I started on this thread a long time ago, and I think some people on the forum havn't been on here long enough to see it... So here it is... can somebody say "STICKY"?

These mods are for the 99+ trucks/SUVs withV8 engines...

1. "Redneck Ram-Air"- Take your stock airbox out and cut many small holes to perforate (sp?) a large section to be cut out in the frontof the airbox(facing the headlight), under the joint where the filter sits. You can do this with an ordinary household drill anda hole-saw (like for cutting door-knob holes).... BE CAREFULL NOT TO CUT TOO CLOSE TO THE JOINT WHERE THE TOP PORTION OF THE AIRBOX ATTACHES!!!Make sure you clean out all the plastic shavings before reassembly. For best results,I highly recommend a high-flowdrop in air filter such as a K&N. I think Auto Zone sells them for around $50. These air filters are lifetime filters that you only clean when they need to be cleaned. When you go to the track (or around town), you can take the passenger side headlight out and have a free Ram-Air-ishsetup. It will help bring cool air in the engine (especially at highway speeds). Money saved-$300 compared to the Vera Ram system. Even more if compared to a ram air hood.

2. "Mass Air Flow Sensor ScreenRemoval"- To do this, you just loosen the clamps around the sensor with a flathead screwdriver, slide the tube to the side and then remove the sensor from the airbox. CAREFULLY unclip and remove theconnection. With the sensor screen side down, VERY CAREFULLY push the screen out with the end of something (Craftsman ratchet handle works well), MAKE SUE YOU DO NOT HIT THE SENSOR WIRES!!! People have seenunfavorable results from this modification by hitting the sensor wires!!!Put it back together and be sure to securely fasten the connection and air tube. Money saved- $300-compared to an aftermarket MAF sensor.

3. "Air Gap Manifold"- Locatedunderneath the throttle body,under the intake manifold and above the lifter valley,there is a little insulating pad that helps cold starting and warmup. In environments were this is not needed, it can be removed, it's your decision. Just unhook your intake hose from the throttle body, move it up and out of the way, and you'll see it. On the back side of your engine, there is another one. Just climb up there, reach around, and pull it out. This one won't come out as easily, but it's still not too hard. Next, remove your engine cover from the top of your engine. There is about 3/8" of insulation on the underside that is good for cold weather, but that's it. These can comeoff andgo backon andgo in and outany time you want.The cover has a bolt on the top and little clips on the back. Money saved- N/A, to the best of my knowledge, nobody makes an Air Gap manifold for the LS1 series engine.

4. "Throttle Body Coolant Bypass"- On the bottom side of your throttle body, there are two hoses. These hoses bring hot coolant through your throttle body and like the pads, assist in cold weather startup. Do you realize how much better your truck runs when it's cold, (temp gauge at or below 160)? When it gets warmed up, (gauge at 205-210), throttle resonse is greatly reduced. This mod wiil let you have that throttle response all the time.This mod DOES COST YOU ABOUT TEN DOLLARS. All you need is a 12" piece of steel brakeline, (I forget the size, but I remember it was two from the smallest this Auto Zone had.I've got the tag somewhere, though. If you need to know, just send me a message!!!), and two clamps that fit on those hoses (less than 1" diameter). Get the screw kind. Make

All hail the king of free mods - MRLM7

I guess I'm good for something...

Bump

Won't removing the muffler make you lose torque? That is what two highly experienced techs I used to work with told me.

Also, in the "air gap manifold" you mention that we have an LS1 series engine..... I thought the LS1 was a 350ci that came in camaro, T/A, and the vette...

Also, is there really any benefit to the air gap manifold?

how big of a section should get cut out of the airbox? or does it matter?

i turned the bottom section of my air box into swiss cheese with the drill and it turned out well

originally yes the ls1 was a corvette/camaro 350 cid engine. but they brought it back in the new design that is 99 and newer.

Postedsame thing 2 timei hatewhen it does that.

Well i have the ram air and the tb bypass done now and the truck runs great.

Removing the muffler will cost you SOME low-end torque, but believe me, it makes up for it on the top end...

Yes the topend would be awesome, but a dog off the line. you could get some electronic exhuast cutout valves for low end then open them when you hit 2500 rpm for awesome power.

talk about expensive

Yeah it is expensive, that's why I haven't done it yet, around $300 in parts, but it would be awesome.

Well I've noticed that even with my Flowmaster on there it has lost some low end torque. I am disappointed with that cause I need all the torque I can get but I will be tuning the PCM soon (hopefully) and I'm sure that'll make up the difference.

ought to be even more noticeable than before the exhaust.

the shop can program the lowend back in, and you can add some reducers to add lowend like I did and it makes a huge difference.

do the reducers affect the sound at all?

no they don't, and you can't even tell unless you look up the tips.

How do any of these, besides driving around with my headlight out, help fuel economy? I'm looking for a way to increase my mpg when I'm not tugging a trailer on my 05' 5.3L v8 1500.

its basically just unrestricting some of the emissions and engine management for better flow. better flow means better performance

bump

badda-bump

Great list, I'll be trying some of them this morning. I noticed that in your .sig, you have 160 degree tstat. What performance/driveability improvements do you see from having such a low thermostat?

gosh so many thing i can do to my new truck. but im afraid of messing things up.. im basicaly mechanicly inclined. just basic things. im kinda like days of thunder i can drive my butt off but when it comes to truck things i have alot to learn. so guys be patient with me. i will ask alot of questions....thanx guys...bill

ok i did the swiss chese thing with the filter case. i made enough holes that i can also cut soe out. i just didnt have a hacksaw handy to do the job right.. hope i didnt screw anything up.. now to get a k&n filter to put in place of the cheap one...bill

ok i dont see a difference still a dog off the line.. will there be a difference when i put in the k&n filter and cut out more holes. i hope so.. and i hope i didnt mess anything up.....bill

OK I got some pics of the throttle body and behind it today, and still don't see an EGR tube. But I do have an idea. The TBS elongates the distance from the throttle body to the intake valve. so what if you were to move the throttle body even further away like next to your air box so the air has even longer to decrease turbulance. Anyways just a athought. I will post pics later.

