Best Performance for my buck

[Joeis67]

OK i have a 2003 Blazer Xtreme with the 4.3L that i bought from Fl. I know the previous owner removed the cat and replaced it with an aftermarket one which was welded in. I also want to say that he punched it out because it has a stonger sound compaired to other 4.3L Blazers. Everything else in it is stock, and Im looking for an opinion on which parts would better perform for me. Im looking for Hp, torque would be great, and gas millage is already out of the picture.

First is the Air intake, The best one i hear is the K&N fuel injection performance kit with the plate that seperates engine compartment heat and out side air, or will any filter with popper tubing and seperation due?

Which is better, the throttle body spacer, or a Ported high flow throttle body. I found info that the spacers are a good thing but does not specify how well it improves dyno test, etc? and the web site that offers these 75mm ported throttle bodies, High flow blades. They offer the tools to just install the plate but the throttle body would be nice but you send in your old throttle body and they give you a already ported throttle body with improved throttle plate. Some of those throttle bodys dont look in that good of shape either. So im not too keen on going that route unless ive heard good word on it.

My buddy is giving me his Hypertech II but he told me that you have to program it to the vin. So i have to send it in for the vin to get cleared so i could reuse it. Not sure if thats true but i do know once i get it, it will be a nice improvement for perfomance.

Now the debate on Stock Clutch fans to electric fans. When i went and purchase my truck in Fl i was living there for almost a full year when i moved back and when its hot down there. It would suck the life out of the truck when i would start to go at a light. Thats why i was wondering if its a good idea to free up some of the drag from the engine, and leave it to the electrical portion.. Or it doesnt change make or break your power. Looking at a few i found a Flex-a-Lite that bolts right up with a twin electric fan, but its pushing $400, not sure if i want to spend that much money if its not gonna do anything. I live in MI now but in the summer time, it gets just as hot as it did in FL.


I think thats all for now, i really dont want to get into the engine just right yet or at all. May want to drop a 6.0l in, not sure yet. I have looked through some of the other forums and im looking for a more direct answer if someone is willing to help, thank you.

[ZL1power69]

welcome to af. i will give you some ideas as to what you can do but please look over the other threads in this section as they are performance oriented. also look at "real performance from a vortec v6" and "v8 performance from a v6".
- first, the k&n kit is a nice piece that comes with a heat shield but you would be spending more money than you need to. Ebay has intakes for about $20-$30 that perform exactly the same. they dont come with a heat shield but thats cheap to make.
- TB spacers do absolutely nothing for the 96 and up 4.3's. dont waste your money. a larger TB could make a difference (honestly ive never seen any aftermarket TB for the v6). if you want to keep the stock TB do the throttle plate mod which involves cutting of the half moon shaped deflector of the TB plate. that will improve your airflow a bit and is free to do.
- of course, a high flow exhaust will help your performance. a cat back is not really nessesary to get decent gains. a universal high flow muffler will do the same thing. headers are also not really nessesary unless you are going to use forced induction.
- i think the programmer you are refering to is a hypertech Power programmer 3. your friend should be able to plug it back into his truck, restore the stock settings, and clear the unit of all data. the performance tune may help a bit but i believe you have to use 93 octane fuel with the tune.
- as for the fan, the flex-a-lite unit is over priced. an electric fan from a 96 3.8 ford taurus will move as much, if not more air than aftermarket ones and can be found in locall junkyards or online for cheap.
any other specific questions, just let us know and we'll try to help.

[thebeastjuggalo]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CF-96...mZ230081973072

thats the intake you want, comes with heatshield, i personally have used chrome intakes on my '95 jimmy and my moms '96 corsica and have been very pleased with them.

that one replaces all the way from the throttle body, they also have some that replace from an elbow instead (wich in my opinion is a waste. just replace it all)

[Blazer SS]

Please do the free mods first!!

The CAI yes , But make sure that you make a heat shield. The ported throttle body is fine but if you don't have forced induction just removing the extra piece from the butterfly is enough. Look under TPI mod.

Make sure that your engine is tuned up and your brakes are not dragging.

As for the Hypertec. Great! You also get a diagnostic tool helper. Meaning that you can read codes off of the computor.

Check your transfer case ,front and rear Diff for fluid. Sounds stupid but you might find out that at least one of them is very low.

Think of replacing your exhaust (cat back) and check for kinks in your Y pipe.

Most of this is free! And if you find just one thing wrong in this list. I guarentee if you fix it you will see a performance gain!!