Twobitt

Looking for some advice on upgrading my wife's Tahoe to have more power for towing. I really don't want to spend too much so I'm looking for some help on what inexpensive mods will yield results. It has the 5.3 and has about 50k miles on it. Thinking of starting off by getting a tune up done but I'm not sure if a standard tune up is going to do anything that I can't do myself like new plugs, wire, air filter. Is their anything else included on a standard tune up on these things? Mods I was considering were upgraded air filter or CAI system, wires, plugs, possibly exhaust(don't really want to spend on a cat-back system and don't want drone). Would a muffler yield any results? How about a chip or tuner? Throttle body spacer? Any advice is appreciated. I'm not new to the performance market but I'm not sure what works best on these engines.

ZX1100F1

New plugs and a fuel injection system cleaning are generally considered a "tune-up" on today’s modern vehicles.

The tuners/chips intakes, exhausts etc do very little to make a difference in your Tahoe's towing performance.

Twobitt

Would you recommend upgrading the plugs or wires on this car if they are to be replaced doing a 50k tune-up anyways? I always ran across what appeared to be an MSD coil for this car. Any input on this product? I have used MSD on just about everything I've ever owned with good results. Same goes for K&N filters.

ZX1100F1

The new coil-near-plug design is so powerful that the old hop-up parts are a complete waste of money.
Remember that you have 8 ignition coils on the Vortec 5.3L engine.

At only 50K miles I would recommend changing the air and fuel filters, servicing the transmission with fluid and a new filter and possibly having the fuel injection system cleaned and that is about it.


The OEM AC Delco plugs should do a very good job for about 100,000 miles but; if you are going to change them I would recommend either the stock plugs or the NGK Iridium IX TR55IX.

b1pig

there are some performance gains, but there isnt a whole lot out there that will be a "budget" mod. forget about a throttle body spacer. personally, i think it is a waste of time on a naturally aspirated fuel injected vehicle. they were designed around carbs... both to allow more room for fuel to atomize and to insulate the carb from the intake.


i have an '04. ironically, it is the wife's.
with about 8,000 miles on it, I bought a K&N FIPK and went the next day and had a Flowmaster installed in place of the stock muffler. I got a 40 series... wanted a 50... ended up with a 40. ok. that said....

In real world, it showed some mild gains in economy. By freeing up the intake and exhaust, I have made my engine (essentially an air pump) a little more efficient. Less energy is spent FORCING air through the system. anything you can do to help that will help performance and economy. now. the real gains. 3 times a week, we were driving from Ray City, GA to Jax, FL. We left on a full tank and came back on fumes.

after installing the intake and muffler, the engine revved more willingly, accellerated very hard after 3,000 rpm. (no dead-spot) and ... after each trip to Jax, we were left with a little over 1/8 of a tank. I'd say that was a pretty decent improvement. each day it was the same trip, same speeds with pretty much the same weather.

As for towing.. if you watch the tach, the engine seems to hover at 2100-2300 rpms when you are accelerating normally. It is pretty much the same for towing. There is one major key for towing performance. that is gear ratio. if your wife's Tahoe came with the 3.24 ratio, you will be way better off with a 3.73 gear set. If her Tahoe is a 2wd, there is only one axle to fool with....
If her ride came FROM THE FACTORY with the towing package, it should have a lower ratio... i THINK it is 3.73. not sure, though. Ours came without the towing package. I had tha factory hitch added after purchase. If you have the 3.24 ratio and go to the 3.73 ratio, towing performance and accelleration performance will improve. gas mileage on the other hand... []

Be choosy on exhaust mods. I love the sound of the 40 series on our Tahoe. there is one MAJOR drawback. It resonates horribly in the cab.... at 2100-2300 rpm. remember what i mentioned earlier? so... we have had to get used to it.

I also used the Tahoe to tow my 98 Grand Cherokee from South GA to Moab Utah in September. Probably a little over loaded.... but the only time it struggled was going up I-70 west of Denver. It hung at 40-45mph uphill. With that heavy ZJ on the back, I'd say that it handled it well. If I had the 3.73 gears, I think I would have been much better off.

Doing a tuneup is not a bad idea at 50,000 miles anyway, but dont expect wonders out of it unless the engine was misfiring or stutteringto begin with. When it comes to performance and efficiency, just remember that the engine is essentially and air pump.


I posted this earlier in another thread... but this is our '04:
http://www.geocities.com/b1pig/video/MOV01089.MPG

good luck on the upgrades.

Twobitt

Thank you for all the info

nychevyman

what is the best chip/programer for an 04 5.3 engine??