My work/tow rig... (constant changes)

Bart

Registered User
Location
Arm Utah
There are several places that will do a custom tune on your PCM if you send it to them and they are much better than an add on programmer. Wayne Hartwig used to be on this list, but is still around, did one for me that really woke one of my 5.3s up. Let them know your intake and exhaust mods so they can factor that into the tune.

So I have been thinking the same thing as you, my 2500 pulls awesome but I want a little more power in the bottom end. I was talking to a buddy and he said something about running a lq9 tune on a lq4 and it's supposed to help gain a little more power. I've been thinking about getting a Dyno tune for mine, also heard good things about that. Some people are claiming 50hp gains but that seems a little too good to be true, I know these motors come fairly detuned from factory. Also, I have a flowmaster catback on mine, dual in single out, and it isn't obnoxious but it's got good sound to it. Anyways, good looking truck!
 

NYCEGUY01

Well-Known Member
Location
Willard, UT
Ive used Steve on a couple projects with great results.

http://www.rdpmotorsport.com/DynoTuning.aspx

https://www.rdpstore.com/p-6042-sct-x4-gm-tuner-package-with-lifetime-free-custom-tunes.aspx

I bought a SCT tuner from him and he can email you the tune you upload to the tuner and then the computer through the OBD2 port.

If you have any issues the SCT lets you datalog and then you can sent that to him and he can adjust and email the tune back.
Free tunes after the 1st one when you buy the tuner from him - His prices are pretty good on parts as well.
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Well, I sold the 2002 Chevy Silverado 2500 yesterday... It did what I needed, but it was just rough and dirty all around, being a Ranch truck before I bought it. It was on the verge of needing some real work IMO and thought it was best to cut my losses now. I actually bought it for a great price, put a little money into it and came out ahead after selling it.

I put money down on the new truck less than 24 hrs later. :D The replacement was another real good deal, but it has HIGH miles. It's a 2011 GMC Sierra 2500 HD, extended cab, shortbed. It has just over 250k!! :eek: It drives great, but you can tell the steering & suspension need some work. This has an updated 6.0l V8, the L96. It's rated for 360 HP 380 ft/lb torque. The L96 is pretty neat, kind of a cast iron LS3. It has all the Gen 4 engine upgrades, plus aluminum rectangular port 823 heads (same as the LS3), and VVT cam operation. The transmission is a 6L90E, which is a beefy 6 speed. It's a work truck, with rubber flooring and cloth seats, but still has power windows, locks & mirrors.

I was looking forward to one less vehicle around our house, but I felt like I needed a strong Winter commuter, as discussed not long ago on here. - https://www.rme4x4.com/threads/need-a-new-commuter-vehicle.115452/ This truck will serve my needs for Winter driving in the mountains and if my working/living situation changes and I need a camper to stay in at work, this can pull it fine. It can also do the job of pulling the Jeep around, without tieing up the wife's F150.

I don't think I would have bought this truck, had it not been so well cared for by the PO.... it's pretty clean inside and out. It does have quite a bit of rock chips on the rockers, hood, etc. But the wear & tear is to be expected and I'm alright with it.

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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
So, this is pretty cool.... - https://www.hotrod.com/articles/new-cam-adds-71-hp-stock-6-0l-ls-no-low-end-loss/

It would be nice to pull the timing gear cover, toss in a new oil pump and change out the cam at the same time. Either swap on a LS3 intake or the famed TBSS intake. From the article...

After installation of the TrackMax cam, the power output of the 6.0L LY6 jumped from 443 hp and 467 lb-ft of torque to 514 hp at 5,900 rpm and 493 lb-ft of torque at 4,600 rpm.

514 HP and 493 ft/lbs! That'll do!!
 

bryson

RME Resident Ninja
Supporting Member
Location
West Jordan
So, this is pretty cool.... - https://www.hotrod.com/articles/new-cam-adds-71-hp-stock-6-0l-ls-no-low-end-loss/

It would be nice to pull the timing gear cover, toss in a new oil pump and change out the cam at the same time. Either swap on a LS3 intake or the famed TBSS intake. From the article...



514 HP and 493 ft/lbs! That'll do!!
Whomever you sell this too in 3 months will certainly appreciate that mod...
thefinger.gif


The article cites the work being done on an LY6 vs. your L96... Could you expect the same gains?
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Looks like a pretty clean truck Greg. That L96 is a great engine and I'm assuming the transmission is a 6L90 which you will also really like.

Mike

Thanks Mike, it has some rock chips but it's been taken care of, totally opposite than the '02 I had. And yes, the 6L90e is backing up the L96! The 6 speed should help get the big truck up to speed easier than the 4 speed.


Whomever you sell this too in 3 months will certainly appreciate that mod...
thefinger.gif


The article cites the work being done on an LY6 vs. your L96... Could you expect the same gains?

And if I do sell it in 3 months, I'll make a profit and turn that over to another, nicer truck... :cody: And the '02 had been around for almost a year!

Yeah the L96 is a updated LY6, essentially. I think the change happened in 2008 trucks?


