New guy from MI

[monk_one]

Nice truck, I've actually been thinking about getting one myself. Z-71 with the 5.3L V8 I think would be nice.

Thank you, my friend has one crew cab 5.3l Z71 and he loves it. Only problem is with the trucks end in sight 2012, aftermarket hasnt done much for it. And with the 09'-10' model years different from the earlier years there is currently only one suspension lift kit available for it. And the detuned 5.3l on them really need some waking up with 207HP to the wheels on a 2wd one.

I am the buddy that has the 5.3. Here are a couple pics. Sorry I am reviving a month old thread.

[Trail X]

Nice looking truck... but it looks entirely too clean and babied.

[fishsticks]

Nice looking truck... but it looks entirely too clean and babied.

+1

[monk_one]

Nice looking truck... but it looks entirely too clean and babied.

It has nice scratches in it already. You can see one of them that has been touched up on the rear tailgate. Left of the handle and by the lid. There is also a nice pair on the driver side rear flare and fender. Has also a couple brush scrapes on the front flares. No babied ride here. I have a couple photos somewhere when I had it out in the woods. I will have to see if I have them still.

[Philberto]

Tell me you got a tune for the 5.3 and it woke it the hell up. I can't understand how they managed to detune the engine that much, never mind why they would do it.

[monk_one]

I have not tuned it yet. I have had a couple of issues with the motor and not confident enough to void the warranty. In the first 8k, I had to replace 2 knock sensors, control arm and a MAF sensor. Although it is not a real big thing, I don't feel like fighting with dealerships about the tune yet.

[Trail X]

Tell me you got a tune for the 5.3 and it woke it the hell up. I can't understand how they managed to detune the engine that much, never mind why they would do it.

Often if an engine is detuned that much from the factory, it's a reliability issue. You think GM wants to sell underpowered V8s? They do it for a reason... that reason is lab tests. (Or possibly CAFE requirements.)

Still... now knowing the factory-side of things, I've now vowed to keep my engines as OEM as possible. The engineers that designed them did things for a reason - most of the time, it's relating to reliability.

[rgraboske]

Tell me you got a tune for the 5.3 and it woke it the hell up. I can't understand how they managed to detune the engine that much, never mind why they would do it.

Often if an engine is detuned that much from the factory, it's a reliability issue. You think GM wants to sell underpowered V8s? They do it for a reason... that reason is lab tests. (Or possibly CAFE requirements.)

Still... now knowing the factory-side of things, I've now vowed to keep my engines as OEM as possible. The engineers that designed them did things for a reason - most of the time, it's relating to reliability.

I agree. There is always a tradeoff when doing a tune. It may never be apparent to you, but they did it that way for a reason