performance upgrades?

[72GMC2500]

Hi i finished getting my truck running and i want to get some more horse power out of that 350. I was just wondering what the best under the hood upgrade to get for the money would be.

[brad_man_72]

so whats done to your 350, what kind of carb, intake, exhaust, cam, heads, pistons, compression ratio, what kind of transmission is behind it, rear end gear ratio, how will you be using it, towing/drag/makin tire fires?

K&N air filter, platinum spark plugs, tornado, octain booster, NOS floormats and steering wheel cover

[72GMC2500]

everything is stock its the stock 4 barrel carb. sorry i don't know the gear ratio. but i just want more power for smoke shows and a little street racing

[brad_man_72]

edelbrock performer rpm intake, cam, and headers.

[TierAngst]

I'd put headers/duals at the top of the list, that'll give you a good starting point and of course to me the sound of it is always the most enjoyable mod.

[straitnate14]

supercharger

[72GMC2500]

thanks guys. ya i think im gonna get the intake manifold and cam and lifters suggested and the guy at the muffler shop in town says he can make me custom dual exhaust exiting just in front of the tires for 400 bucks

[Billla]

The Edelbrock Performer is a good choice - the RPM is made to turn higher RPM at some sacrifice to the bottom end; wrong choice for a daily driver IMHO.

[TierAngst]

400 is pretty high for a simple truck setup before the wheels. Do be sure to get headers though, especially when getting a cam. The factory manifolds flow terribly.

Side note, when did the Canadian dollar become higher in value than the USD? I remember when it was worth about 60% of the equivalent USD amount. Was thinking it was higher because of the Canadian price but then I looked at the current exchange rate.

[BurnoutNova]

i would say headers, and a good cam and intake are the most important thing... but really it all works together so make sure you do your homework before picking out parts

[Sport/Truck]

Originally Posted by brad_man_72

so whats done to your 350, what kind of carb, intake, exhaust, cam, heads, pistons, compression ratio, what kind of transmission is behind it, rear end gear ratio, how will you be using it, towing/drag/makin tire fires?

K&N air filter, platinum spark plugs, tornado, octain booster, NOS floormats and steering wheel cover

You forgot to mention flame throwers....
s/t

[Sport/Truck]

Originally Posted by Billla

The Edelbrock Performer is a good choice - the RPM is made to turn higher RPM at some sacrifice to the bottom end; wrong choice for a daily driver IMHO.

I'm glad to hear you say that Bill. I was beginning to wonder if I made a bad choice because everyone is using an RPM....
s/t

[72GMC2500]

k so the edelbrock performance RPM is for higher end power, and the permance one is for lower end, cuz im more interested in the lower end for just flippin laps around town

[72GMC2500]

and ya the canadian dollar has been about the same for all of 2008 so far it was higher than the USD for a while

[Billla]

Originally Posted by 72GMC2500

k so the edelbrock performance RPM is for higher end power, and the permance one is for lower end, cuz im more interested in the lower end for just flippin laps around town

If you take a look on the Edelbrock website, the Performer is recommended from idle-5500, and the RPM is recommended for 1500-6500.

The RPM has a taller plenum and a more straight run to the port from the plenum - this gives better top-end at some expense of mixture velocity at the low end. It's not a HUGE difference, but if you're building to 1HP/CID or less it's noticeable.

[72GMC2500]

well seen as how its that little of difference on the bottom end i'll probably just end up choosing whichever is cheapest. for the exhaust what kind of headers should i get? what kind of mufflers I was thinking flowmaster super 40s and how much money should I expect for all of it bought and installed? thanks guys i really appreciate this if i'm gonna spend my money i might as well do it right the first time.

[Jim_PA]

Originally Posted by Billla

If you take a look on the Edelbrock website, the Performer is recommended from idle-5500, and the RPM is recommended for 1500-6500.

Yeah, but Performer RPM sounds a whole lot cooler than Performer.

But, I also went with the non-RPM performer.

[cdowns]

before wasting any money i'd check to see if the motor will take the additional power without self destructing//cam intake and exhaust arent going to help much if you've got worn out heads and rotating assembly

[Billla]

Originally Posted by 72GMC2500

well seen as how its that little of difference on the bottom end

Just so I make sure I'm not being unclear, my comment was:

if you're building to 1HP/CID or less it's noticeable

Your call - just wanted to make sure I wasn't steering you in the wrong direction.

[TierAngst]

Originally Posted by 72GMC2500

well seen as how its that little of difference on the bottom end i'll probably just end up choosing whichever is cheapest. for the exhaust what kind of headers should i get? what kind of mufflers I was thinking flowmaster super 40s and how much money should I expect for all of it bought and installed? thanks guys i really appreciate this if i'm gonna spend my money i might as well do it right the first time.

Personally hate everything flowmaster makes, I've got a pair of magnaflow straight throughs and love them to death. They don't sound like every other heap on the road that has flowmasters. Also the magnaflows flow much better than the flowmasters, but since you're doing a mild build it probably won't make much of a difference anyways. Best thing to do is search the web for sound clips of different mufflers and pick the ones that sound the best to you.

[WorkinLonghorn]

I scanned through this thread. The complaint is "low power".
The solution to low power is not to add a trick intake,unless you run a parts counter.
First you do a complete TUNE-UP .
I would recommend that you get a service manual (even a Haynes is better than nothing) and carefully check/fix everything listed under tune-up.
A motor that is not running smoothly,with improper ignition timing,,incorrect fuel/air mixture,vacuum leaks,wrong spark plug gap,bad wires,old pittted points with dwell out of spec ETC just may seem to need a $200 manifold but really you should check all the above and more before even thinking about performance mods.

[Billla]

Originally Posted by WorkinLonghorn

First you do a complete TUNE-UP .

There's the catch of the week - I sure didn't read the original post as carefully as I should have. This is outstanding advice, and I've worked on MANY vehicles where a Saturday spent in the driveway tuning has made an order of magnitude difference in the vehicle.

I'm a little ashamed I missed it :/

Nice one

[brad_man_72]

he said that he just got it running, and we all assumed he meant running correctly.
if youre running a th400 the stock tq converter has a 800 stall, a higher stall would liven the truck up quite a bit

[70rs/ss]

First and foremost, what is the head casting number. Without consideration to head flow, valve size, and combustion chamber size, it is hard to go from there without stabbing in the dark. Good heads (if not Vortecs dollar for dollar are the best $$$ spent) then cam, then intake and carb and headers. One without the other is a waste of $$.

[72GMC2500]

I think i have the truck running very good, i got it running myself and then took it to my mechanic and he put a lot of work in it. i also put in electric ignition which i forgot to mention earlier. I overheated it one time trying to top it out but towed it to the shop and they checked for damage and there was none. So as far as the engine being able to handle performance parts as far as i know i think its fine. As far as new heads go how much money does that cost to get installed by a mechanic since I have no mechanical experience being only 17 i'm not sure if I could do it myself