suggestions? - Hey guys i'm new, i just got me a 05 silverado 1500 z71 5.3l I'm looking to get some more power, I was thinking about getting a Bully ...

Hey guys i'm new, i just got me a 05 silverado 1500 z71 5.3l

I'm looking to get some more power, I was thinking about getting a Bully dog Triple dog GT Module it gains 30+hp on 93 octane and a throttle body spacer, intake and exhaust,

I was going to make my own intake from autozone since others are a good $300.
What exhaust do you guys suggest with little cost that I can do on my own? I was thinking of removing the cat (no emissions at inspecting in my small town) and a cherry bomb vortex or extreme muffler in origonal position with the same exhaust out the end with a black chrome tip.

ANYWAYS, what are some other easy/cheap ways to add power to these trucks? other than chip, intake exhaust? will a throttle body spacer help much? I am by no means trying to make this into a race truck, just a little quicker, any suggestions are greatly appricated
thanks

I've heard many horror stories about Bully Dog modules. I have read online about the computers locking up because it did not recognize the VIN and all of that. I'm not sure the horsepower gain is worth it if it is going to destroy my truck. Then again, it probably happens to one in a million trucks but bad news spreads across the internet faster than good news.

A simple K&N intake and Magnaflow or Flowmaster can give you some better response for less money.

i was thinking of a hypertech or diablo sport programmer. The superchips requires you to run on 89 or 91 and that pricey in California

definately check into the the hypertech powerpac, exhaust i would stay with cats but switch to highflow, im running magnaflow race cats and then just 3in pipe... throttle body spacer do help they wont give so much hp and tq gains but will increase throttle response and fuel mileage but it does give noticeable power difference especially off the line, Also look into e85 swaps it will give you approximately a 5-8% hp power increase to the rear tires. plus its cheaper and with the new systems theyve come out with recently it will get about the same fuel mileage because you have control over how lean or how rich you run it! a good intake is the volant force air intakes they run a scoop under the bumper and the faster you go the more air it forces in. i gained about 25hp off mine. One nice feature is it does have drains to keep water out of your intake it will actually stay dryer than the stock set up.

I have done lots with my truck and am currently pushin 525hp out of my high output 6.0l
so if you need anymore ideas...

I've got a Superchip Flashpac on both my silverado and my tahoe, The do run an 87 octane program and I have noticed a huge differeance in the power and proformance of my trucks. I really can't speak about what the HP gain is because I don't own a dyno. On building your own intake I would be careful because you have a mass airflow sensor and dont know how you could add that by building your own.

Programmer is the best bang for the buck. Bully Dog is good, DiabloSport is better. 25-30 hp for ~$370 is not bad. An intake and exhaust together will cost more than that and probably not give you as much power. Programmers also adjusts the transmission shifting and remove some of the torque/abuse management which makes a huge difference.

Throttle body spacer won't add much, not a noticeable difference anyway. K&N is a good intake but pricey, check out Airaid, AEM and AFE intakes as well. Exhaust I would go Magnaflow.

I put on a Corsa exhaust, AFE intake system and a reprogrammed ECM. Best improvement at the drag strip was from the AFE system because it removes that narrow intake passage by the fan shroud. There is a procedure to get your truck to "learn" a new (replacement) ECM but make sure your battery is up to it as it takes over a half an hour with the engine not running if I remember correctly. I don't have any experience with the programmers so I am no help there but my "reprogrammed" ECM wasn't worth the money and requires a core if you want to keep your original ECM.

When I first got my '08 Silvy, first thing I put on her was a Flowmaster cat-back w/dual pipes. Incredible sound, plus she can breathe a bit better. About 7 months ago I got my K&N intake and have had nothing but fun with it. I firmly believe the best way to get more power quickly and cheaply is doing the cat-back exhaust and air intake upgrades. You'll be happy you did.

HOTROD HELL wrote:....... Also look into e85 swaps it will give you approximately a 5-8% hp power increase to the rear tires. ..

Would you mind elaborating a bit on this suggestion???

here is a cold air for 139.95 it works great and works with your mass air flow sensor, and if you plan on doing an exhaust change go big get new headers high flow cats and then something like a flow master, and then your throttle body spacer here is a link for one thats 54.95, theres also a link for the american thunder flowmaster exhaust 395.95, if you combine those youll notice a huge differnce in throttle response as well as fuel mileage and power, another modification you could do is swap out the clutch fan on the motor for a elcetric fan kit but the three links i gave you would run you 595.85 not bad for the results it will bring
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SPE-9900/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TRD-2566/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FLO-17428/