Here are the pics.

local://upfiles/2770/19B5B58352764027A61DE72BF9A723C1.jpg

local://upfiles/2770/C46C66082E5A4B0AA2EAEB4471C929CC.jpg

and another.

local://upfiles/2770/AEE54803E6124E73B93B2BE7B367461A.jpg

Oh look at all that room from the throttle body the the fan you just have to love the 05's:D

I did the air gap manifold one yesterday ...my right thumb is missing about 2 - 2.25" of skin. lol

Having big hands is good for palming a basketball ...not good for reaching around behind the engine to pull out a sponge! :p

Your just jealous cause thats all that big. Ha!!

omg what a slam that was bad smoke..lol bill

You lob it out there I will clear the park every time. Ha!!

I was attempting to de-screen my MAF today. Got it off the filter and onto my work bench. Used the handle of my craftsman ratchet to try to push the screen on through (without touching the wires :) ). I pushed it but all I heard was a cool little crunching sound as the honeycomb gave way. For fear of completely messing it up, I stopped. The screen is still firmly on the MAF at this point with a couple little bumps from where I was pushing it through. Is the screen really hard to push out, was I doing it right?

Yeh, my MAF screen is abliterated. But it should come out. try to get close to the edge of it while pushing it out. That helps!

Yeah it takes a little work. you can also try a thin screw driver to work the edge loose, but you have to detroy the honeycomb.

a flathead screwdriver worked better than a ratchet for me

well, :) the instructions did say a Craftsman ratchet handle.

I'll give it a try again in a day or two... too damn hot to do it now

To all,
'05 and newer trucks do not have the EGR protruding into the upper intake. I hope the person who thought of that was allowed to slap the original designer.

Those of you who do not remove your headlights when driving may benefit more from cutting one large hole in the bottom of the airbox, convieniently the wheel well forms an upside down cup that directs air to the bottom of the airbox. At the same time, is the destruction of an OEM piece worth the questionable gains?

Do you know where your knock sensor is? Under the upper intake plenum! Removing the foam does not affect its function....until you pack it full of water and dirt. Those of you who do not take you trucks off road will not have to worry as much.

Now the humiliating part. I have done everyone of these modifications and discovered the afformentioned issues with them.

I am new here and I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I wonder if anyone else has had similar experiences?

Well I so far the only 'free' mod I've tried has been the airbox mod and it gave me GREAT gains. However after freeing up the exhaust with a better flowing muffler, now my truck is a slow poke off the line. I think reflashing the ECU will solve my problems though. Just gotta save up about $300 and take a trip to Pensacola.

2002's do not have EGR either...

ok cracker does that mean that puting holes (swiss cheesing it alond the sides didnt do anything for me. she is still a dog off the line but alot better wide open...bill

also what issues did you have from doing the mods

ORIGINAL: Cracker

To all,
'05 and newer trucks do not have the EGR protruding into the upper intake. I hope the person who thought of that was allowed to slap the original designer.

Those of you who do not remove your headlights when driving may benefit more from cutting one large hole in the bottom of the airbox, convieniently the wheel well forms an upside down cup that directs air to the bottom of the airbox. At the same time, is the destruction of an OEM piece worth the questionable gains?

Do you know where your knock sensor is? Under the upper intake plenum! Removing the foam does not affect its function....until you pack it full of water and dirt. Those of you who do not take you trucks off road will not have to worry as much.

Now the humiliating part. I have done everyone of these modifications and discovered the afformentioned issues with them.

I am new here and I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I wonder if anyone else has had similar experiences?


As far as the airbox mod, does anybody here really care about the OEM piece???

Questionable gains??? [sm=wtf.gif] Have you actually tried them???

I have and they work, if you came up with these mods yourself MrLm7 I am greatful! That guy seems a little pissed about something and I don't think it's the mod list!

well after i drilled holes into mine i noticed a big difference and that was with a usual filter. i need to put in a k&n drop in and see what happens. ...bill

also i need to take the screen out in the maf. im kinda afraid to do that. couse i hope i dont mess something up.. and what difference will i see from doing that...bill

I too have been contemplating the MAF mod but I think I'll wait until I have a few hundred dollars on standby incase I mess it up. It would really stink if I accidentally damaged it. Especially since I'm paying $272 a month for it! LOL!

272 that isnt bad. im paying 356 for 6 yrs for my 05

damn, you don't even want to know what I'm paying.

thank god for no payments.[sm=icon_rock.gif]

I am right with you smoke20.

360 for 5 years... bought it in 2004 with 30,000 on it...

bump

250 Month for 4 years on a 99' with 60K, all power options, 4X4, Tow Package, and about 300 worth of bolt-ons (When I got it it had brand new tires, brakes, inspection, alignment). Came out to 12.5K. The rockers need touched up cause it came with aluminum steps that rubbed the paint off. But other than that it is clean.

