2008 Tahoe 5.3L

[MudDoc]

My wife's tahoe is the most gutless V-8 I have ever had other than my high school hooptie 77 cutlass. This thing just falls on its face after 1st gear and any push of the gas below 4k rpm's in any other gear its just pitiful.

What can be done, I know you guys have to have seen this before.

How can I get some more ass out of this thing short of throwing an LQ9 in there?

[farmtruc]

The first step is a tune. there's just So much TM hindering performance and drivability.
ECM will limit throttle blade movement. Pull timing. And cut fuel.

[kerrige]

Like any other vehicle start with a tune and boltons. Also do you know which gears are in it? If it is a 4x4 with any kind of tire under it(taller than 30") you will want to swap to at least 3.90s. The tahoes often come with 3.23s and 3.42s which while great for 80mph cruising isn't ideal for any kind of acceleration.
Boltons go like this...
1) custom tune From NP or another reputable tuner. $300
2) eBay or homemade CAI $60
3) high flow muffler $100ish (manga flow makes a nice big body good flow and quiet rumble)
After that in no particular order
LTs $300
Corvette servo $30 also prolongs trans life.
p&P throttle body $120 or free
UDP $200
Also a great supporting mod for your trans is a big trans cooler.
If you stick to boltons like these you don't loose driveability and will gain a little mpg along the way. If you want a big change in power more motor or a complete supercharger kit is the way to go. Don't waste time on changing cams and what not IMO considering what the vehicle is purposes for I would stick to the basic stuff or go real big on the changes.

[Luie]

Sub'd...

[MudDoc]

Who is a reputable EFI Live tuner for gas engines? I personally am thinking about going in and taking a bit of the TM out myself but don't want to hurt the trans... idk may just do a tune from a reputable tuner

[Botlfed]

Www.Nelsonperformance.com

[MudDoc]

Like any other vehicle start with a tune and boltons. Also do you know which gears are in it? If it is a 4x4 with any kind of tire under it(taller than 30") you will want to swap to at least 3.90s. The tahoes often come with 3.23s and 3.42s which while great for 80mph cruising isn't ideal for any kind of acceleration.
Boltons go like this...
1) custom tune From NP or another reputable tuner. $300
2) eBay or homemade CAI $60
3) high flow muffler $100ish (manga flow makes a nice big body good flow and quiet rumble)
After that in no particular order
LTs $300
Corvette servo $30 also prolongs trans life.
p&P throttle body $120 or free
UDP $200
Efans $200-400
Also a great supporting mod for your trans is a big trans cooler.
If you stick to boltons like these you don't loose driveability and will gain a little mpg along the way. If you want a big change in power more motor or a complete supercharger kit is the way to go. Don't waste time on changing cams and what not IMO considering what the vehicle is purposes for I would stick to the basic stuff or go real big on the changes.

Ok dumb question cause I am not a new school gasser guy.

the corvette servo you speak of is for the throttle on the drive by wire ls motors right?
wtf is the UDP?
NP uses what tuning software to tune with if you or farm can tell me

[kerrige]

Corvette servo is for the transmission and makes for longer trans life and snappier shifts.
UDP stands for underddive pulley.
NP uses hptuners and farmtruc is allen nelson owner of nelson performance. The vast majority of gassers seem to be tuned with hptuners. It is the choice of most well known gas tuners anyways.

[03whitez71]

Hp tuners

[MudDoc]

Corvette servo is for the transmission and makes for longer trans life and snappier shifts.
UDP stands for underddive pulley.
NP uses hptuners and farmtruc is allen nelson owner of nelson performance. The vast majority of gassers seem to be tuned with hptuners. It is the choice of most well known gas tuners anyways.

Well that sucks... I have already invested in the software and all the hardware for EFI Live so I most definitely want to stay in that platform.

I did not register UDP with underdrive pulley.... derp derp on my part.

I will look into the corvette servo but doubt the wife will like snappier shifts... I just know she hates how gutless this pig is. I will look at the stock tune in the next few days and look at the torque management.... a CAI will likely be in the near future, but with everything being so limited I might just pony up for a used LQ9 with an intake and CAI to drop in. this is all dependant if the wife really wants to mess with this thing or if she is ready to move up to a diesel car or truck.... I'm crossing fingers for a diesel in her future.