I once had a girlfriend who was an ICU nurse.. That job sucks, I’m here to tell you. She would often complain of the nature of her work, which was dealing with folks at their worst, and then they leave.. More times than not, she never knew what happened to them.. Folks pass through this forum, asking how to remedy what’s ailing them.. and then they are on their way. We never get to hear the ‘rest of the story’…

I’m going to tell you ‘the rest of my story’, and then I’m going to do something I haven’t seen done here. I’m going to rate each modification that I’ve done.. I’m going to ask that you fellas who have done mod’s that are popular here share your thoughts and compare them to mine… I’d like to see, when it’s all done, a sorta ‘rank and file’ of where folks (like I was) would want to start with their projects, and what they should expect..

I started two months ago with a ’02 1500 QC, 4x4 Sport, 5.9L V8, towing package/HD group.. the only mod’s were Volant CAI, and Flowmaster 44’s.. It was at 146k mileage, and I bought it at 89k.. It’s been paid for a good while, and I’ve had to do tires, shocks, rack, brakes, tune (x2), and water pump.. the water pump was the catalyst to the project- as it become an economic question on if it was worth fixing… Have you seen the prices on new rigs?... It was worth fixing…

I use the thing as a daily driver, moderate towing (weekend warrior), sometimes off road but never in an abusive situation, and travel.. I’m not a racer in any way.. I proceeded with intent to extend it’s reliable service life and improve it’s looks.. I’d love to see another >100k out of this thing.. There you have it..

Repairs: Water Pump, Hughes Plenum Kit, full tune using full syn, NGK Iridiums, 8mm wires, copper (or are they brass points?) cap and rotors..

Aesthetics: RC 2.5” Leveling Kit, MotoMetal 951x20, Cepek 35x12.5, w2w nerfs, bull bar w/ piaa lights, pulled some badges and put on a couple more.. neoprene seat covers.. in channel window visors..

Mods…These will be rated in value (to me) in greatest to least, and why…

SCT Tuner… Best bang for the buck.. erased the death flash.. I run the 91 tune and have no pinging (anymore) and it brought the rest of the mod’s together..

Motive 4.56’s F&R… Low end is back w/ the 35’s still aboard.. I’m quicker to road speed with same throttle habits I’ve developed (faster to OD).. No real fall off on mileage noticed (mathematically, I’ve not put even a half tank through it yet)… I’ve yet to break them in, so I may be wrong, but I’m guessing towing will be a lot easier on the tranny and the purse w/these..

E-Fan… I was tired of getting hot in towing situations- specifically when backing up or maneuvering at slow speeds.. this is no longer a problem and the power increase was noticeable (and a nice little bonus).. I’m also sure it relieves some stress off the motor, as well as prolonging water pump life (no busting shaft seals on the ‘count of the fan)..

H&S 1.7’s.. Nice little punch.. Smoother running, quicker revs.. in theory they should stress the engine less as it takes less energy to ‘rock’ them which spells to me longevity added.. of course, the increased flow adds a little to power..

Shorty Headers… I ‘think’ these are beneficial.. I think.. They sound nice.. The engine should breathe better, which should help economy a touch, and help keep things flowing, which means less bog getting to speed… uh.. uh… they sound nice?

Overall , I’m real happy with the way she runs, and she looks damn nice too.. I’d love to see what you guys think of your own mod’s that I didn’t list as mine, and what you think of your mod’s compared to what I thought of mine..

just to brag:














thanks.. would love to hear what your mod's netted you in comparison to mine!

 

is my fav mod would be the SCT tuner also and then the longtubes ! i want the airgap to finish off the motor for now.

im really wanting to get rid of my 3.55 gear ratio for 4.10s to get some good punch off the line with the mods i have done.

i had really bad ping with the NGK iridiums and just put in autolights 3923 and i love em so far ! i think there better than the iriduims

nice truck BTW !







its paid off and i dont plan on selling anytime soon ! rolling with 140xxx

 

sweet truck dude!!!!!

I like your hood.. I want your hood.. I need your hood... you think we can talk it into fitting on a third gen? :-)

I've thought about fab'n a functional cowl... one that seals when i close the hood... but that is a lot of work... the cai in there takes up a ton of space...

i bought the iridum's, and everything i've read since points me away from them... maybe one weekend, when my boys aren't on the tube, i'll buy something to replace them and just see how it turns out..

 

Drew, do you have a magnum engine in that '02? I don't know much about 3rd gens except some '02's still had the magnum engine.

 

I do.. the 5.9... and the reason I hang here more than the third gen board..

 

Ah okay, I thought so. Like I said, I don't know much about third gens. I don't even know what size engines they offer except for the 4.7.

I should be getting my SCT tuner in the mail tomorrow. I can't wait to try it out. I'll post a full report tomorrow after I get it.

 

Damn good looking truck you have Drew!

Not much I havent tried in the way of performance
The Procharger definately been my fav mod & nothing compares to it as far as anything Ive added over the years
Not just the progressive power added (125rwhp to start) but the sound as well.
Always loved the sound of a noisey blower on any of the cars or trucks at the track & knew Id have one someday.

Never one to leave anything untouched(never ending project) I had to make it better & my own over time





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE3072MrFq4