5.3 beef up

[Bigturbo93]

I have a 01 Tahoe with the 5.3 bone stock but I want to make it a Lil faster what can I do to it to get more hp from it like tunes or programmers or anything don't know much

 

[AppocAlexx]

Not sure on what kind of money you want to spend on a stock block with stock internals, but you can always do all the bolt on easy stuff from cold air intake, throttle bodies, full exhaust (headers back). Then you can even go a step further and get into replacing the torque converter for an aftermarket torque converter either custom or set specs by the manufacture. And lastly replace rear end gears with some 3.73 or 4.10s. Then once you get all things added for sure look into doing a tune with a reputable shop.

With all things said above you could look to spend around $300 for CAI, $250+ for throttle bodies, $250+ for headers, high flow catalytic converters can be a good idea and run you at least $1000 but not really necessary, then cat back would be around $350+, price of torque converters can range from $250-$1000 depending on what kind of set up you want but most people looking for a little more oomfff do the cheaper ones that are more for street than actual racing. Rear end gears will run a good $300ish. All of this is also on the wall if you plan on installing your self or paying a shop to do it then you can expect quite a bit more for each install. Lastly finding a shop that can tune your truck once you get it to where you want it i have seen start the initial tunes around $500 and then if your a repeat customer after that they sometimes have 2-3 more sessions for $100. Most people will not go back more than that tho. These prices are all from my experience with other vehicles but for the most part will be pretty close to what you would look at.

Im not positive what your year model engine can hold up to with regards to HP but doing all these things will for sure make a difference in power for you.

You could always go for the more drastic route and just install a blower or pro charger but with an old worn motor, you may be askin for trouble. Regardless i would be careful with doing too much to an older motor with miles on it, they are always more at risk of blowing.

hope this helps some good luck and have fun.

-Alex

 

[Bigturbo93]

Wow thanks Alex on all the stuff you mentioned and I will be doing some of the things mentioned

 

[5280Racer]

there are so many things you can do... if your high milage I'd pull it a freshen it up.. best way to really wake it up is a cam.. add headers and exhaust then tuned will really get you going..

 

[Walkercraig01]

5.3 do respond well lol you could have fun with it. Or throw a 6.0 in always an option