If You Had $3000 To Beef Up Your 5.3l...

andy.schmid · December 29, 2009

Well I've got a 2009 GMC with the 5.3 litre

Only thing that has been added to it is a magnaflow performance muffler.

So my question to you all is, if you had 3k to spend on beefing up this motor, what would you do?

Cams, new heads, new intake, headers, etc?

Exclude a blackbear tune in the price because I am doing that regardless

Nytemare · December 29, 2009

Well I've got a 2009 GMC with the 5.3 litre
Only thing that has been added to it is a magnaflow performance muffler.

So my question to you all is, if you had 3k to spend on beefing up this motor, what would you do?

Cams, new heads, new intake, headers, etc?

Exclude a blackbear tune in the price because I am doing that regardless

I would put another 2K with it and put a magnacharger on it...or an STS Turbo setup. Dollar for dollar, the most bang for your buck will come from boost.

Stevens03 · December 29, 2009

Cam, higher stall converter, gears and a custom tune

Without a doubt, that will add good performance. And you might have some left over for a tank of gas and dinner.

andy.schmid · December 29, 2009

Cam, higher stall converter, gears and a custom tune

Without a doubt, that will add good performance. And you might have some left over for a tank of gas and dinner.

Any recommendations on who makes a good CAM for the GMC NBS?

I'm going to add 33 inch tires here shortly, I wonder how that would affect getting a high stall converter?

Stevens03 · December 29, 2009

Get in touch with GoWheatley.com. He did the cam and stall converter on his truck and it worked awesome! He would know what to recommend.

AK FiveO · December 30, 2009

Go with the boost! I prefere a roots blower, but the centrifiguls will get-er done too! Nothing like having "boost-on-demand" Ever drive (or look at the performance numbers) on an F-150 Lightning? Pretty sweet. Increase the boost with a simple pulley change and it just gets better! The blower allows you to maintain a very smooth streetable truck with muscle car power on demand.

Cams, heads, stalls and low gears are good too. You need to be in that for the effect as much as the perfomance, because it's going to be like driving around a pissed-off pitbull all day. Cause if your gonna open-up the motor, you got to GO BIG on the cam, heads, stall and gears!

Personally, I don't think taller tires and high stall converters are a good mix. High stall converters are great on the strip, but if its a daily driiver for the street ...can be hard to live with.

swolepopo · December 30, 2009

If you get a magna-charger wouldnt you need to upgrade the tranny also?

AK FiveO · December 31, 2009

If you get a magna-charger wouldnt you need to upgrade the tranny also?

I'm not sure what the "tolerances" are for the trannies in these newer half-tons? However, if you stay with a reasonable amout of boost I don't think you'd have to beef the tranny. Unless of course your launching it hard at the drag stip.

Nytemare · December 31, 2009

If you get a magna-charger wouldnt you need to upgrade the tranny also?

I'm not sure what the "tolerances" are for the trannies in these newer half-tons? However, if you stay with a reasonable amout of boost I don't think you'd have to beef the tranny. Unless of course your launching it hard at the drag stip.

the 6L80E in stock form will take 430ft-lbs if he has a 6 speed..so a little tuning and he's safe. If its a 4L60E, a set of vette servos a trans-go shift kit and some tuning will be enough to handle anything a magnacharger can put out. unless you start getting crazy and pushing 10+ lbs of boost in there.

swolepopo · December 31, 2009

I see, not to hijack the thread but if I have a 2005 Yukon Denali 6.0 would I need to change the tranny if I get a magna-charger? Or how can I find out what type of tranny I have and what tolerance it can handle? Thanx. Sorry for the questions I'm a little new to this stuff.

desrtrat · January 1, 2010

Well I've got a 2009 GMC with the 5.3 litre
Only thing that has been added to it is a magnaflow performance muffler.

So my question to you all is, if you had 3k to spend on beefing up this motor, what would you do?

Cams, new heads, new intake, headers, etc?

Exclude a blackbear tune in the price because I am doing that regardless

what gears are you running now, and what trans. if your going to 33" tires, look at a gear change..$$

engine mods, there are a few new cams for the AFM not cheep. turbo/SC big $$$

best bang for the buck. CAI, headers, cat back exhaust, tune, shift kit, vette servo.

OR, do the big buck tricks, and throw away your 5yr/100,000 power train warranty on your 09 truck..

good luck

Nytemare · January 1, 2010

I see, not to hijack the thread but if I have a 2005 Yukon Denali 6.0 would I need to change the tranny if I get a magna-charger? Or how can I find out what type of tranny I have and what tolerance it can handle? Thanx. Sorry for the questions I'm a little new to this stuff.

You have a 4L80E trans...and it can handle 430-450 ft-lbs of engine torque. with a tune and a shift kit it will be capable of handling about 550ft-lbs...and with a high stall converter maybe a bit more. The weak link in the 4L80E trans is the clutches...the gears and shafts are plenty strong. A clutch pack is 40 bucks per gear set, or less...and that's for the red type(harder ones) and full kolene steels.

A magnacharger on a 6.0 will put out about 500 ft-lbs so with a tune and a shift kit you would be safe.

swolepopo · January 1, 2010

I see, not to hijack the thread but if I have a 2005 Yukon Denali 6.0 would I need to change the tranny if I get a magna-charger? Or how can I find out what type of tranny I have and what tolerance it can handle? Thanx. Sorry for the questions I'm a little new to this stuff.

You have a 4L80E trans...and it can handle 430-450 ft-lbs of engine torque. with a tune and a shift kit it will be capable of handling about 550ft-lbs...and with a high stall converter maybe a bit more. The weak link in the 4L80E trans is the clutches...the gears and shafts are plenty strong. A clutch pack is 40 bucks per gear set, or less...and that's for the red type(harder ones) and full kolene steels.

A magnacharger on a 6.0 will put out about 500 ft-lbs so with a tune and a shift kit you would be safe.

OK Cool, i'll look into that, appreciate the input

andy.schmid · January 5, 2010

I've already got a magnaflow muffler... and I'm doing a black bear tune shortly.

A supercharger is more then I'm willing to spend.

Looks like I should add headers and a CAI, and a blackbear tune.

Anyone recommend a set of headers for the 09 5.3?

Will the addition of a new cam void the powertrain warranty?

AK FiveO · January 5, 2010

I've already got a magnaflow muffler... and I'm doing a black bear tune shortly.
A supercharger is more then I'm willing to spend.

Looks like I should add headers and a CAI, and a blackbear tune.

Anyone recommend a set of headers for the 09 5.3?

Will the addition of a new cam void the powertrain warranty?

I'm running JBA Shorties on my 09 5.3L with good results.

And yes ...I imagine an aftermarket cam would nullify your factory powertrain warranty.