I have been going though the boards trying to figure out my attack plan for mods. I have to start gental, for the wife is not to happy about me buying a new car for the 4th time in 3 years. I also dont want to go to a pulley untill I get some more miles on the L. Only have 500 miles. I was thinking of strating with shakles, then eletric fan, valve body, traction bars and drive shaft lop, then chip. what do you guys think????? What do you think the best order of mods is????? thanks Doug

 

Those would be excellent places to start however I don't think you'll see too much seat-of-the-pants gain with those mods. The vbody is a must. I would also recommend filter, tb, and some other stuff before the chip and pulley go on. Just remember, some mods require a chip (such as a 4#+ pulley)

 

What would you like to accomplish?

If power is in your quest, go with a 2 lb pulley first (no chip required).

Forget the throttle body, unless you are making huge power and need higher flow on the top end.

Catback will sound great, and to date is probably one of my favorite mods.

 

Doug

If you don't want to go with a pulley at this time thats fine.

A chip will improve the shifting, and give you about 25 extra HP. A electric fan/water pump combo will free up a few HP and make the truck run quieter and smoother. A driveshaft loop and traction bars will provide insurance if you do race it at all.

If you want to get a pulley down the road, you can allways have the chip reburned.

As far as a throttle body, I wouldn't do one at this time. They are a good mod, but it would be one of the last mods I would do.

I have a valve body in my truck, but only because I have one of gregs monster boxes in my truck. I am not a real fan of the valve body on a fairly stock truck, but I think I am in the minority in my opinion on valve bodies.

Good luck on what ever you decide to do

Don

 

Thanks for the input... I have decided to start with the shackles.. from what I have been reading I should go with 3 inchers being that the 03's sit up a bit higher.... is that correct???

As far as the chip goes... can you remove the chip easly enough if the L has to go in for warentee work, and is there any way the dealer can tell that there was a chip in the L???? I am looking at doing mods that will not effect the warenttee untill I have a good 10000 miles on it and feel that the bugs have been worked out.

THanks Doug

 

The dealer will deffinatly be able to tell if you put a chip in because you need to clean the coating off the computer were the chip plugs in, if you want more power go with a 2# lower pulley, no chip required and it can easily be removed if the truck needs to go in for warranty work.

Larry.

 

chip filter plugs and pulley 2-4lbs

 

What is the best filter set up??? with in price range....

What plugs should I go with.. and are they a pain to change????

I think I will just wait and get the 4lb pulley and chip at the same time..... that way I can have it all set in at one time.. thanks Doug

 

Piece of cake

--Joe

 

The plugs on the L are the worst I've encountered on any vehicle, but that being said, it's not that bad. I sure as heck wouldn't pay anyone to do it.

Here's my comments on your list:
shakles: easy cheap, mod
eletric fan: probably not one of my first mods
valve body: I'd definitely do this one early-on
traction bars: probably of little value for stock tires
drive shaft loop: small value for stock tires, but since they are inexpensive, I'd do it anyway
chip: As others said, the dealer will know you had this, if they bother to look

Also, going against the grain, a filter kit would not be one of my first mods. Very popular item, but have yet to see any information of hp gains, especially on a near stock truck.

cat-back exhaust: Sound mod only, won't help hp (for a nearly stock truck).

 

BEDRUG!!!!!! The wife will like it

IMO - I'd go for other things before any power adder mods. My list would be:

bedrug
new muffler/tips
vavle body
shackles (if you can put up with a slightly sloppier rear)


Don't bother with plugs until you start modding (chip and pulley). But do go through and make sure all plugs are snug tight.

 

Those plugs arent as bad as people say!....I swore more and had more bruised knuckles changing the plugs on my girlfriend's Alero. Given you have to have the right tools and a lil patience.....and NO BEER!...Save that for after your finished....they taste better when you have that "job well done" feeling rather than that "F@ck ford, and this truck and this stupid hobby I spend all my money on!" feeling.

At least get the chip and the filter.....then after the "mod" bug bites....get the pulley

 

Here is what I think I am going to go with first ....

shakles.. do I need 3 inches for my o3?????

Cold ait kit from jonny lightning...

Cat back... I want a little beafer sound ..... thinking silver bulit from JDM

valve body kit.....


then cool it ... and get 4lb and chip at one time.... like next spring.

 

the new Magnaflow 15714, all stainless, great tips, and great sound. Can get it from Larry Pacini for $310 + shipping. Just received mine, got it installed. Larry has ad in classifieds

 

I can vouch for the bedrug thing. Nuff said