Hey guys, couple questions that hopefully ya'll can answer.

I got a '04 Chevy Silverado 1500 5.3, and I'm lookin' to get a turbo put on it. What I need to know is what's the first thing that I need to upgrade on it to be able to handle the extra boost? My mechanic doesn't know much, but he did mention something about a bigger mass air flow sensor... does anyone know anything about that?

Thanks,

John.

 

Go buy this book. It will answer all your questions about turbos.. You will learn a lot in reading that book.. "Maximum Boost: Designing, Testing, and Installing Turbocharger Systems"

 

Great! Thankyou so much! I just put the order in on amazon. Hopefully it has vehicle specific information...

 

Not really.. Its a pretty general book.. If you read the whole book... I really mean the whole book you will have a TON of knowledge in your brain. It will help you determine what kind of turbo you are going to want.. different A/R's.. everything..
It will tell you what, how, why, and when every part of a turbo works.. It is an amazing book.. The information in the book will help you prep your engine for a turbo and help you decide what the prefect turbo for the application you want..


My two cents: buy the BEST turbo you can afford once you figure out what you want.. Key words to look out for, Ceramic, Ball-bearing.. If you can afford a Twinscroll this is a good option as it has 2 AR's for faster spool, quicker boost and quicker power...

If I were to turbo my truck I would go with a underhood turbo (not STS) with a mild AR and the ability to push whatever PSI I wanted X Whatever RPM I wanted.. I would compare lag with boost and realistic needs..

A turbo is more gentle on you engine than a supercharger (IMO). A turbo has much more potential than a supercharger..

If you want gobs of power your looking at a new cam (and associated equip), and a beefed up trans and a dyno tune.. Emphasis on the Dyno Tune...

 

Thanks man! I really appreciate it!

I read the book and I learned a lot! I'm still a little confused... It didn't really go into specifics about the mass air flow sensor, and didn't explain much on the fuel injectors. It made mention of "Duty Cycle", but didn't elaborate on it...

Know anything about that?

 

Well, now you know where to start looking.. The Duty Cycle would be your injector rating.. Generally for every pound of boost you should add a pound of fuel, That will get you in the right ballpark., your mass air fllow sensor will probly go away. You will have to get your ecm tuned with your turbo.. with a tune they can set the a/f ratio based on rpm, and o2 sensor inputs and get rid of the stupid MAF.

good luck.. If your still hurting for turbo info, check out a camaro/corvette forum, most likely there will be a lot of info there..

 

Oh wow! Good to know that I don't in fact need a MAF.

Just one more question... Do you by any chance know what the stock 5.3 liter motor's fuel injectors size is?

 

No idea off the top of my head. I am sure google can help you out there... From my quick look, maybe 24#? 28#? I have no idea...

 

Ahhh, alright. Thankyou so much for all your help! I really appreciate it.

 

[quote=HarderThanRocks;55767]Not really.. Its a pretty general book.. If you read the whole book... I really mean the whole book you will have a TON of knowledge in your brain. It will help you determine what kind of turbo you are going to want.. different A/R's.. everything..
It will tell you what, how, why, and when every part of a turbo works.. It is an amazing book.. The information in the book will help you prep your engine for a turbo and help you decide what the prefect turbo for the application you want..


My two cents: buy the BEST turbo you can afford once you figure out what you want.. Key words to look out for, Ceramic, Ball-bearing.. If you can afford a Twinscroll this is a good option as it has 2 AR's for faster spool, quicker boost and quicker power...

If I were to turbo my truck I would go with a underhood turbo (not STS) with a mild AR and the ability to push whatever PSI I wanted X Whatever RPM I wanted.. I would compare lag with boost and realistic needs..

A turbo is more gentle on you engine than a supercharger (IMO). A turbo has much more potential than a supercharger..

If you want gobs of power your looking at a new cam (and associated equip), and a beefed up trans and a dyno tune.. Emphasis on the Dyno Tune...[/quote]

A new tune is essential when doing any mods that will affect air and fuel amounts. This can be a simple as bolts on stuff to turbos and superchargers. Bolting on a turbo and driving it untuned can result in a fried engine and a huge hunk of useless parts in less than 5 minutes.

So yeah.. A TUNE