Just bought an 02 2500 HD and have question
 

Hey guys, I usually hang out at the 60-66 forum but I just bought an 02 Silverado 2500 HD with a 6 litre and auto. It has 103K on it and seems to be a pretty nice truck. It had a rear caliper sticking so I changed all 4 and brakes work great now. Question, I am using this to tow my car trailer and need to know what is the best brake controller to get that is plug and play. Also what is the best bang for the buck improvement for power and mileage. I just checked and I am getting 13MPG. Is a catback system worth the money, cold air kit etc. ANy help would be great.

Re: Just bought an 02 2500 HD and have question
 

Nice combination! I too hang out in the 60-66 forum and also have a 2002 2500HD (along with my 66 GMC)

I've had my '02 since new and so far it's been a great truck for me.

For a brake controller, I've been using a Tekonsha Prodigy and it's worked great. When you order it you can specify a GM wiring harness and it plugs directly into a brake controller slot on the fuse panel (below the dash driver's side). I bought this controller back in 2002 so not sure if they still make a plug and play adapter for this truck. The controll also came with generic wiring so I suppose you could make your own custom connector.

I too was looking for more power out of my truck and I ended up going with a custom tune from Blackbear Performance. The truck has more power post the tune and most importantly there is no throttle lag after you step on the gas. Prior to the tune, the truck would hesitate a bit after you tromped on the throttle. Now it's an instant response. Mileage is about 13mpg for me as well. I don't put many miles on the truck, so I was more interested in power gains than MPG gains. Justin at Blackbear is very good to work with and I feel it was the best $300-$400 spent ($300 for data logging tune and $100 for extra PCM if you don't want down time with the truck).

I too looked at a cat back system, but on most truck that had them I only noticed an increase in noise, not necessarily performance.

Re: Just bought an 02 2500 HD and have question
 

I too would recommend the Tekonsha Prodigy as that is what I run, I did have to wire it up with the harness that came with my truck. It plugs right in to the fuse box like athan66 stated. As far as improvements for gas mileage, it's goes hand in hand with performance improvements. I would start with a custom tune from a reputable tuner like Blackbear Performance or Nelson Performance, and a nice free flowing cat back exhaust wouldn't hurt. As far as CAI's, I wouldn't spend the money on a complete kit, as the stock air box flows fine. What I did with my wife's Tahoe was replaced the intake tube and added a better drop in filter, you can do this piece by piece or simply do the airaid jr kit (comes with everything you need for under $200). Hope this helps.

http://www.airaid.com/ProductDetail....ductID=200-712

http://blackbearperformance.com/services.asp

http://nelsonperformance.com/tuning.htm
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Re: Just bought an 02 2500 HD and have question
 

Thanks guys

Re: Just bought an 02 2500 HD and have question
 

As everybody else has stated, get a custom tune. There is a tuner whose name I forget that is based in Canada... Drawing a complete blank right now. It's not blackbear, Wheatley or Nelson... Anyway, somebody who several people on major forums (ie fullsizechevy, Performancetrucks.net) have used this tuner and said it was well worth the money.
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Re: Just bought an 02 2500 HD and have question
 

Prodigy 2 in my duramax. Intake chip and exhaust helped my truck huge. Not as big of gains but anything helps specially when towing
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