Chevy truck guys- Vortec 350 questions.

[flyboy1294]

Hey guys,
I recently bought my first truck that I can actually call my own. It's a 1998 Chevy 1500 Cheyenne edition (meaning cloth seats, extended cab, but still a two door, manual windows and locks, etc) It's a 5 speed stick shift, 4x4, 5.7 liter Vortec 350. Has 100k miles.

My dad was the original owner, so I know the full history of the truck. The thing has been kept in a heated garage all of it's life. It would look new except for some salt corrosion on the original rims which is no big deal because it is do for a new set anyway.

Here is my priority list.
*Wheels and tires (I was hoping to get something a little bit offset, to get a more aggressive stance. Does this negatively effect handling?)
*Small cosmetic things (headlights, taillights, maybe hood, etc)
*Engine upgrades
*Audio upgrades.

I do not know much about these engines, so I wanted to get your all's opinions. What do they respond well to? I would like to get a Flowmaster exhaust system just for sound, but if there are other things that would have a better impact on performance, I would be go for those first. So, any recommendations?

The audio system I'm not concerned about right now because it is probably a solid year down the road. It is an extended cab, and I have no use for the rear bench seat, so I think that I will take it out and build a nice ported sub box in the rear. Should sound real good once it's done.

I am also thrilled that this year has the more modern interior. It is similar to what is found in the 99-00 models, meaning that it is streamlined and rounded (as opposed to the older Chevys which had the red, box-y dashboards and disgusting interior)

I'm very excited to start work on it. So, in the mean time, does anyone have any suggestions?

[ssedwick]

With that 350, you would see the most improvement with a new high performance cam, a Hi-Flow Cat and full exhaust, and a functional hood scoop to allow better air flow. The better they breathe, the more performance you get back.

[eastcoastpro20]

i got borla exhaust on mine, would never run anyhting else

[hskers82]

Good motors.My old '97 z-71 had 167,000 on it when I traded it in.Only problem that they have is they are notorious for blowing intake gaskets.Start watching for anti freeze leaks around the intake

[CJM]

RV cam, good exhaust, dont bother with those stupid intakes and junk.

[fastredrider44]

Originally posted by flyboy1294

*Wheels and tires (I was hoping to get something a little bit offset, to get a more aggressive stance. Does this negatively effect handling?)


Shouldn't effect handling all that much, but it will hurt things like ball joints and pitman/idler arms. I have ten inch wide wheels that are offset an inch over factory. It makes for one wide truck. I also have the torsion bars cranked and run 32 inch mud tires with minor fender and bumper trimming.

As far as audio, I have 2 12s in a downfire box under the rear seat so that it's still functional. For exhaust, my truck is a 97 and has the cats in parallel rather than in series like I suspect yours probably is, but I have dual 2.5 inch thunder bolts, turned down in front of the axle. I plan on cutting the cats off soon, (theyre throwing codes) and having my truck "custom tuned" by Blackbear performance so that I don't have any negative effects from no cat convertors.:devil:

[CJM]

I would suggest 16x8 wheels, not to wide or big and will run decent 32 or 33 inch tires if you want.

[fastredrider44]

Originally posted by CJM
I would suggest 16x8 wheels, not to wide or big and will run decent 32 or 33 inch tires if you want.

This. ^^ Although you wont be able to get a 32 for a 16. It will have to be something like a 285/65:rolleyes: I hate metric numbers

[VTredneckgames]

great motors. Ive got one in my camaro with the LT4 hotcam.

but in your case, stay away from the high performance cams. You want torque, not high rpm horsepower.

I would stick with the basics first. Exhaust, CAI. Then if you want to dig deeper, go with a torque cam.

[flyboy1294]

So it seems like almost everybody is saying go with an exhaust and cam.

Does anyone have any specific cam and exhaust recommendations?

(By the way, the truck has parallel cats. It's a duel exhaust all the way back to the gas tank, then a Y pipe changes it to a single.)

[fastredrider44]

Originally posted by flyboy1294


(By the way, the truck has parallel cats. It's a duel exhaust all the way back to the gas tank, then a Y pipe changes it to a single.)

Interesting. I wonder if that has anything to do with it being a straight shift, cause that's the first 98 I've heard of like that. Magnaflow is supposed to be a pretty good muffler. Flowmasters while sounding good, don't always increase power like they say they do.:rolleyes: But IMO Flows with turndowns are about the best a semi stock vehicle can sound. Also would avoid straight pipes, esp. being a stick. The way these FI trucks sound when they start popping is God awful.