I'm scared for mine then. A '04 Ext Cab at 390/mo for 60 months. Only had 23K miles on it (I rolled the remaining payments on my Grand Prix into it, or it would have come in around 320/mo.

hey jax thats not bad. mine has 88 thousand and i kept my jeep grand charokee couse i was gonna trade it in but decided to just save the money and get it fixed for the wife. it needs a new transfer case and probly a new trans. but i ended up paying 15,600 for the 05 truck. and it booked for way more than that with that miles on it. its all hiway miles it was used to pull light weight tlrs south for the new orleans people....bill

494.00 a month so dont feel bad i have did the airbox mod also i bought a aibox assy on ebay for 10.00 plus freight and did that though cause the airboxes are expensive from gm and im happy with the mod i am cutting small pieces at a time to see the diff and i have a k&n and duals with no muffler mine is a dog on the bottom to

Did the throttle body cooland bypass this weekend (have theskinned knuckels to prove it). Getting the clamp on hose that goes into the manifold is a pay in the <edit>...but after a few curse words, I got it done. :)

It might be my imagination, but throttle response does seem improved - especially after the engine has been running a long time (the throttle body stays cool).

About time. Do you have the skinned knees as well seeing that you live in california? Ha!!

Just kidding, glad you like it.

I don't know bro ...but the word is out that your'e the one who doesn't have a gag reflex. lol

wow.....

i wish i hadn't read that... good news though, my gag reflex still works lol

What have you recently tested it?? Any late night visitors?

Ooooookay, so to change the subject. When is this gonna be turned into a sticky? People are constantly asking about this crap and they wouldn't have to if it was a sticky. Who is the new moderator? I should have said yes when they asked me to be moderator but I didn't think I was gonna have time.

29 Palms or Pendleton?

Wasn't trying to be a douche. After reading what you guys pay for your trucks I feel like one. $622/month 5yrs

Both heh ...3rd Tanks in 29 Stumps and 1st LSB Del Mar.

Thank you for your service.

Thanks. It was a pleasure. :)

Not to beat a dead horse, but I mistyped. I'm maying $490 a month, not 390 for my 04.

Ok, the horse is dead, BBQ at my place tonight.

I'll bring the road kill.

Ive tried all of these mods to a enjoyable success they have given me some noticeable gains. Ive done my own simplied intake tube where I removed the water catchment tube on my intake (the one that drops down) and just capped it off with a 2.5" plastic seal cap. It really does nicely going along with the other mods.:)

I think I might try to attack the throttle body coolant bypass mod this weekend if I don't have anything else to do. I am really interested in seeing if this helps any. Seems like it would be very beneficial.

I'd like to see if there's some sort of way I can easily undo the bypass. I live in Michigan and it'd be nice to have something to warm up the throttle body on those cold winter mornings. Maybe some sort of small valve switch for the bypass....

Any ideas?

Make sure it is a bypass and not a cut off. The water in thatline runs through your heads. I know it is small, but more flow means lower temps. We are splitting hairs already about the amount of gain achieved by this mod. Heat robs power.

Are you having trouble with the truck on cold mornings?

Don't know, only had it for a few months. I'll likely wait on this particular mod, just thinking out loud more than anything.

In the winter, if you warm your truck up in the morning you'll be fine. Once I get home from work (20 min drive) my TB is still pretty hot, but not as much as it was before the bypass.

It's easy to switch it back and forth, you could just do that every year, or put a valve on each side to force thecoolant to bypass, but then you have to wory about buildup from the coolant just sitting in the line.

Not to mention putting valves there would defeat the purpose... The coolant would heat up the valves and the coolant on the other side...

On really long trips, this would be the case, but definitely not as quickly or as hot as if the coolant was going through it constantly

just trying to make this stick.

So, I'm reading the UFHML and I'm trying to picture RedNeck RamAir. Does anyone have a pic of how they modified their airbox so don't completely hose mine up?

Are the insulating pads on the '03s? I was thinking about doing the air gap manifold but i havent seen any pads under my throttle body. Are they visible without removing something?

from what one guy has said, apparantly there is really no benefit in removing the pads. it's apparantly also supposed to be protecting some sensor as well.

ORIGINAL: JohnAdamsR

Are the insulating pads on the '03s? I was thinking about doing the air gap manifold but i havent seen any pads under my throttle body. Are they visible without removing something?


Yes, they're on yours too... Keep lookin':D

Idk if anyone with the stock intake tried this yet but Ive eliminated the lower water catchment tube and sealed it with a cap. I figured it would be better without because by the time the water gets that far into the intake wouldnt you be pretty submerged/screwed anyways? o.O
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/tweaker69/P1000212.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/tweaker69/P1000214.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/tweaker69/P1000215.jpg
Any thoughts? :eek:

Actually, I think that is supposed to be a noise dampener. Not a water catcher. I could be wrong but generally that's the idea.

Isn't that the part that prevents the dilithium crystals from becoming unstable?

:eek:

Yeah, without them, the quantum flux reactor solenoid would fail causing an audible air intake sound which GM seems to think drivers dont want to here.

That sound you just heard was a paradigm shifting without a clutch....

ouch [&:]

So the cap'd bottom was a dumb idead I take it. >.<

No we're just being stupid. Did you notice any difference in the way your truck sounds? There really won't be a performance increase but the exhaust note might be a tiny bit different.

The intake noise didnt increase or anything though the look of a simplified intake is cool I guess...lol
Really the dumped exhaust note doesnt change too much its just a gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle. XD

Edit: Idk if Im goin def but apparently the truck sounds better says my pops and uncle and they didnt know about the intake cap till I mentioned. Either way interesting thing to do with-in 30 mins.

what you removed is actually called the void air box. that is if it was the one that was hanging down next to the radiator. My s10 had one of those too. it was totally useless. I think any mods you can do that remove useless pieces of plastice and even make the slightest difference are worth it. Good job!

