First off, I wanna say that doing these mods on your vehicle will not give you "seat of the pants" performance. They won't"pin your head to the seat", or make you smoke Corvettes. But, neither do the aftermarket alternatives.

Now, with that being said, these mods WILL give you noticeable performance gains, and better fuel mileage. These are mods that I have tried, and I wouldn't recommend them ifI thought they weren't worth doing. They are simple mods that you can do in your driveway in a reasonable amount of time with basic hand tools and common sense. They are for 1999-2007's.


1. "Redneck Ram-Air"- Take your stock airbox out and cut a hole in the front portion (facing the headlight), under the joint where the filter sits. You can do this with an ordinary household drill. 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 setup. 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!!! 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 and one gallon of coolant, (I forget the size, but I remember it was two from the smallest this

 

i have already done the throttle body coolant bypass and descreened maf but was unaware of the air gapthanks for the info

 

No prob.

 

ive heard of the MAF sensor screen removal when i had my 91 300zx. and found out it didt do much at all. and it was safer to just leave the screen there just incase something did get in through the filter and hit the sensor, though its a small chance. plus those damn sensors arent cheap. any free mods on the late 80s and early 90s trucks?

 

You have the round style air filter. Flip the lid on it and it is as close as you can get to ram air. Just tighten the lid back on good upside down and your good to go. There is just a plastic wing nut holding it on. Thats all I really know of. This also takes in hot air from the engine compartment, but a small hole in your hood w/ a $40 bolt/tape on scoop will fix that. Good luck

 

You can do the hole thing if you want to, but I'd just run the hood bumpstops up to get cool air into the underhood area, and maybe put some washers between the hood and hood hinges in the back...You can also do the exhaust mod. Other than that... Let us know if you find anything.

 

MRLM7, I was sort of confused about the TB bypass... Can you explain it again in more detail plz. Thanks

 

Sure. Youremove your air intake hose from the throttle body and move it out of the way. If you look underneath yourthrottle body, there are two hoses that are connected to it (one on each side). The flow comes from the intake manifold, (behind your alternator) to the throttle body via the hose that connects to thedriver's side of your throttle body,and then on to the one on thepassenger's side, which moves on to your radiator. This warms up your throttle body, thus warming the incoming air to your engine. Warm air is thin air and thin air is bad. The cooler the air,the denser it is and the more power you can gain from it.

To bypass it, you simply get a small (about 1') section of brakeline. I forget the size of the brakeline, but if you cut a small sliver of the hose off and take it to Auto Zone, you can find the size brakeline thatit fitsaround, (they keep the brakelines it the back, behind the counter). You need to cut off the flares with a tubing cutter and remove the fittings. Disconnect the hoses from the throttle body and put the section of brakeline where the trottle body used to connect them. Then, you can simply clamp the hoses around the ends of the brakeline. The hose on thedriver'sside is a bass-turd to get off the throttle body, soI just cut it with a razorblade and then put the brakeline in the hose. Then did the same to the hose on the passenger's-side. Be sure you check your coolant level and add as needed. This is also a GREAT time to install a 160 degree thermostat, since you have to add coolant.

Let me know if you need more info.

 

Ok... Will probably be doing this this weekend and will ask if any thing comes up... Thanks

 

Do you know if there is a way to get the fittings needed to adapt to the ends of the hoses so you do not have to cut them off? I want to have the option to easily reverse this mod if needed. I have not looked at the fittings yet but I think you could probably get them at home depot.