where to start (performance)

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upper_tanker

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I'd definitely do a tune up first, then headers/exhaust, followed by Blackbear tune.

Later on, if you decide you want to do heads/cam, I have some advice for you. Check your cam bearings before you go all out and start spending a ton of money on parts. If your cam bearings are bad, you might as well check the crank/crank bearings while you're there. If those are bad also, you may want to think about finding a used LS and swapping that in. I ended up spending over $3k on my L31 because I'm really bad at the "while I was there" game. I wish I'd have taken that $3k and put it towards an LS swap. I'd have had more reliable power and got more than 12 mpg.
 

Uncle Ben

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Where is this black bear tune. I went on the website and all I can see is some $500 tuner.
 

letitsnow

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You might need to scroll down farther. It is $255 to have your pc tuned.
 

kennythewelder

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They send you an ECM that is tuned to you truck after they talk to you and see what you want. After that you send them you OE ECM and get back I thing its $150. If you have a dyno shop in your area, then they can tune your ECM like black bare would do, but even better. A custom tune will be around $350 or more. Do all of your add ons first. Exhaust, cold air filter,(just replace the air filter with a high flow filter) throttle blade mod, shorty headers, high flow cats, Good free flowing mufflers, EG magna flow, SLP hell even old school glass packs, add an X pipe, and have the trans shift points firmed up.
 

Uncle Ben

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Did a bit of looking, figure something like a Gibson shorty header, Magnaflow down pipes and cats, and Magnaflow catback would all bolt together easily and flow nice.

But I don’t know about the intake. Is just a drop in air filter going to do the job? Or should a guy get something like a full k&n intake?

Also should a guy upgrade the spider injector assembly before a bb tune? How about the fuel pump?

They send you an ECM that is tuned to you truck after they talk to you and see what you want. After that you send them you OE ECM and get back I thing its $150. If you have a dyno shop in your area, then they can tune your ECM like black bare would do, but even better. A custom tune will be around $350 or more. Do all of your add ons first. Exhaust, cold air filter,(just replace the air filter with a high flow filter) throttle blade mod, shorty headers, high flow cats, Good free flowing mufflers, EG magna flow, SLP hell even old school glass packs, add an X pipe, and have the trans shift points firmed up.
 
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big_mike

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The MPFI spider upgrade is worth it in the long run. Check the fuel pressure key on and at idle to check the pump.
 

SubGyro

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Wow guys, this is a great thread! You've given me lots of ideas for my own K2500 Bourban!

I've recently purchased a travel trailer, and I want my old girl to have more power for pulling ~7000 pounds up the mountain roads.

I'm closer to 175,000 miles on the 5.7 Vortec with the 4L80E and the autotrac transfer case (which has been replaced with one that does NOT have a hole in the housing).

What do you guys think, is it worth doing the headers et al on this engine, or will it need some open heart surgery to be a reliable tow vehicle?
 

Keigan Pettit

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Mpfi conversion will help. Cam will help , you can port your throttle body or you can buy an aftermarket one look at the marine intake conversion too I'm having trouble finding one for mine right now though. I have trouble believing a send in tune is going to be right for your motor unless it is completely stock. Also look at some 1.6 roller rockers that will make it rev rev qui and trick your cam into lifting those valves a bit more.
 

upper_tanker

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Mpfi conversion will help. Cam will help , you can port your throttle body or you can buy an aftermarket one look at the marine intake conversion too I'm having trouble finding one for mine right now though. I have trouble believing a send in tune is going to be right for your motor unless it is completely stock. Also look at some 1.6 roller rockers that will make it rev rev qui and trick your cam into lifting those valves a bit more.

I can understand how people doubt mail order tunes. I spent hours researching tunes, until I settled on BB. I could not find a shop near me that would dyno tune my Tahoe with the black box.

Blackbear is one of maybe a handful of companies that I suggest to people. The customer service is great. Justin (the owner?) really knows his ****. I have probably 30+ emails back and fourth to him over the past few years. He has helped me diagnose some issues I was having that weren't related to the tune. I did get a chance to drive my Tahoe for a few miles before the engine rebuild, and it was an incredible difference for the $250 +/- that it cost.

Initially, I had him do the 89 tune. I had zero issues with the vehicle after the rebuild (besides a minor misfire at idle that I still can't track down). I then went from 3.42 to 4.10 gears, so I sent my computer back in (for the cost of shipping only), to have Justin adjust the speedo for the new gears. While he had it, I asked him what else he could do to make it run better. He said he could put the 91+ octane tune on it, so he did. I got it back, and it had a very noticeable difference.

Now, I'm not naive enough to believe that a mail order tune, such as that from Blackbear, is better than a dyno tune. Obviously, tuning to real-time data from the vehicle is always going to be a better option, providing that the tuner knows what they're doing. I promise you that if you get a tune from them, your money will be well spent.
 
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