Hell, its gotta help by removing that thing cause it sits right next to the exhaust manifold and you know its gotta get pretty hot.

wow pretty cool list! I'm going to try some of those

Yeah I recommend starting with the ram air box mod! That is actually the only one I've done but it works AWESOME! With a K&N air filter it's just like a cold air intake!

it's easy on the wallet too.

Bump

Hiya,

New guy checking in. I've been lurking here for a few days after buying my first truck last week, a 2001 GMC Sierra, 4.3L.

MrLM7 mentioned at this thread's opening that, "These mods are for the 99+ trucks/SUVs withÂ*V8 engines." Which brings me to my first question: Are any of these mods not advisable for my V6?

While I'd be tickled with improved performance, my primary interest is squeezing as many miles out of a gallon of gas as possible. From my reading so far, I'm considering:
Airaid Cold Air Intake, model 200-112-1, and MAF Descreening
Trans Dapt Throttle Body Spacer, model TRD-2564

I scored an immaculately-maintained pickup, with only 39,000 miles, at a reasonable price. Right now, it is a fairly blank canvas that I suspect I'll be tempted to mod frequently. Between this new obsession and my motorcycle, the desire to upgrade will likely keep me from ever achieving financial independence. I'm already eyeing audio improvements.

Anyway, thanks for reading, as well as, your contributions to this very valuable resource. I'll be hangin' here for some time.

these are all good mods but sadly we can only perform some of them on our 6'ers. you can do the redneck ram air, the descreen, the throttle body spacer, the port and polish of the throttle body and some others, just search the forum and you'll find stuff for the v6's

I forgot about the port and polish TB. Has anybody done it on a 5.3 yet?

I want to see how much it would cost to get it done. I know it would have to make an improvement cause the surface around the throttle body is pretty rough on mine.

I was informed from my drag racing buddies that a ported and polished throttle body is a good idea on modified engines, but not so much on stock engines. Take my truck for example, throttle body spacer, descreened maf, 3.5" intake. My truck is getting as much air as it can handle right now and changing out the throttle body with a ported and polished job will increase throttle response but won't do much of anything with hp (like 3 to 5hp max.). If you have aftermarket heads, cam, injectors, or any combination of the three then its a good idea. If done right you can get upwards of 10hp out of it.

If it is worth 3-5 hp, that's not bad... All you're doing, by removing the rough, is smoothing out the flow anyway. You can't REALLY "port it out" because the throttle plate's diameter won't allow it to be a larger port. By smoothing the inner surface of the body, you're just getting rid of some turbulence and making the flow more consistent...

A professionally ported TB will be "milled out" along the aluminum closest to the throttle plate as there is a step-down just before it. The rest of the "horn" is polished smooth. They also grind down the bump stop so the TB will open further. The last step is they sharpen the throttle plate to a knife edge and grind down the bar that the throttle plate bolts to. All-in-all is has a dramatic effect on the airflow into the engine. Its more velocity then volume.

Dumb question here ....how would I find a shop to port the tb?

Speed shop and/or machine shop maybe? Seems like a machinist would be the best bet for this.

ORIGINAL: popo

these are all good mods but sadly we can only perform some of them on our 6'ers. you can do the redneck ram air, the descreen, the throttle body spacer, the port and polish of the throttle body and some others, just search the forum and you'll find stuff for the v6's


Thanks for the input.

ORIGINAL: SouthBayZ71

Dumb question here ....how would I find a shop to port the tb?


search the forum for the TB port and polish diy post. I posted on for the 4.3 but it is identical to the 5.3. The big difference is that on the 4.3, there is a metal deflecter on the bottom side of the throttle blade that blocks half the air from coming in. there is a DIY step by step for both engines in here though. one from me and one from MRlm7

Bump

I'm just a dumb cracker.....what is "bump"?

he moved to the front of the forum

question about the descreen MAF. removing the screen won't mess up the readings the sensor will pick up? if not, WTF didGM put that there, what purpose does it serve? good thing i saw this thread, i was about to spend 370 on a granatelli MAF. thanks mrlm7.

Did anyone read the post I put up about the programmer? Hypertech basically told me that too much air to the engine results in the need for more octane after a certain point. This is something that can be comped by a custome tune but in most cases not a programmer. Read this,

This it what they told me........(they gave me a dyno sheet and I can post it if you guys want).

Our tuning like most all the other mfg's products are designed around a stock vehicle. Diablo or any other mfg will not get more power than Hypertech regardless of what one reads on some Forum. Our tuning is designed around a stock vehicle, there is no problem with a cat back exhaust and/or a replacement high flow air filter. Other mods like air intakes, after market mass air flow sensors, headers, high flow cats, larger throttle body, spacersetc should not be used with our tuning. When doing so the engine will be apt to ping/detonate and/or no power gain. The attached dyno chart shows the power gainfor both our 87 or 91 octane settings. As alwaysour test vehicle was completely stock. Thanks Jim

So basically, if your doing these mods you would have to get a custom tune to get the real power from them. What BS!

I guess the proof is in the pudding....

AFAIK, the screen is to help purify the air flow, reducing it from a tumbling mess that comes out of the air filter and leveling it out to go across the MAF. Unfortunately, it also limits the amount of air that passes into the intake. If you are looking to increase the amount of air passing through your intake, removing the screen substantially increases overall throughput.

Granted, the screen is there to help the MAF take a 'true' reading of the incoming air, but removing it doesn't seem to have hurt my vehicle. The MAF would also help stop any large pieces of debris that might get past the airfilter (or lack thereof), so the debris doesn't damage the sensor. Removing the screen would negate this feature.

