HOW SHOULD I MAKE MY TRUCK GAIN HP?
i have a 2002 gmc seirra shortbox shortcab....green with stepside...ive done sever things to make it look better such as my plow,headache rack,lights,just simple stuff but now i want to add HP...stock my 4.3 liter v6 had almost 250hp and 300 ft lb of torque...but whenever i messs around with my buddies they always win by a little....we can be neck and neck and he will still pull me...i just need something to boost my trucks power by maby 25-infinity HP lol...im gonna put a hollowed cat and a flow master super 40 series exhaust on it but i was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to add more and if my ideah about the exhaust is a good one? pleas get back to me...im not in a major rush but i wouldnt mind getting out of this with money in my pockets
Public Comments
1. Why not add a nitrous boost? You only activate it when you are racing and only when you really need it. That would baffle the heck out of your buddies if you always had power exactly when you needed it. Just don't show them what you got or you'll be back to losing again.2. Don't hollow out the cat - that's not going to gain you that much. Its better off to get a performance cat, and go with a good mandrel-bent cat back system. Replacing just the muffler will still leave you with performance-robbing kink-bent exhaust plumbing. A few extra horses can be gotten from the 4.3 with a good set of headers as well. All that should get you about 30 extra hp if done right.
On top of that, you may want to put some thought into a better cam, and possibly a little porting on your stock heads - if you want to spend the extra time to gain a few more buddy-trumping horsepower.
As for the non- mechanical stuff, you can go with a bed cover to reduce the drag behind the cab. Don't run with the tailgate down - this actually costs power, since you ruin the air-buffer in the bed - you want to keep that, just make it smaller with the bed cover. Mind you, the plow mount and all that "simple" stuff is leaving you with some extra weight, and weight costs speed.
3. or swap in a small block. they cost about the same as a lot of the other mods, they are a simple swap into a 4.3 truck, and they get better milage because they dont have to work as hard. It would, however, be hard to hide this from your buddies. Then throw nitrous at it. its a cheap way to get an extra 100+ hp on demand out of it.
