Hi again,
I was reading your post and it says something about a flowmaster 3" x pipe or something like that. My question is where did you buy this and how much was it. Trying to open things up alittle, also your mass air and 75mm tb- are they both worth it and could you tell the difference. any help would be great. Thanks

 

Hi !! You're Welcome !!
What I have is a single exhaust system similar to the factory setup, but instead of using 2.5" pipe throughout, it now uses 3" pipe front to back. Most of the cat back setups on the market bolt on at the first slip joint just behind the factory Y-Pipe (the intersection where the driver's side and passenger's side pipe intersect). So, these larger systems, say dual outlets or a larger 3" single exhaust, really can't do much because they are being fed by this 1) factory 2.5" pipe in front of them. Since the exhaust flows from the engine back, it doesn't do much good to have it quenched down at this intersection and then enlarged afterward. What I did is replace this intersection with a Flowmaster Y250300A universal Y-Pipe. This requires custom welding/fabrication at all three pipe connections. The result is that all of your exhaust now flows out of a 3" Y rather than a 2.5" Y. The factory one also has a bad driver's side entrance under the weld and enters at a bad angle. This driver's side "bad entrance" looks like a normal 2.5" pipe, then is reduced down before the weld to 2.25", then actually has a sorry chopped out hole (that you can't see) where it connects inside that is under 2" in most cases. You can buy the Y-pipe at Jegs,Summit, etc.; I found the lowest price at www.racerpartswholesale.com

The intake mods that you asked about work well in combination with the exhaust being opened up. The throttle body adds a few HP, but is best if the intake elbow behind it is custom ported; it did immediately fix my rough idle problem though. It is an Edelbrock product which is actually made by BBK (#1703). I used the Edelbrock because the BBK is not 50-State CARB certified and the Edelbrock one is. The MAF is larger and reacts faster; it will not allow the computer to relearn out the HP gains like most of the factory MAF mods allow. Both are good for a few HP, but are not the best HP per dollar, or biggest bang per dollar type of products IMO. A good example would be that these 2 products cost about the same as a gear change, which results in much more performance.

I've personally tested these products, but I don't have any dyno numbers. I can tell you that my truck scorches the road compared to it's stock performance now; it actually scares my wife (she drives a Supra by the way)

If I can be of any help, don't hesitate to give me a shout !!

 

Hey Max,
Sounds good, I think I'm going to change my gear from a 3.55 to the 4.10, It seems that the gear costs about the same as the other mods you said so I gonna get the gear. I pull a boat and some 4wheeles so this will get me going better and help me burn some cars and truck off the road- the best thing is when someone pulls next to you and thinks your ride is slow and then- O NO you beat there ***, o well thanks again.

 

Hey True Blue
You're very welcome !! That sounds like a great idea; it makes a huge improvement. I did that same ratio change and it made a great performance difference for towing and general quickness. Happy Truckin'

 

I noticed from your sig that you have several of the mods I am now considering. Would you offer some advise on the following mods as far as bang for the buck, drivability issues, and difficulty of installation?

ASP pulleys
electric fans
Edelbrock headers

Was the HP gain noticeable and in what RPM range for each of the above? What order would you add these mods if you were doing them one at a time? A lot of questions, I know, but I appreciate your input. As a result of your honest response to the above TB and MAF question, I am now not considering those mods at this time. Thanks

 

You're Welcome ! Those 3 are noticeable and combine to be very worthwhile IMO. I would do the pulleys and the electric fans at the same time because it's easier to remove the harmonic balancer/pulley with the fan and shroud out, and you have to remove the fan anyway to install the water pump pulley. They yield similar improvements. The pulleys and electric fans are not bad at all. I would do the headers last. They are a more difficult as well. The headers made an improvement from idle all the way up for me (entire RPM range, but especially at top end WOT). The pulleys and fans give a feeling of "freed up power"; like you removed a load from the bed. These 3 mods didn't cause me any diminished driveability at all, although people with high electrical requirements may have slight problems at idle.

 

Thanks Max I truly appreciate your help. That's a good tip about doing the fan and pulleys at the same time. Since you tow, and haven't had any cooling or charging problems with the pulleys, that is very encouraging to me. That was my main apprehension about adding that mod. Please keep us informed of your progress. Thanks again.

 

You're more than welcome !! Yes, I do tow a car and haul 2000lbs or so in the bed alot. I had no problems even before I got the correct 2.2" radiator (towing with the 1.02"). One of the first signs that I have seen in other trucks that have high electrical needs is, if they have the AC/ headlights/ etc. on at night and they have large stereos/ etc., they may see the headlights dim slightly at idle. My truck doesn't have these symptoms. If I can be of any help, in any way, give me a SHOUT . Good Luck !!