I could be completely full of crap but here's how I understand it. ( granted this is from my experience working on german cars, so take it for what it's worth )

A screen in the MAF doesn't help in purifying the air, but rather is there to aid in airflow streamlining. The MAF Sensor from the factory is calibrated to read a certain airflow with the screen intact, when it is removed you flow more air but the sensor can't read itaccurately resulting in the wrong signal being sent to the PCM, resulting in too little fuel based on ACTUAL airflow, thus you run lean resulting in detonation and pinging.Not sure the limits of the chevy PCM, but most can adjust within certain limits to reduce timing when it detects too much knock. Again, not sure if the chevy has knock sensors or where they are located. Hope this helps.

The screen has to be there for a reason or else why would my granatelli MAF have one.

i kinda got a free mod that i did but its like 20 bucks and very easy to do. first you take the top of your air box off and take the old filter out. while you have the filter out you might as well rip that maf screen out too. go down to your local parts store and pick up a cone filter and make sure it has a 4 inch inlet. this will slip right over you maf sensor. i made a bracket that goes from the stock air bock screw hole to the maf sensor to hold the filter steady and really worked out great, definately noticed a difference.

http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/2156/intakefz4.png


[/align]

and yes i know my engine bay was extremely dirty in the pic but this is when i first did this mod and the bracket i made is not shown in the pic either. if you want i will get updated pics as i now have the air raid modular intake tube.

dude the screen is just there for emissions from the factory. theres all kinds of bs on factory vehicles and once you elimate all that crap youll notice a huge difference. if you think its gunna mess somethin up, dont do it, but half the people on this site have it done and it doesnt mess there trucks up and im one of them.


[/align]

I didn't wana do it so that's why I got an aftermarket one

Mine has been gone for several months, and no issue noticed. But some power increase. I do wonder if the range that theaftermarket sensor can read is higher than the stock unit though.

oh im sure. its a smoother surface and bigger diameter and eliminating that screen just helps it breathe even more.

I just don't see the need for a bigger MAF as the hp increase isn't worth the price (to me)

agreed.


[/align]

When I said 'purify' I meant the flow, not the air itself. I've removed my MAF and haven't seen any problems. I'm sure it probably does help streamline the air, but with the width of the screen being less than an inch, it probably doesn't streamline it too much. You need a decent travel to get the molecules to head 'down' the tunnel and the screen just doesn't have that.

I've seen no pinging or anything else. If anything, I've seen a slight increase in power off the line. (now I need to get some real sway dampening because stomping on it in a turn causes the whole truck to rock :)

I didn't mean a bigger MAF, just one that reads a wider range.

Is that how the aftermarket ones work? Just recognizes more airflow?

That is what I want to find out, but have not found any info on that yet. But if it does, then may be worth the price. I just don't trust the sales people to tell me the truth, I want to know what the actual ranges are for stock and aftermarket.

Don't get one if you have a custom tune... they don't mesh very well...

BUMP

I just sent an e-mail off in the attempt to become a moderator for this site. If I actually get a response(which I rather doubt) I'll make this and a few others a sticky.

Cool...

Welcome back old timer.

yeah you've been gone but i heard you are a new dad? that will change things! we are having our 2nd one soon so i am trying to fit in all the mods i can before it's too late and i have to once again live vicariously through these other guys.

Does anyone save their money to buy a truck so they do not have to pay the huge payments and interest rates? lol

I couldn't imagine $690/month with all the other expenses that need to be paid..

ORIGINAL: x3no

Does anyone save their money to buy a truck so they do not have to pay the huge payments and interest rates? lol

I couldn't imagine $690/month with all the other expenses that need to be paid..



Unfortunately, most people need a vehicle now, as apposed to saving their money for 5-6 years to buy a $10,000-$15,000 vehicle.

ORIGINAL: MrLM7

I started on this thread a long time ago, and I think some people on the forum havn't been on here long enough to see it... So here it is... can somebody say "STICKY"?

These mods are for the 99+ trucks/SUVs withV8 engines...

2. "Mass Air Flow Sensor ScreenRemoval"- To do this, you just loosen the clamps around the sensor with a flathead screwdriver, slide the tube to the side and then remove the sensor from the airbox. CAREFULLY unclip and remove theconnection. With the sensor screen side down, VERY CAREFULLY push the screen out with the end of something (Craftsman ratchet handle works well), MAKE SUE YOU DO NOT HIT THE SENSOR WIRES!!! People have seenunfavorable results from this modification by hitting the sensor wires!!!Put it back together and be sure to securely fasten the connection and air tube. Money saved- $300-compared to an aftermarket MAF sensor.

4. "Throttle Body Coolant Bypass"- On the bottom side of your throttle body, there are two hoses. These hoses bring hot coolant through your throttle body and like the pads, assist in cold weather startup. Do you realize how much better your truck runs when it's cold, (temp gauge at or below 160)? When it gets warmed up, (gauge at 205-210), throttle resonse is greatly reduced. This mod wiil let you have that throttle response all the time.This mod DOES COST YOU ABOUT TEN DOLLARS. All you need is a 12" piece of steel brakeline, (I forget the size, but I remember it was two from the smallest this Auto Zone had.I've got the tag somewhere, though. If you need to know, just send me a message!!!), and two clamps that fit on those hoses (less than 1" diameter). Get the screw kind. Make sure you clamp off the hose between the manifold and the TB with apair of Vise Grips to keep the fluid from leaking out.Use a tubing cutter to cut the line at both endsand remove the fittings. You then remove the hoses from the throttle body and put brakeline in both of them and clamp it up. Then remove the Vise Grips.When you've clamped it tight, refill your coolant as needed. Money saved- N/A



Not trying to bust on the thread so please don't take offense:

The MAF is designed to even the airflow out across the sensor wires. Removing the screen can screw up your AF ratio which can cause detonation if you don't tune for it. You may not be able to tell there's detonation until it's too late. The sensor on the stock MAF is calibrated to work with the screen in place. That's why if you do remove it, you need to have someone with tuning capabilities compensate for the change. I'm not saying anyone is wrong and to not do it, I'm just saying you should be tuned to compensate for it.

