Increase low end torque?

[Supercharged111]

Something to be aware of about the throttle body blade mod mentioned above... It will make the truck feel snappier off the line, but it won't actually gain you any HP or torque and you'll lose some of the linear response in the pedal. I did it to my red truck and I'm actually going to swap an unmodified blade back in because I don't like the results. Makes the throttle feel like too much of an on/off switch to me.

I could understand not wanting to do this to a V6, but it will affect the 5.7 differently. You gain throttle response and this also allows the truck to build max power before a downshift, thus preventing downshifts for every little thing. So the first half of oedal travel builds power in 4th gear, and the remaining half gets the truck to downshift to 3rd or 2nd as needed. I like it a lot, and it makes the truck much less lethargic. But the tune by far will make the most power of all.

 

[df2x4]

I could understand not wanting to do this to a V6, but it will affect the 5.7 differently. You gain throttle response and this also allows the truck to build max power before a downshift, thus preventing downshifts for every little thing. So the first half of oedal travel builds power in 4th gear, and the remaining half gets the truck to downshift to 3rd or 2nd as needed. I like it a lot, and it makes the truck much less lethargic. But the tune by far will make the most power of all.

Yeah, we've talked about this once or twice before. While I understand the principle behind the less throttle input = less downshifting deal, I can honestly say I didn't notice that at all. Maybe something to do with the fact that it's a V6, I don't know. The results I got were enough to discourage me from recommending it or ever trying it on my Suburban. To each their own, though.

I did notice that getting the PCM tuned helped the truck hold gears much better.

 

[Supercharged111]

I'd argue the V6 needs the lip, 75mm is way too much TB for a 4.3. Seems about right for the 5.7, and too small for the 454. If I was at home, I could show data to support this, but driver preference plays a role. If you have a stick then it's not as much of a factor.

 

[90halfton]

Gears. There is no substitute for mechanical advantage. There is no downside what so ever in a truck that normally only drives around town. Even on the hwy I would think 4.10 on 32s would still be ideal

 

[Cheyenne]

Yea, it'll help make the shift more 'snappy'

Heres a good post about it:
http://www.gmt400.com/threads/dont-...120-for-a-tci-electronic-shift-improver.4470/

And yea, I was referring to 70mph, sorry I didn't see you were a northern neighbor

Awesome I think I will do this! And yeah way up here lol people are surprised when I say it's got 389000k but I'm talking km not miles lol

 

[Cheyenne]

A tuner is definitely on the list to do, because of tranny shift points and spedomoter and obviously increase engine performance.

I'm iffy about the throttle blade. I've heard such mixed reviews about it. Same thing with swapping for a 4l80e. They're more durable so I am told but I don't think it will give me what I want. So that's kind of out of the question. And this is definitely not a tow rig. Lol

I really want to regear but it'll take a bit before I can afford it.
So let me get this right, 32/33 on 4.10s will make my city mileage worse but hwy mileage better than the 3.73s?

I'm doing the mpfi injectors as well as intake and head gaskets soon. I can't wait to clean it out. I wish I had some money to get the 1.6 rocker arms.

 

[7thdarkangel]

How's your air intake? make sure the thing can breath. The stock air cleaner assembly chokes the engine pretty bad. I swapped to a 4" tall 14 inch open element air cleaner I had laying around and it made a world of a difference.

 

[df2x4]

How's your air intake? make sure the thing can breath. The stock air cleaner assembly chokes the engine pretty bad. I swapped to a 4" tall 14 inch open element air cleaner I had laying around and it made a world of a difference.

I strongly disagree with this unless we're talking about an extremely built engine. The factory intakes (especially on the 96+ Vortec trucks, which OP's is) flow more than enough and draw much cooler air than an open element.

 

[7thdarkangel]

I strongly disagree with this unless we're talking about an extremely built engine. The factory intakes (especially on the 96+ Vortec trucks, which OP's is) flow more than enough and draw much cooler air than an open element.

I must have missed the year i was dealing with a 88.

 

[df2x4]

I must have missed the year i was dealing with a 88.

I figured that was the case, I saw your build thread. Nice work, by the way!