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5.3 lmg mods for higher HP

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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 06:58 PM
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Question 5.3 lmg mods for higher HP

I have a 2012 silverado extended cab 5.3 Lmg and am wanting to know what to do for highest hp gains with bolt ons.
I have a cold air intake aftermarket plugs/wires and will be getting texas speed and performance long tubes with stage 3 216/220 .600/.600 cam with ls7 lifters upgraded pump and beehive spring kit and wanting to know what else can I do.
ls2 intake manifold ? I have 799 heads should I take them to a machine shop ? I will be getting a dyno tune as well
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 07:10 PM
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The only thing short of forced induction would be to get the heads ported, and milled ONLY IF you can get gas to support a higher compression ratio. TSP has a good deal on porting heads. I would suggest the Stage I, which keeps your stock valves, and still flows VERY close to the Stage 2.5.
That cam will give you a good chunk of power and still be civilized
Do NOT use the LS2 intake manifold, as it does not flow as well as the one you have now, which is actually a very good manifold. It's about as good as the legendary LS6 manifold.
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 07:14 PM
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Originally Posted by G Atsma
The only thing short of forced induction would be to get the heads ported, and milled ONLY IF you can get gas to support a higher compression ratio. TSP has a good deal on porting heads. I would suggest the Stage I, which keeps your stock valves, and still flows VERY close to the Stage 2.5.
That cam will give you a good chunk of power and still be civilized
Do NOT use the LS2 intake manifold, as it does not flow as well as the one you have now, which is actually a very good manifold. It's about as good as the legendary LS6 manifold.
ok thank you for the information what would u suggest for the milling certain ratio ? I am running 93 right now I'm new to this and anything else you would suggest I dont make much so I am on a tight budget but can save money in the future I'd like a turbo kit or procharger
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 07:23 PM
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One other thing I just thought of is you need the DOD delete kit (TSP has this) which has a different valley cover, lifters, plus all the parts needed to change them. You will be removing the heads to do so. I would talk with the TSP guys about any head milling, as they can advise you on that. In the future, a Procharger would give you plenty of power without installation hassles. IF that is in your plans, tell the TSP guys as you might not want to raise your compression ratio then.
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 07:28 PM
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Originally Posted by G Atsma
One other thing I just thought of is you need the DOD delete kit (TSP has this) which has a different valley cover, lifters, plus all the parts needed to change them. You will be removing the heads to do so. I would talk with the TSP guys about any head milling, as they can advise you on that. In the future, a Procharger would give you plenty of power without installation hassles. IF that is in your plans, tell the TSP guys as you might not want to raise your compression ratio then.
ok cool thank you for the information. And I will be deleting the DoD and the afm that is why I am getting the ls7 lifters
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 07:43 PM
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Just FYI- DOD and AFM are the same thing. You are going to be pleasantly surprised at all the power you will have! The cam alone will net you about 65HP!. You WILL need the valley cover that come with the kit. Again, talk with TSP about all you are doing. You might save on a package deal like the DOD kit.
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 07:44 PM
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Originally Posted by G Atsma
Just FYI- DOD and AFM are the same thing. You are going to be pleasantly surprised at all the power you will have! The cam alone will net you about 65HP!. You WILL need the valley cover that come with the kit. Again, talk with TSP about all you are doing. You might save on a package deal like the DOD kit.
ok and I just looked and it was DOD and VVT I am going to delete lol my mistake and thank you for the information
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 07:46 PM
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Yeah, VVT involves a new front cover and timing sprocket. NO problem man! Have fun with this!
BTW, where are you located? Just curious, as mods like these are verboten in California where I am..

Last edited by G Atsma; Aug 15, 2018 at 07:54 PM.
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 07:58 PM
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Originally Posted by G Atsma
Yeah, VVT involves a new front cover and timing sprocket. NO problem man! Have fun with this!
BTW, where are you located? Just curious, as mods like these are verboten in California where I am..
I am in Texas and also I forgot to ask in post do I need to beef up my trans and do gears ? I have stock gears and stock 6 speed 6l80e
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 08:05 PM
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Being a truck, I think your gears should be OK, and your tranny is PLENTY strong, being an 80 series. The cam you're using will still have plenty of low end power
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 08:09 PM
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Originally Posted by G Atsma
Being a truck, I think your gears should be OK, and your tranny is PLENTY strong, being an 80 series. The cam you're using will still have plenty of low end power
ok cool and would u happen to know about if I should use the y pipe or do true duals with or without high flow cats ? I'm gonna use a magnaflow bullet prolly and go 3.5 inch pipe all the way
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 08:18 PM
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A 3.5" exit Y-pipe will be big enough for your truck. High flow cats would be a good idea if for nothing else than to clean up the exhaust without sacrificing much power. The two legs of the Y-pipe should not be larger than about 2.5" to keep low end power and retain good scavenging. Remember we are working with a 5.3L engine, which does not need huge pipes. Use a Flowmaster Y-connector with (2) 2.5" inlets and 3.5" outlet to build your Y-pipe, and it will flow right.
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 08:22 PM
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Originally Posted by G Atsma
A 3.5" exit Y-pipe will be big enough for your truck. High flow cats would be a good idea if for nothing else than to clean up the exhaust without sacrificing much power. The two legs of the Y-pipe should not be larger than about 2.5" to keep low end power and retain good scavenging. Remember we are working with a 5.3L engine, which does not need huge pipes. Use a Flowmaster Y-connector with (2) 2.5" inlets and 3.5" outlet to build your Y-pipe, and it will flow right.
I was gonna go with the TSP y pipe and magnaflow high flow cat with the bullet muffler is that good ?
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 08:29 PM
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What size is the TSP pipe? You want one cat in each leg of the Y-pipe to flow well. The bullet muffler might be a bit loud but that's up to you.
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 08:31 PM
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I believe it's a 3" and they dont have one with cat on each leg I was just gonna put one high flow after the y before muffler and I am looking for a loud exhaust but not obnoxious loud to draw ticket attention
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 08:32 PM
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Read is what you can do. The site is full of info.
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 08:33 PM
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Ok thank you very much
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 08:43 PM
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Be picky with a tuner. A good one can find significant power for you, from tune alone.
Your a few camshaft degrees away from needing a stall converter. I’ve put many cams in trucks, and the biggest improvement I hear truck guys say is that the converter helped them more than anything. Ask TSP their thoughts when you order the stick. What gear you running?
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 08:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Che70velle
Be picky with a tuner. A good one can find significant power for you, from tune alone.
Your a few camshaft degrees away from needing a stall converter. I’ve put many cams in trucks, and the biggest improvement I hear truck guys say is that the converter helped them more than anything. Ask TSP their thoughts when you order the stick. What gear you running?
in having j2 performance in Killeen dyno tune my truck and TSP said I wouldn't need a aftermarket stall and what do you mean by gear? Sorry I'm new
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Old Aug 15, 2018 | 09:22 PM
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Rear end ratio.
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