So new cam, new timing cover, new valve springs, new ecu, new intake manifold?

That's a ton of work for a motor with 1/4 mill miles

Well, no need for new valve springs (the stock ones are beefy enough for a bigger cam, remember... LS3 parts ;) ), the timing cover is fine, no need for a new ECU, just some tuning. Intakes aren't hard to swap or too expensive. I believe the injectors will support the mods and tuning, as this engine is built for E85 and IIRC, the injectors flow 25% more than non-E85 injectors.

The cam would be the big upgrade, I'd do a new water pump, oil pump and timing set as preventative maintenance, since both the oil pump and timing set can be huge failures on high-mileage engines. It all could be done with the engine sitting in it's mounts. Yeah, it would make more sense to pull the engine and rebuild it all, but THAT's what I'd call a ton of work and money, not a cam & intake swap. It would all depend on how healthy the valves, rings & bearings are.... the parts LM7 I picked up awhile ago has ZERO cylinder ridge on it, with 200k miles. Really, though it wouldn't be hard to just pull the engine and do a full rebuild & upgrade. The peace of mind would be nice.

Working on my LS build for the El Camino, I'm learning a lot about the GM LS engines, truck & car. There is a reason they have such a strong following, easy to work on and you can get a sh!t-ton of power out of them with a few mods!
 

OrangeSkidPlate

Active Member
Location
Pocatello
I replaced the oil pump on my 2005 2500, it was....fun....I'm sure it will be fairly similar to yours. I found that pulling the front diff opens up a ton of room to get the sump bolts out (I had to drop the pan to get the bolts out). Wishing I had thrown a cam in while I had everything apart but oh well. The new truck looks incredibly clean!
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
I replaced the oil pump on my 2005 2500, it was....fun....I'm sure it will be fairly similar to yours. I found that pulling the front diff opens up a ton of room to get the sump bolts out (I had to drop the pan to get the bolts out). Wishing I had thrown a cam in while I had everything apart but oh well. The new truck looks incredibly clean!

Good to know, thanks for the info!
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Got the GMC registered today and took it on a 300 mile drive, getting to know it and picking up some parts down by Telluride.

Pretty happy with it, but the tires (Cooper Discoverer S/T MAXX) suck. Lots of road noise and vibrations coming from them, then I got into a little snow and got stuck when I shouldn't have, in 4WD! I think they're going to go, ASAP. The stock muffler has been replaced with a Flowmaster and while I love Flowmaster mufflers, on this truck it's way too loud and gets a pretty bad droning at certain engine loads & RPM's inside the cab. The entire exhaust has some leaks, don't really want to spend the money on a full new exhuast kit though. I'll see what I can do with it.

The PO upgraded the headlights, new housings and upgraded bulbs. The lights are pretty impressive, especially the high beams. Glad that GM finally built a truck that keeps the low beams on with the high beams! That'll be nice for the mountain road driving I'll be doing in the truck. The engine and transmission are healthy, the 6 speed 6L90E makes passing traffic a breeze!

The truck doesn't drive like it has over 250k miles.... it's very healthy & reliable! I think this was a great change up from the '02 Chevy 2500.
 

Anchor_Mtn

Work Less, Travel More
Vendor
Location
Fruita, CO
I have the Copper STT Pros on my tundra and HATE them. I've had TSLs that ride better and quieter. These tires have cupped and worn terrible even with 5k mile rotations and two alignment checks. I'm going to Falken AT3Ws next. I love their MT01s on the UK and I hope the all terrains will give the same satisfaction.
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
I have the Copper STT Pros on my tundra and HATE them. I've had TSLs that ride better and quieter. These tires have cupped and worn terrible even with 5k mile rotations and two alignment checks. I'm going to Falken AT3Ws next. I love their MT01s on the UK and I hope the all terrains will give the same satisfaction.

I'm not liking the tires at all... most of the road noise and vibes I get is coming from the tires, and they aren't too feathered/cupped! It was embarrassing to get stuck where I did today, almost level driveway with a few inches of snow.... and the truck was already in 4 high!

I'd have a hard time getting anything but KO2's. I drove Catherines F150 to work last week and is was impressive in deep snow & icy roads up by Steamboat.
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
So I have been using my freezer/fridge for work, hauling perishables for my 4 day stay away from home. I didn't think the fridge would fit very well in the extended cab, so I removed the rear seat and built a very basic platform to set the fridge on. I was able to tie the fridge down, using some seatbelt hoops. There is no carpeting behind the seat, so for now it's bare insulation. It would be nice to eventually cover it with some carpet and make it look nice.

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I also picked up a Ranch Hand 'Summit' bumper for the truck, in case of Deer/Elk encounters.... tossed it on today, it was pretty straight forward. I used my engine hoist to hold it in place.

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What's funny, I was out running around in the truck after the bumper install, getting ready for my work week. On my way back, less than a 1/4 mile from my house a big Buck ran out in front of the truck while I was doing around 40-45 MPH. I hit the brakes hard enough to get the tires squealing and set off the ABS, basically stopping as hard as I could.... I think I missed the buck by no more than a foot or 2! :oops:
 
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