I've been around here when everyone was talking about the FIPK and round air cleaner, and I eventually tried both (currently running the round one).

I don't drive my truck hard. I take it easy since its such a dog and feels like I'm towing a small house everywhere I go. I tend to stay below 2500 RPM. You guys think I should switch back to the stock intake for more low end?

 

Get some 1.7's.

 

So the 1.7 rockers help the bottom end? Excellent. 90% of the mods on these trucks seem to be geared toward top end.

 

What kind of performance boost would I expect to get just by doing that? I've read a few things about them and most everyone has said they are worth the money, but yea same goes with other mods I've done that really weren't.

 

I guess I'm not really the "truck" person a lot of people on this forum are. I mean I bought the truck a few years ago as my first vehicle because my dad's always had them and I just got used to them, plus I love the ride and sound.

Few years later MPG got to me and I started to focus on that. I get around 14-15 normal driving, and have hit 19 with mainly highway driving which to me is pretty impressive.

I wouldn't mind spending money on gas IF the truck had some ***** to it. If you drove this thing you would be shocked how slow it is. So yea its 11 years old but it's been cared for, it shouldn't be such a slouch, especially compared to the 5.2 my friend has which puts my 5.9 to shame.

 

I agree, all I've ever seen on the 1.7's is get them, they're great, but haven't really seen specifically what's so great about them or where they are ideal.

 

As far as I can tell they trick the motor into thinking it has a cam in it.

 

Yeah, but all motors have a cam in them...lol.

But seriously, you can get countless cam grinds for different performance. I'm assuming all this does is basically mirror the performance curve of the factory cam...which seems to lack in the low end. The comments I've seen about the 1.7's are mostly from guys with 5.2's.

 

Can I ask what size gears and tires you are running? These two items can really kill off your low end. What tune are you using with your hypertech?
You should review your mods and see if any one mod seemed to make things worse. BTW I think anything over 13 mpg is impressive, so I'm not sure what kind of low end you think it should have. To try and duplicate your mileage, I'd have such a light foot my truck may not even move.
You should know you're trying to move 6000 lbs of truck with a motor whose horsepower and torque ratings haven't changed much since the 1970s...but size of the vehicle has!
Other items to check are a leaking plenum, old O2 sensors, plug wire routing and mis adjusted brakes.

 

What size is the camper(Small house) you pull around? Look in my sig. I can pull that all day long with a 318 and similar mods as you all day long with a good amount of power for the hills. I try to stay under 3500RPMS in the hills. But even in the mid range, it will pull, then shift into 3rd gear and calm down.