I am new to this whole mod scene. In fact, the 02HD is the first performance vehicle I've ever purchased. Needless to say, I have a few questions.

I've been trying to do a little research regarding different mods, mostly exhaust systems, chips and pulleys. I've been reading posts on this site and have become a little overwhelmed by the amount of information.

I'm not sure where I should start. Money and convincing my wife are a concern (she is already complaining about the gas mileage), but I'd like to have an idea of what I WILL do.

Also, does replacing the chip affect the factory warranty in any way?

Any opinions and recommendations are welcome! Thanks in advance!

 

I am new to this whole mod world as well but I have learned a few things:

Mufflers and Air intake filters/kits give better gas mileage as well as hp (good thing to bring up with the wife!). They also don't require any special tunning. So this would be a good place to start.

Changing the pulley size, the size of your MAF, your headers, the intake manifold, or injector size all require some reprograming for the computer. Which usually means getting a performance chip.

Getting a performance chip is one of the "best bang for your buck" mods. Superchip seems to be the standard around here.

From what I understand, mods do not affect warrentee. But if you put a Flowmaster muffler on the dealer is not going to fix it if it breaks (only the original parts).

Check out the Computer chip forum for some good info. You can call Mike from Performance Products to set up a good mod strategy as well.

Most important, hang out around here for a while before making any decicions. The experience here can save you tons of money. . . I take that back, you'll spend tons of money but you'll at least have the exact truck you want.

 

Go to the Lightning forum. If those guys can't help you, no one can.

 

Hogg said it. I bought my truck a couple of month's ago and have been exploring this and the other site ever since. Both in the HD and Lightning Forums. Explore, do searches in old posts, and ask Q's. You'll get some different veiws, but they all have the same result. A GREAT TRUCK

 

dermaestro -- you can safely run a 4# lower on your truck without a chip. You might be able to find a used one for $100.

That is going to be the biggest bang for your buck, period.

You can do the free airbox mod which will net you another 1lb or so.

I would look at the flexalite electric fan mod. It will reduce rotational mass which will increase MPG and HP. This one will set you back about $400.

Modding for MPG is chasing your tail, however. Imagine that you can spend $400 to get 1.5 mpg improvement. If you were getting 11 and now 12.5 from a $400 mod, you will save .01636 cents per mile. If you drive 12,000 miles in a year, you will save $196.36/year meaning it will take 2 years to pay for itself.

Good luck with your truck...

Ken

 

Thanks for the help!

I hope that I didn't give the impression that my goals were to improve the MPG. Eventually I hope to have this truck haul even more a$$!

Eventually this will be my daily driver (sooner rather than later I hope)! I'm currently driving 120 miles round trip to work.

I'm gonna have to take a trip to the local performance shop and see what's out there.

Thanks again!

 

if your mod-ing for MPG your on the wrong site. I mentioned the gas thing for the *wife factor*

"Look dear, we just spent a lot of money on our new truck. We should consider saving money by getting better gas mileage. All we need to do is get a new exhast, some electric fans, a new pulley, an air intake kit, a tonneau cover, and a computer chip. Besides, the less time it takes us to get there - means less time poluting the enviroment. Don't you want to protect the enviroment and save money?"

 

After "...means less time poluting" you need to add in "...and more quality time we can spend together too!"



/tg

 

LOL