Sam Harris
Supporting Member
Beautiful sound!! Great work!
Growing up doesn't have to suck
- Thread starter iamdub
- Start date
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iamdub
Full Access Member
Yesterday was tune day.
I had a tune scheduled for 1630. Tuner lives an hour away so I had to get that exhaust finished up cuz I'd have a headache driving it that far with the racket it makes.
Doug Thorley Y-pipe has the ball-and-socket connection, my Tahoe has the flared flange:
Used a grease pencil to mark the collector where I wanted to cut it, before the tapered-down part:
Cut off the ball-and-socket from the collector and the flange from the factory Y-pipe and beveled the edges of each since it was a butt weld:
Finished. Cleaned the welds and sprayed with high-temp primer and paint. I also sectioned out a couple inches between the flange and flex joint:
It's still much too loud for my liking, but at least it's now coming out the tailpipe instead of under the floorboard. I have an electric cutout on the way so I'll be chopping up the exhaust again. I may install a second flow-through muffler in series with the current one to quiet it down or maybe reinstall a factory muffler. With no cats, I'm sure a stock muffler would still have a meatier sound to it.
I had a tune scheduled for 1630. Tuner lives an hour away so I had to get that exhaust finished up cuz I'd have a headache driving it that far with the racket it makes.
Doug Thorley Y-pipe has the ball-and-socket connection, my Tahoe has the flared flange:
Used a grease pencil to mark the collector where I wanted to cut it, before the tapered-down part:
Cut off the ball-and-socket from the collector and the flange from the factory Y-pipe and beveled the edges of each since it was a butt weld:
Finished. Cleaned the welds and sprayed with high-temp primer and paint. I also sectioned out a couple inches between the flange and flex joint:
It's still much too loud for my liking, but at least it's now coming out the tailpipe instead of under the floorboard. I have an electric cutout on the way so I'll be chopping up the exhaust again. I may install a second flow-through muffler in series with the current one to quiet it down or maybe reinstall a factory muffler. With no cats, I'm sure a stock muffler would still have a meatier sound to it.
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Yours is idling at 500 with the stock tune? How about after?
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iamdub
Full Access Member
Took it on it's first actual drive an hour away to the tuner. Temp stayed at 210 and oil pressure did as expected. Even sat in traffic due to a disabled semi on the incline of the Mississippi River Bridge. I filled up with a fresh tank of Chevron 93 about 15 miles away from the tuner and checked the surge tank to see if it was still bubbling (still purging air, not leaking head gasket!).
On the long stretch of flat, straight highway near my house, I set the cruise at 70 and recorded my gauge readings, including the MPG:
Tuner doin his thang:
On the way home, on that same stretch of highway at same cruising speed:
...And at 80:
It's not the fresher fuel since it's always gotten around 18 on that stretch (that's always been my test circuit for this). I shot a text to the tuner to ask if there's anything he did that would explain this (something intentional like lean cruise?) or if there's just that much more power/efficiency at that RPM with the mods. It's his day off so I don't expect to hear back for a while. Either way, good numbers
On the long stretch of flat, straight highway near my house, I set the cruise at 70 and recorded my gauge readings, including the MPG:
Tuner doin his thang:
On the way home, on that same stretch of highway at same cruising speed:
...And at 80:
It's not the fresher fuel since it's always gotten around 18 on that stretch (that's always been my test circuit for this). I shot a text to the tuner to ask if there's anything he did that would explain this (something intentional like lean cruise?) or if there's just that much more power/efficiency at that RPM with the mods. It's his day off so I don't expect to hear back for a while. Either way, good numbers
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iamdub
Full Access Member
After I cleared the codes from the PCM (all eight coil codes and random misfire code from cranking with them disconnected during priming), the idle smoothed out a lot and I never got another SES light. It was idling around 550ish but intermittently fluctuating when I first got to the tuner. I think he set the idle to 575-600 and tweaked the idle timing to get as much lope as possible but without causing it to load up on fuel or surge and surely not stall. It drives so much better, almost like stock even with the converter. Before, it was a bit finicky, would not respond then surge so it had to be fixed some. It still sounds really good at idle through the muffler, but not nearly as good with the A/C on since the idle bump smooths it out some. I'll upload another vid or two when I get a chance to record some.
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iamdub
Full Access Member
It actually pulls now! I took a couple vids of WOT from a dig both with TC on and off and it screeched the tires in both. Granted, a lot of that is the torque management that was reduced by 75% or 80%. The tuner left a little in to give the trans a half-assed chance at living, at my concordance. I had the phone resting on the column just ahead of the wheel to record the gauges and I had to hold myself forward with the wheel the whole time. It was a slight ab workout. It used to be a slug until around 3,000 RPM then it was like "VTEC just kicked in, yo". Now it's a much more linear, yet increasing pull.
On the way home yesterday, I casually passed a younger couple in a 2019+ Hemi RAM. I wasn't trying to instigate anything, but my loud ass exhaust said otherwise. We rolled to a stop light and I saw him in my mirror checking out my Tahoe. He dropped his window a few inches to listen and was talking to the hottie in the passenger seat while pointing with a finger off the top of his steering wheel. I waited until he turned his head to talk to her then dropped mine into first and waited. We each had a few cars ahead of us in our respective lanes but I had a few less in front of me so I started moving first after the light went green. I got up to about 20 or so, still in first gear, and as soon as I had a decent gap to my right, I mashed it and went around the car I was following and quickly shifted back to D but stayed in the throttle. Of course, he had switched to my lane and was trying to stay on my ass but never gained on me. No, I didn't pick up the road and run away with it, but I slowly pulled on him. I don't believe I've ever outran anything decent in this heap, so that was a solid win. Felt good.
pwtr02ss
Full Access Member
That’s great to hear! I’m hoping to get this thing to feel a little closer to my Yukon. After getting out of it and in the avalanche, I feel like I’m driving my s10. So slooow.
question...what’s your thoughts on the cam I already bought in a 6.2? Will it do better or worse than in the 5.3? I haven’t fully committed to the 6.2, even though it’s a deal I’m struggling to pass up. I would like to keep the “stock” idle. I don’t know if cubic inches help or hinder that cam. I haven’t seen any videos with that one in a larger engine. 99% are 5.3
I’m pumped and happy for you that you got it back on the road. It sounds like a beast now
Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
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