Wake up 8.1

Lkha · 01-03-2016, 12:12 PM

Have 04 chevy with the 8.1 allison combo with 4.10 in the rear. All as ordered now with < 50k just wondering what I could do to wake it up a little

BirchyBoy · 01-03-2016, 12:54 PM

You could possibly benefit from a Black Bear tune. I'm not 100% positive they can help you, but Google them and see what they say. They help a lot of 5.3/6.2L GM owners.

dbear · 01-03-2016, 01:06 PM

Banks Power Products has stuff for GM 8.1L.

bsmith0404 · 01-03-2016, 07:33 PM

I find it interesting that you have a need to wake it up. My dad used to have that exact same truck and had trouble not burning the tires off of it. You could try looking at products to help it breath, air intake and exhaust. You should see some marginal gains with both, but maybe the combination will be enough for you.

**JRTJH** · 01-03-2016, 08:39 PM

Possibly a problem with the exhaust system is preventing "full power" ??? Maybe a partially plugged catalytic converter? After all, it is a 11+ year old vehicle.

old timer · 01-04-2016, 05:10 AM

Funny thing about caned tunes. People get them than the truck doesn't run right and they wonder why. If I was to get a tuner for my truck i would take it to a guy that has a dyno and knows how to adjust the tune for your truck. You should be able to get a handheld without a tune and have a dyno guy install a tune in it. Don't under any circumstances lose the tuner. It's stores the stock tune. So if you ever go back to stock you would have to take it to the dealer. Which will set a Oasis report. Every truck is different and what works on one truck may not be completely correct for your truck

Lkha · 01-04-2016, 03:31 PM

It pulls like a bull stock. I am familiar with tuners (HD) just was looking for any tricks

rhagfo · 01-06-2016, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lkha

It pulls like a bull stock. I am familiar with tuners (HD) just was looking for any tricks

Well you should be happy if you feel like it "Pulls like a Bull"
That 5er is 15,000# dry and has a 3,000# payload. Maybe drop the gear ratio a bit.

PerryB · 01-07-2016, 12:41 AM

Don't bother with a tuner unless you're going to do an intake and exhaust. Unless you're putting more air through the engine the tuner will do practically nothing. I would first install 4.56 gears. That's going to get you a noticeable improvement in launch and acceleration. The only downside is your mileage is going to go from bad to worse. Just curious, what do you get towing the trailer, five? I had a very similar truck and pulling an 8000 lb 5th wheel I typically saw about 7.5 on the highway.

Lkha · 01-09-2016, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PerryB

Don't bother with a tuner unless you're going to do an intake and exhaust. Unless you're putting more air through the engine the tuner will do practically nothing. I would first install 4.56 gears. That's going to get you a noticeable improvement in launch and acceleration. The only downside is your mileage is going to go from bad to worse. Just curious, what do you get towing the trailer, five? I had a very similar truck and pulling an 8000 lb 5th wheel I typically saw about 7.5 on the highway.

Milage pulling is 5-7 bare is in the 11 range

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