Since gas prices are getting high I was wondering about putting a cold air intake(K&Ncold air intake)on my 2001 Chevy Silverado Ext. Cab with the 5.3L. I was wondering if anyone has done this already? If you have, did it really help a lot with milage? and dose it sound alot better then normal? Is it worth it?

 

Do it because you just want to but don't do it for increased MPG. If it helps at all it will be minimal( like 1 MPG ). Itwill take forever to even break even on the cost vs gas savings.

 

The kit will not save you any fuel, K&N's FIPK's may (or may not) improve the breathing efficiency over the stock intake system however the ECM constantly monitors air/fuel ratio's to keep the stoichiometric mixture correct; so the more air that is sucked in simply means more fuel.



The K&N FPIK does give a more throaty sound at WOT and many people associate more noise with more power.
Save your money, if you really want to improve your fuel economy double check your tire pressures give your engine a new set of plugs, fuel and air filter and adjust your driving habits.

 

Another problem with the K&N filter is that they use oil on the filter and this oil can come off and get on the Mass Air Flow Sensor and cause your truck to run bad. I bought a K&N and had this problem. Took the MAF sensor out and cleaned it and then put a regular air filter back in and have not had any problems since.

 

I agree 100%

Try looking at the Fram boost. I am getting one for my truck soon.
http://www.framboost.com/

 

I put one on my truck a 6.0 gas and the economy went down big time.....It increased the power some what but at what cost.....

 

well, if you only upgrade the intake than yes, your economy will go down because your engine still isnt breathing as well. your computer is basically adding more fuel to keep from running lean like ZX1100F1 said. but to improve your economy, look at getting a free flowing exhaust, like flowmaster or magnaflow to accompany the free flowing air filter. and on another note, a quicker and cheaper way to get a K&N filter is to just buy the stock replacement one. the FIPK advantage is just that you recieve a cone filter and a new air intake tube. you save almost $200 by just getting the direct K&N replacement. personally, on my 6.0L, i noticed a significant increase in gas mileage once i put the exhaust and filter on. i went from 200 miles to a half tank to almost 270 miles. but that's also because my driving habits didn't change much. sometimes when someone gets added performance their foot is always in the radiator, and thats when people start to say that performance parts don't help fuel mileage. they do, its just that the driving habits of the driver change. dont change your driving habits and you should notice an increase in fuel mileage within the first couple fill ups. good luck!

 

We will see it what you said works Last week I had a magnaflow dual exaust system installed plus I had my transmission valve body reprogramed.....

 

So what do you have to do for exhaust. I have a friend who has a GMC Ext. cab with a 5.3 and he just cut the muffler out and put in a pipe. Is that enough to help it run well? or do you need to have the flomaster system? B/c I often thought about putting dual exhaust on my truck, but instead of buying flomaster mufflers i would just put straight pipe and nice chrome tips. Is that enough?