The throttle body by-pass can be done without spending money. The hose that is on the left of the throttle body can be removed from the TB and is long enough to reach the right side where the other hose goes into the block. Also, the mod is not going to give any noticeable gains. The coolant circulates through the throttle body and warms it to prevent any icing in cold climates. The air isn't in that small bit of TB long enough to affect the temperature. I'm not saying it isn't worth doing, I'm saying you're not going to notice any gains. Sorry LM7, but it's not going to make it feel like your engine is running as if it were 160°. It's even been dynoed and no differences were noted. Bottom line: it doesn't hurt, but any gains are minimal or even non-existant. But, again, it's free and doesn't hurt if you don't live in a cold, cold, climate.

ORIGINAL: DamnYankee

The MAF is designed to even the airflow out across the sensor wires. Removing the screen can screw up your AF ratio which can cause detonation if you don't tune for it. You may not be able to tell there's detonation until it's too late. The sensor on the stock MAF is calibrated to work with the screen in place. That's why if you do remove it, you need to have someone with tuning capabilities compensate for the change. I'm not saying anyone is wrong and to not do it, I'm just saying you should be tuned to compensate for it.



Oh well, too late.:D

I've had my screen out now for like 4 years...

me too on every car i've owned

tb bypass may not give any dyno gains, but it does help throttle resonse. Also removing the MAF screen also makes a good difference, and I had no issues before I got a tune.

I have no issues with my screen out either.

My only point in posting what I did was that there have been people with those issues. I know not everyone has them. Part of my point was also that people DO have those problems and don't even know it. They don't know their AF is off because they never get it checked. A vehicle can run perfectly fine with a screwed up AF ratio.

I just think potential detonation due to screwed up AF ratio (which most people don't know is a problem until it's too late) is something that should be included as a warning when suggesting it as a beneficial mod.

Trying to help here, not attack anyone who has done this. To act like detonation is nothing to worry about is asking for trouble.

I haven't tried this but am kicking it around. I plan on putting a K&N FIPK II on my 2K Tahoe, 5.3. Yes, the K&N ain't cheap, but I like the idea of the tubular intake tube over the stock tube with it's flattening out over the radiator shroud. Once the K&N is in place, the heat shield will overlap the edge of the radiator. There is a flap that runs up the length of the side tank on the radiator. If this is removed, or rolled back our of the way in case you want to roll it back wouldn't it let the air straight in to the filter? Also, there is a plate in front of the air box/behind the headlight assembly. If that were removed the air would have a straight shot through the headlight assembly to the filter. It seems to me that these two simple mods would let the outside cool air get straight to the filter. Because the filter is so close to the front there might be the issue of water or other things hitting the filter directly. K&N makes a filter wrap that is suppose to keep most of the water off the actual filter. I have emailed them to see if they think this would be sufficient protection for the filter if these to pieces were removed. Did any of that make sense?

makes sense to me... i dont know what flap or plate you're talking about but that sounds like a pretty good idea

Here are a couple of links to other threads in this forum. Both deal with some of the things being talked about here, mainly CAI's and MAF's.

http://www.truckforums.com/m_30918/tm.htm
http://www.truckforums.com/m_27931/mpage_3/key_/tm.htm

ORIGINAL: chevy112488

makes sense to me... i dont know what flap or plate you're talking about but that sounds like a pretty good idea


I did a similar thing to my 2K Durango. I think I mention it in one of the threads I just suggested. The filter in it sat back farther, right about on the fender well. The flap I took out on it was bigger and let the air have a straight shot at the filter so I figured at highway speeds I had a pretty good ram effect going on and where it was back as far as it was I never worried too much about water or debris. Had it like that for two years (before the D was totaled last month) and never saw any downside but I did get a 2 mgp boost as well as increased throttle response. That unit was an Airaid but I think I'll go with K&N for the Tahoe asI like the design of the intake tube better.

will some of these work for my 94? i know i cant do some but i would think i might be able to do something.

I agree with protecting the air filter element from water because I had this oversized air filter on my CAI that barely fit in the area where the air box used to be. Because of this it got wet (from the seam in between the fender and hood) and rusted out pretty fast leaving a brown residue on the MAF sensor. I cleaned the MAF sensor off and got the filter off there. I put a smaller (in length) filter on there and it fits much better without getting wet (plus the newer one is mostly stainless with a painted steel mesh on the element unlike the original).

I think the inital setup would be a good resolution over the protective sleeve, don't you?

I mean it seems like if its water resistant that it will be restrictive. I could be wrong tho.

ORIGINAL: jcbst12

I agree with protecting the air filter element from water because I had this oversized air filter on my CAI that barely fit in the area where the air box used to be. Because of this it got wet (from the seam in between the fender and hood) and rusted out pretty fast leaving a brown residue on the MAF sensor. I cleaned the MAF sensor off and got the filter off there. I put a smaller (in length) filter on there and it fits much better without getting wet (plus the newer one is mostly stainless with a painted steel mesh on the element unlike the original).

I think the inital setup would be a good resolution over the protective sleeve, don't you?

I mean it seems like if its water resistant that it will be restrictive. I could be wrong tho.



I wondered about that too. The protective sleeve is made by K&N as well. Of course they have a vested interest in selling it to you but they also have a vested interest in selling you a product that works or you won't come back and will tell all your friends they suck. Here is how they describe it on their site.