[hondariderdylan]

Originally posted by fastredrider44
Also would avoid straight pipes, esp. being a stick. The way these FI trucks sound when they start popping is God awful.

X2
everyone of them i have heard(alot) sounded horrible. Because every honkey tonk bumpkin around my town thinks loud=power. In reality they get aggravating really quick.

[Titanium]

Dont listen to the guys that are telling you to just throw in a "high performance cam" and exhaust. You will actually hurt your power by puting a huge cam in a stock motor. If your going to upgrade the cam you need to upgrade everything else too or else you will "choke" your motor. Just put a cam in that is a little larger than stock, port and polish your heads, throw in some flat top pistons and flash your computer to lengthen out the pulse width for your injectors. You will be very surprised at what you can gain from this. Remember that engines are vacuums therefor power is achieved by surface area.

[CJM]

Originally posted by Titanium
Dont listen to the guys that are telling you to just throw in a "high performance cam" and exhaust. You will actually hurt your power by puting a huge cam in a stock motor. If your going to upgrade the cam you need to upgrade everything else too or else you will "choke" your motor. Just put a cam in that is a little larger than stock, port and polish your heads, throw in some flat top pistons and flash your computer to lengthen out the pulse width for your injectors. You will be very surprised at what you can gain from this. Remember that engines are vacuums therefor power is achieved by surface area. Thats why I suggested an RV cam which is super mild vs stock and actually used in an RV or buss application hence RV cam. You dont need to mess with much else with one and the gain is noticeable but not insane.


Originally posted by fastredrider44
This. ^^ Although you wont be able to get a 32 for a 16. It will have to be something like a 285/65:rolleyes: I hate metric numbers

Its still 32 inches lol..

265/75/16 is usually about 31.8x11.2x16 which is super close to a 32 you wont even notice it.

285 is like skinny 33, usually about 32.8-33 inches tall and 11.6 inches wide.

[flyboy1294]

Originally posted by fastredrider44
Interesting. I wonder if that has anything to do with it being a straight shift, cause that's the first 98 I've heard of like that. Magnaflow is supposed to be a pretty good muffler. Flowmasters while sounding good, don't always increase power like they say they do.:rolleyes: But IMO Flows with turndowns are about the best a semi stock vehicle can sound. Also would avoid straight pipes, esp. being a stick. The way these FI trucks sound when they start popping is God awful.

I don't know. It is a lot quieter than most stock Chevy's that I have seen of a similar year, and MUCH quieter than the Dodge 350 Hemi that I have ridden in and around.

Alright so Magnaflow is the way to go according to most people I have talked to this past bit. I HATE the sound of strait pipes on any application, so that will not be an option.

I understand what people are saying about a mild cam. I think the same thing applies to quads. If you were to drop a 458 grind Webcam into a stock 400ex, I'm pretty sure it would kill itself trying to deal with the excess of fuel and air.

Does anyone have any specific brands/sizes of cam in mind? I'm trying to get a price range in mind. Also, is it within my ability to install the cam at home? Or am I going to need to pay a mechanic all kinds of labor to do it? :rolleyes:

About the tires, I would like to do 1" or maybe 2" offset on the wheels. Would it be possible to fit 32's on a stock height truck? I don't know if I want to crank on the torsin bars too much, it begins to look odd after awhile.
And while I'm talking about tires, how do the diffs do in these trucks? Of course, we have never had any problems, but this truck has lived more like a car (with the exception of pulling a camper and hauling quads around :macho )

Thanks for all the help.. I checked around on Chevy Truck World, but I didn't see much info over there...

[VTredneckgames]

Originally posted by Titanium
Dont listen to the guys that are telling you to just throw in a "high performance cam" and exhaust. You will actually hurt your power by puting a huge cam in a stock motor. If your going to upgrade the cam you need to upgrade everything else too or else you will "choke" your motor. Just put a cam in that is a little larger than stock, port and polish your heads, throw in some flat top pistons and flash your computer to lengthen out the pulse width for your injectors. You will be very surprised at what you can gain from this. Remember that engines are vacuums therefor power is achieved by surface area.

exactly. However, these motors will take a decent cam and make good power. I wouldnt go any larger then my lt4 hotcam. The vortec heads are very good heads.

I would not put the money into porting and polishing the vortecs. Not on a 4x4 anyways. I would just stick with an RV style cam and headers.

