sgguitardude

Hi everyone. I'm new to enhancing my 2002 Silverado and I have a few questions that I thought someone here might have some answers to. My Silverado is the 5.3 Liter, 2002 LS Extended cab, short bed. When I bought a replacement K&N air filter I found out that I needed the part for the HD truck. The only reason I could come up with was the I have the towing package... could this be the reason? The reason I'm concerned about this is because I've been looking into performance cat-back exhaust systems. Could this mean that I have a HD exhaust system, and would it be different from the normal Silverado's?

I'm mostly interested in buying the system for the power, and if I could arrange it, I'd like to keep the volume as close to stock as possible. From what I've been seeing, I think I've narrowed it down to Dynomax and Gibson. Does anyone know which one of these would be the quietest and which would be the best for performance? I really don't want to sacrifice low end torque! Can anyone give me insight into how these systems behave?

Thank you so much for the help!

jcbst12

No, the exhaust would be the same as the standard 5.3 1500. They give you the option of a larger intake from the factory, thats all. Even then I think the airbox is the only real difference. You won't need an intake system with a bigger airbox than normal and a K&N. The only way to minimize low end torque loss on a 5.3 is to keep the tailpipe diameter down. (Like 2" instead of 2.5") This will keep it a little quieter too. I would go with a muffler of your choice and have it installed by an exuast shop that will mandrel (sp) bend the pipes for you. Usually it will turn out to be the same as a store bought system. You can get a Gibson exhaust system or something like that and do other mods to get your torque back too like a cam.