The K&N Drycharger® is a silicone treated, polyester wrap that is made to cover K&N Air Filters or Personal Watercraft Flame Arrestors. These Drychargers, which are similar to the K&N Prechargers, contain uniform micron sized openings that allow optimum air flow. Yet, due to the Drychargers silicone treated polyester wrap, the amount of water that reaches the air filter or flame arrestor is limited.

Where it slips on and off and where it doesn't need to be reoiled like the filter I would think you could clean it as often as you needed.

Yeah I can understand that, they are basically saying "limited water" meaning a pretty porous material is being used. I guess I'd have to see it. How much do thay go for. Oh and does K&N have a number you can call to reorder the filter only for the CAI?

ORIGINAL: jcbst12

Yeah I can understand that, they are basically saying "limited water" meaning a pretty porous material is being used. I guess I'd have to see it. How much do thay go for. Oh and does K&N have a number you can call to reorder the filter only for the CAI?


The Drycharger runs about 35 bucks if I recall. It's all on thier web site. http://www.knfilters.com/ You can search by vehicle or if you know the item number you can go that route. Unless it received some physical damage you shouldn't need to reorder one. I'll bet your friendly neighborhood parts store could order you one as well.

This place http://www.performancecenter.com/K26N?adid=free&gclid=CKG6oLz9h5ECFRD7iAodQXQiAA
seems to have a pretty good selection of K&N as well as a boat load of other brands.

ORIGINAL: withac

I haven't tried this but am kicking it around. I plan on putting a K&N FIPK II on my 2K Tahoe, 5.3. Yes, the K&N ain't cheap, but I like the idea of the tubular intake tube over the stock tube with it's flattening out over the radiator shroud. Once the K&N is in place, the heat shield will overlap the edge of the radiator. There is a flap that runs up the length of the side tank on the radiator. If this is removed, or rolled back our of the way in case you want to roll it back wouldn't it let the air straight in to the filter? Also, there is a plate in front of the air box/behind the headlight assembly. If that were removed the air would have a straight shot through the headlight assembly to the filter. It seems to me that these two simple mods would let the outside cool air get straight to the filter. Because the filter is so close to the front there might be the issue of water or other things hitting the filter directly. K&N makes a filter wrap that is suppose to keep most of the water off the actual filter. I have emailed them to see if they think this would be sufficient protection for the filter if these to pieces were removed. Did any of that make sense?


Okay, I emailed K&N and asked if they thought the Drycharger would be sufficient protection if I opened up the front end like I’ve been talking about. The tech asked that I not publish the response verbatim and I can understand and respect that. He said if anyone had any questions to please feel free to contact customer support through their website. He was very helpful and the response time was very good. To summarize, he didn’t know if there would be any air sensor issues from the added air direction but I could of course always try it and see if it helped. He said the Drycharger would be a big help, it is strong, lightweight, and won’t restrict airflow while adding protection for the filter. The waterproofing only lasts about a year so it would need to be replaced yearly. I think I’m gonna give it a shot but won’t be able to until spring.

Ive got a supercharged Saturn and I use the water sock on the CIA and it hangs way down near the bottom of the bumper and ive never had any probs. Ive cleaned the inside of the intake tube a few times but never got anything out of it.

ORIGINAL: rxsteven

Ive got a supercharged Saturn and I use the water sock on the CIA and it hangs way down near the bottom of the bumper and ive never had any probs. Ive cleaned the inside of the intake tube a few times but never got anything out of it.


That's good to hear, thanks. Do you replace the sock yearly?

Ive only changed it once because of a rip in it. It probably got hit by some gravel or something like I said it hangs down real low. Not to mention with the supercharger im sure theirs allot of suction at WOT

this is a really good little discussion going on here... but wow... this is a really long one that has alot of different topics going on.... were not even talking about free mods any more... i enjoy it but wow!!!
:D

I was thinking about doing the "dumped exhaust" on my '90 5.7L. I got under it though, and saw that if I cut the exhaust before the muffler it will not quite clear the cab (reg cab). First of all, I don't want to have to worry about fumes inside the cab while idling, and secondly, is it worth the loss of torque to gain the extra horsepower?

On a 90' 5.7 you can do the dumped without losing torque. And to avoid fumes I would add an extension to the pipe before the dump.

i have a reg cab and they dump after the cab but before the axle. it will have a heavier interior reasonance to it tho.

Thanks, I think I will try it out in the next couple of days. Stopspazinout, what would you recommend doing first to my truck for decent gains?

Ghetto.

I did lose some torque when I went with the 3" in dual 2 1/2" out with dumps. All the other things I did make of for the loss of torque. I did feel an increase in power in RPM's 2500+.

I would never do any of this to my truck. its such a patch up job on everything. I wouldnt be able to live with my self after doing any of this. I would be worried 24/7 that something is just going to die.

2 years and everything runs fine.

I've got a question about mod# 4 "Throttle Body Coolant Bypass", so what happens when it the coolants gettin hot and you boil the fuel

It dosent boil fuel if you dont have the bypass the hot coolant heats the air going into the intake. If you do the bypass you'll get cooler air into the intake.

The TB coolant lines allows the warm coolant to enter the housing in order to prevent electronics from freezing up and the butterfly from sticking open or closed. In climates where it never reaches (or barely reaches) below zero, its not really needed. I'm not sure if it helps to remove the coolant lines from the TB, but it can't hurt. U figure anywhere you can subtract heat from the engine is usually a good thing. This has nothing to do with the fuel tho.

Just a reminder, these mods are for the LS based engines.