[b.lee]

Stay away from the ricer headlights / taillights & stick on hood scoops.

lol

[quadrider2112]

VT has it right. The vortec heads are great heads they flow way better than ne older head. I wood go with a lil bigger than Rv cam. The cold air kits make good power with a cam and exhaust. It just my opinion but you real cant beat the flowmaster sound not to loud not to mellow. Get a programmer and you will have more power than your stock axles will want with a bigger tire.

The fitting for the heater hose in ur intake is prone to leak. You can fix it with a pipe fitting and hose clamp. You can also by the kit with o ring and junk at parts store.

Oh yeah tune it up with good cap, button, wires and platinum plugs (NO CHAMPIONS).

[CJM]

crane cams, imho best camshafts.

[VTredneckgames]

just in case you didnt know, some roller cams require a different distributor gear. Just a little heads up.

[fastredrider44]

Originally posted by flyboy1294


About the tires, I would like to do 1" or maybe 2" offset on the wheels. Would it be possible to fit 32's on a stock height truck? I don't know if I want to crank on the torsin bars too much, it begins to look odd after awhile.
And while I'm talking about tires, how do the diffs do in these trucks? Of course, we have never had any problems, but this truck has lived more like a car (with the exception of pulling a camper and hauling quads around :macho )



I'll see if I can't upload a picture of my truck later to give you an idea about looks. Differentials do OK in these trucks as long as you keep them somewhere around stock. You can run your RPO codes and find out if it has a locking rear diff and also figure out what gears your truck has.

[CJM]

Should be a torsion bar setup, you can crank them a bit and suffer a bit more harsh ride and fit the 32's easy.

[VTredneckgames]

only problem with having a factory locker is the fact that you have a factory locker. The gov-locks work great when they work. But overall they suck. They dont hold up well to power, require slip to lock, and unlock above 20mph.

If you want to do some serious offroading, upgrade to a detroit.

[flyboy1294]

Originally posted by fastredrider44
I'll see if I can't upload a picture of my truck later to give you an idea about looks. Differentials do OK in these trucks as long as you keep them somewhere around stock. You can run your RPO codes and find out if it has a locking rear diff and also figure out what gears your truck has.

Pictures would definitely help. Where would I run the RPO codes at?

CJM:
The truck will be doing some off road, but it is my daily driver. And it is going to be about a 35 minute commute to campus unless I decide to stay in a dorm. So I don't know if sacrificing the ride would be a good idea since it's mainly a road queen.

Is there any reason why your prefere Crane over other brands? Just wondering.

b.lee
I'm not into the whole ricer look, but I do like the look of projector headlight, and a Cowl hood. Is that what you were referring to?

[fastredrider44]

Just type in RPO Code in google and I'm sure you can find something.

Here's 32 11.50 on 15x10 wheels. I'm sure I have a straight on shot somewhere too. I used to have a 84 K10 that I used to wheel a little bit, and it took a lot less time and effort to clean it than it does this one. Its rare that I take this one "muddin"

[beastlywarrior]

Originally posted by hondariderdylan
X2
everyone of them i have heard(alot) sounded horrible. Because every honkey tonk bumpkin around my town thinks loud=power. In reality they get aggravating really quick.

lol thats my truck now, i have a bad exhaust leak in my summit catback so it's pretty much dumping out after the header

id say just do a cold air, catback (maybe flowmaster) and a hurst short shifter. i have the goodmark cowl hood and it looks sweet and would recommend it but you have to watch because it bends easily

[CJM]

You really wont be hurting the ride to much, your raising the bars maybe a half inch to an inch over stock.

Heck 32's may fit stock too, but the compression offroad may make them rub on the front.

[VTredneckgames]

G80 is locking diff

look in the glove box

[flyboy1294]

Originally posted by CJM
You really wont be hurting the ride to much, your raising the bars maybe a half inch to an inch over stock.

Heck 32's may fit stock too, but the compression offroad may make them rub on the front.

Half inch doesn't seem so bad, when anyone says 'torsin bar' I get the mental image of a rusted out truck with a body lift and tires rubbing the fenders. That might be the route I go.

VT:
Do locking diffs sinificantly increase strength or something?

redrider44:
nice looking truck, that is almost identical to what mine looks like on the outside, except mine is green. Is there anyway that you could get a head-on like you mentioned?

Thanks for all the help guys!

