proof.

:edit: i just reaized this, most people carry around pictures of the kids or loved ones. i carry dyno plots.

Wingnut · February 3, 2007

:edit: i just reaized this, most people carry around pictures of the kids or loved ones. i carry dyno plots.

If anybody gives you any crap, tell them that it's actually a graphic representation of you children's growth in inches by the year.

The downward flowing lines would be your disposable income as they age.

Then that person will just nod knowingly and say "I feel ya man" and you're off the hook.

Snakeking · February 3, 2007

Ok...If I tell my dad I get better gas mileage with a tune....I'm about 99.9% he'll go for it! This winter since we've gotten it, we're on our third tank of gas and getting about 11 mpg every tank. I had an S10 before and we were used to getting about 20 lol

So, more HP, torque, and better gas mileage are the benefits of a tune? Can anyone give me some examples of what their MPG jump was? If I have numbers to give him it'll be easier to convince him.

Are there different kinds of tunes? Are their names I should be getting price quotes for? Other than the site Mike gave?

Thanks everyone for all your help!

Oh yea, just to give you a kind of measure of my knowledge of trucks: When Mike said tune...I thought it was a way to make your exhaust sound different LOL

Wingnut · February 5, 2007

I got the performance tune and I still gained 1mpg.

You'll have to get hard numbers from other people, but it's usually at least 2 mpg on the trucks (I think).

Wingnut · February 5, 2007

Wait a minute...11 MPG?

That's pretty dang low for that truck. My (un-tuned) '02 Z71 got 13.9 on average, and I drove it like I stole it. It would get well over 20mpg on the highway if I kept it at 65 or so.

carneyman · February 5, 2007

I've gotten about 2-3 mpg better...but only if I drive it like I did before the tune...but alot of the time I don't. Also, the gain is most noticeable on road trips, not noticeable at all in town, but thats understandable.

Snakeking · February 5, 2007

I don't think its had a tuneup for awhile...we bought it used about a month ago and its a 99 with 111,000 miles on it.

I put fuel injection cleaner in today (had a 3/4 tank so dad said go ahead) and I've got another bottle for the next time I fill up. Hopefully that will provide a little increase. And the tune up too.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! Is the tune something I can put in? I have a laptop and I read something on the pcmforless.com site that I can load it with a laptop and a cord from a site he recommended? How expirenced do I need to be to upload it?

Thanks guys...definetly the nicest forum I've been on!

Wingnut · February 6, 2007

Most of the time, they just ship you a new chip (there's a core charge) that's slaved to your VIN and you just replace your existing chip under the hood.

Takes less than 10 minutes.

Or if you have the equipment to do it yourself, then you can just upload it yourself.