ORIGINAL: MikeOxlong

I've got a question about mod# 4 "Throttle Body Coolant Bypass", so what happens when it the coolants gettin hot and you boil the fuel

Well, first of all there is no fuel in the throttle body. You're thinking of a standard carburetor that has fuel in the float area which can boil if the intake manifold gets too hot.

With these fuel-injected Chevy V8's, the gas is piped thru rails above the valve covers and is sprayed directly into the intake ports. The only thing that flows thru the throttle body is air. The reason that Chevy runs engine coolant thru the base of the throttle body (as someone already noted) is to warm the air and butterfly valve to aid in cold weather performance. In areas where the temperatures rarely get below freezing this isn't an issue, so bypassing the coolant from the throttle body helps keep that area cooler when the engine is hot. Thisin turn helps the air stay more dense which results in a slightly higher concentration of oxygen in the combustion chamber. More oxygen means a touch more power when the spark plug ignites.

HOW MUCH DID THE HEADERS HELP YOUR TRUCK

ok so i got to know every one talks about all these mods but what about cutting off the cats?

Go ahead and cut your cats off.. I live in California so I cant.. but if you can get away with it, go for it.. Just make sure you still have a muffler. Your gonig to need some back pressure to 1. not burn up your valves and 2. keep some power at the bottom end... If you want cats still go with highflow cats and a new Y pipe that isnt smashed into an oval...

I can't locate the source, but I previously saw a flow test done on "Highflow" converters. They flowed around 500cfm. Stock cats flow around 480cfm. Take that into consideration when deciding if they're worth it.

If you really want to see some improvements, get a set of OBX headers with their Y pipe. It has resontaors that look like cat. converters but they're straight through...

ok im not sure if this is the same for everyone but the instructions for the tb bypass are cut off. could someone please re-post. also i dont seem to have any insulation pads. any thoughts

Throttle body bypass instructions (click). (http://www.ls1truck.com/forums/mechanical/12749-tb-bypass-pics.html)

Insulation pads??

thanks alot

My 2cents. GM spend more money than you would think designing the MAF sensors. If removing the screen would add hp they would of done it, they were competing with Ford and Dodge. A shop my company works with on a regular basis, House of Boost, leaves the stock MAF in when they turbo a GM, so I doubt it's restrictive. They know what they're doing they've done many GM cars and trucks, turbo and supercharged.

The coolant bypass, I'm passing on cause I live in KC and it'll be in the single digits tonight. The air box, I'll think about. I'm going to look into making a ram air.

Just something to think about.

2. "Mass Air Flow Sensor ScreenRemoval"- To do this, you just loosen the clamps around the sensor with a flathead screwdriver, slide the tube to the side and then remove the sensor from the airbox. CAREFULLY unclip and remove theconnection. With the sensor screen side down, VERY CAREFULLY push the screen out with the end of something (Craftsman ratchet handle works well), MAKE SUE YOU DO NOT HIT THE SENSOR WIRES!!! People have seenunfavorable results from this modification by hitting the sensor wires!!!Put it back together and be sure to securely fasten the connection and air tube. Money saved- $300-compared to an aftermarket MAF sensor.

Man, I've really got to say, honestly, this "mod" is NOT adviseable.
Won't get you anything except a burnt trans. I'm not hating, but I just think other people should realize before more try it out unknowingly!

That's been beaten into the ground too much to even argue about anymore.

I removed the water catchment tube on my intake (the one that drops down) and just capped it off with a 2.5" plastic seal cap. .:)

I am thinking of doing the same, I was under the impression that it was a silencer but the water trap sounds legit too. I wanted to do it because it seems that the down scoupe would cause a pressure drop or a vacuum effect. I may be wrong.

hope this isnt a repeat, my apologies if so but its worth sharing..
guess this mod cost me 14 bucks versus 300 anywhere else.
i cut a round hole in the bottom of my existing factory airbox (4 inches)..went to Lowes and purchased a 4 inch drain pipe with a scoope extension(to poke out the front spoiler--you have to remove tow hook)
then i removed the steel plate that the airbox sits on--leave it out.
poke the pipe up thru the bottom of airbox..put it all together with a lil duct tape and zip ties, and oh yeah the filter is K&N.
Lets in massive amounts of air, ill just have to clean my filter more often.
Also just changed out Fuel filter, and next on list is spark plugs..

how in the world can the removal of a maf screen burn a trans????!!!!

I just moved to Germany, am waiting on my truck to ge here, just gt a cai and programmer from rpmoutlet.com, seem to have very good packages. Can't wait to take my 07 Z71 5.3 w/ flowmaster series 40, predator programer, S&B CAI out n the autobahn. Can't wait to blast those Europeans with obnoxiously loud American V8!!! LOL

And plan on de-screening te MAF... I had a 96 SS Camaro with Complete topend redone, port and polished, bigger valves, rollr rockers, .525 inch lift cam. Replaced my stock MAF with a Granitelli (which came with no screen in it) and could tell huge differences fro the MAF alone.

The screen is there to flow air across the sensors evenly. Removal will create turbulence and cause misreadings on the hot wires. The MAF, TPS, and MAP sensors all work in conjuction to help the computer calculate readings in according for the right AIR/FUEL mixture and load on the engine. Calculating the load means what gear the transmission should use. Therefore one sensor off will affect the whole chain. I did it to my 01 and guess what???? The transmission shifted bad for a day and then eventually burned up!! So if you wanna learn the hard way then go ahead. Only way is to get an aftermarket MAF which does not require a screen. And also descreening will not yeild extra HP. More air does not give more power alone. More air means more fuel is needed. In those cases would work better when a bigger cam is added.

Air Box Mod???? Im wondering if anybody noticed a big M.P.G. savings? Im getting 15 now with my 2500 HD. If I could gain 1-2 more Id be super happy.