which tune?

**Supersport0126** · 06-13-2013, 05:53 AM

Got a 03 silverado standard cab short bed with the 5.3. All I did so far is a cold air Intake and a flowmaster catback. This is my DD so I wasn't gonna go too crazy performance wise, but I am definitely interested in a tune. Frost did my camaro so I Know he's real good, but is there other good tuners out there I was wondering? How much of a gain am I lookin at with the 5.3 also? And most importantly to me is what about my gas mileage? Thanks guys!

**konigandy6** · 06-13-2013, 06:00 AM

With only a couple bolt ons, Frost will be your best bet for a tune. Handheld tuners aren't worth the boxes they're packaged in, and dyno tunes are not worth your time/money. There should be some noticeable gains after the factory restrictions are removed.

**Supersport0126** · 06-13-2013, 06:33 AM

Yeah I was most likely gonna go with frost anways. Just hopin it helps gas mileage with my 40 min drive each way to work everyday. I'm only gettin a little over 300 a I believe 26 gal. Tank. Just put new plugs, wires, pcv, mobil 1, cleaned TB. I guess that's what they get. Horrible!

**konigandy6** · 06-13-2013, 06:38 AM

How many miles?

Get the fuel injectors cleaned out, I'd recommend a shop with a fuel injector service because then they do it under pressure versus just running a chemical through your gas tank.

My 03 was averaging 17mpg with more city driving.

**Supersport0126** · 06-13-2013, 07:23 AM

75k I did run 2 cleaners through it and it did get a little more but only for yhat tank I put the bottle in

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75k I did run 2 cleaners through it and it did get a little more but only for yhat tank I put the bottle in

**Supersport0126** · 06-13-2013, 07:24 AM

The cold air probably doesn't help either huh?

**konigandy6** · 06-13-2013, 07:29 AM

Originally Posted by Supersport0126

The cold air probably doesn't help either huh?

In theory, the CAI should help fuel economy. But that all depends if you can keep your foot out of the happy pedal. You probably do more city driving from the sounds of it as well. Check your tire pressures, make sure you're driving in 2WD vs. AUTO and drive defensively.

**Supersport0126** · 06-13-2013, 08:29 AM

Yeah lot more stop and go than anything else. Just put on 4 new hankook dynapros. Had 35 in em, I blew them up to 44. No change really. Hope these are good tires. Anybody use them?

**konigandy6** · 06-13-2013, 10:29 AM

No experience with those tires... sorry. I'm still running OEM Bridgestone Duelers.

**5.0THIS** · 06-13-2013, 11:41 PM

Originally Posted by Supersport0126

75k I did run 2 cleaners through it and it did get a little more but only for yhat tank I put the bottle in

- - - Updated - - -

75k I did run 2 cleaners through it and it did get a little more but only for yhat tank I put the bottle in

He's not talking about that. Fuel injector cleaning is a lot more effective when a cleaner is put directly into the fuel rails. They use a container that runs off of compressed air that feeds directly into the fuel rails in place of the fuel pump (which has the fuse removed at the time), and in it you mix the cleaning solution with a bit of fuel and it runs for like 10-15 minutes.

As for the tuning, you might also talk to blackbear performance tuning. He does mostly GM trucks and is very highly regarded in the GM truck community. The cold air kit isn't going to do much with regard to fuel economy. A tune will yield 1-2 mpg on average for a 5.3 truck depending on driving habits. 10-20hp is also a good bet for gains, depending on if you want an 87 or 91 octane tune. Most of the feelable performance gains though will come from taking out (most of) the torque management in the engine and especially the transmission.

**Supersport0126** · 06-14-2013, 03:41 AM

I will look into, butIf I go with either tuner, will they tune the TM? Or should I specify in the comment section about that and what octane rating I will be using?

**5.0THIS** · 06-14-2013, 09:40 PM

You can specify if you want specific things done with your tune, and with regard to octane they'll probably ask. Blackbear answers a lot of these questions on his website in the FAQ section.

**Firebirdjones** · 06-15-2013, 07:34 PM

You are in PA so Frost seems like a natural selection since you can probably deal with him personally??

As far as gas mileage I'm sure Frost can find you some. I tune my own stuff, and was getting 17 mpg in town and 22 mpg highway with a 6.0 LQ4 and a built 4L60E combo that I swapped into my 72 4x4 blazer running 3.73's and 33" tires. Had a custom 4" air intake setup, true dual exhaust (still used stock manifolds), removed the mechanical fans and ran dual electric fans which freed up some HP and MPG as well, then deleted the MAF and ran an SD tune.

Got excellent gas mileage with this setup and plenty of power (ran 14.30's at just over 5000 lbs race weight).

I would think there is plenty hiding in the tune for that 5.3