[fastredrider44]

You can just crank on the torsion bars. I wouldn't do it til you get new wheels and tires, then do it and have the truck aligned.

Locking diffs don't increase strength, they just make sure both tires stay spinning rather than when the only tires that spin are the ones with no traction. :rolleyes: I will tell you that these trucks don't flex very good up front, so they don't do all that great off road.:ermm:

[flyboy1294]

Originally posted by fastredrider44
You can just crank on the torsion bars. I wouldn't do it til you get new wheels and tires, then do it and have the truck aligned.

Locking diffs don't increase strength, they just make sure both tires stay spinning rather than when the only tires that spin are the ones with no traction. :rolleyes: I will tell you that these trucks don't flex very good up front, so they don't do all that great off road.:ermm:

I don't plan on touching anything until the new hardware is on the truck.

I see. He made sort of a random comment about a G80, and the only thing I could see realivent about it is question I asked about diff strengh lol.

They do not do good off road as opposed to what other truck?

I don't think this is going to be an issue though, this thing has to get me through college which is going to be probably close to 6 year (masters in Mechanical Engineering) and after that I can do whatever I want with it. So it should rarely see the dirt. Of course I like to have nice looking (and performing) stuff though, haha.

[fastredrider44]

G80 is the RPO code for a locking diff. RPO codes will be in the glovebox.

[beastlywarrior]

Originally posted by flyboy1294
I don't think this is going to be an issue though, this thing has to get me through college which is going to be probably close to 6 year (masters in Mechanical Engineering) .
more like 7 man it's just 5 for a bachelors, 6 for some

[VTredneckgames]

Originally posted by beastlywarrior
more like 7 man it's just 5 for a bachelors, 6 for some

yeah 4 years for BS in ME. not 5. What school are you going to?


Locking diffs are not necessarily stronger. They just make sure that both wheels are turning the same speed. A clutch style (auburn or eaton) work good, but one wheel can slip more then the other. And they will wear out overtime and the clutches and springs will have to be replaced.

[fastredrider44]

front, cell pic

[fastredrider44]

Side, cell pic. Just ignore the green hood and bumper and busted out corner lenses etc, etc. Everything has a story.:macho But I have new fenders, new Goodmark cowl, new bumpers and all that stuff ready to go, just can't find the time.:rolleyes:

[flyboy1294]

Originally posted by VTredneckgames
yeah 4 years for BS in ME. not 5. What school are you going to?


Locking diffs are not necessarily stronger. They just make sure that both wheels are turning the same speed. A clutch style (auburn or eaton) work good, but one wheel can slip more then the other. And they will wear out overtime and the clutches and springs will have to be replaced.

I've tested out of most courses so far. I've done AP all the way through highschool, so I get to cut the crap with alot of the basic classes. If I can find all the classes I need back to back, I plan on finishing BS in 4 and Masters 2 after that.

Assuming you're talking to me, I plan of doing either UL or Vanderbilt or possibly UK (I've applied for a program there just for kicks. If I get accepted I will try to look into their engineering program. But first I need to take my ACT a couple more time. Transcript is coming together nicely though.

Back to the topic,
RR44:
I really like the stance of your truck. +1 is the size I need.

You need to get some clear corners :macho

[VTredneckgames]

truck looks good fastredrider44. ever thought of putting some black fender flares on it?


flyboy, I was talking to beastlywarrior that said it takes 5 years to get your BS in Mechanical Engineering. Id like to know what school he is talking about. It is only a 4 year program at most schools.

[fastredrider44]

Originally posted by flyboy1294


RR44:
I really like the stance of your truck. +1 is the size I need.



Keep in mind thats +1 offset on a wheel that's 3 inches wider than stock. So according to measurements, it's about 8 inches wider than stock total. On thing to consider about this is if you drive through a mud puddle, the tires will sling mud all the way down the side of your truck, so just forget ever keeping it clean. +1 on an 8 inch wheel is probably what I would look for if I had it to do over again.

[flyboy1294]

Didn't want to let this thread die just yet. I took it through the car wash a couple days ago. Still needs waxed.

Sadly it won't get much work until I start taking classes spring of next year. Maybe a new set of wheels are tires. :cool:

[flyboy1294]

Side

[flyboy1294]

Interior

[flyboy1294]

Head unit that was installed back in '00 when those new-fangled CD's came out. :devil:

[flyboy1294]

5.7 Liter Vortec

[flyboy1294]

It's only real flaw is some corrosion on the wheels.