I seem to have a little more money than I was planning on having, so I'm looking for advise.

I have gauges (egt, fuel pressure, and trans temp) on the way. As far as I can tell with Torque and the recent trip to the shop (they reported they didn't find anything cept the one issue which they fixed), my truck seems to be in good working order.

So, would it be better to start with the harpoon and hutch mods or putting a 5" exhaust on instead of the stock system? Or should I just hold off and run it with gauges for a bit, in case I'm being too confident?

 

do both! harpoon and hutch are fairly cheap! exhaust is nice too if you can afford it!

 

5" exhaust? Not trying to make you explain yourself, but if you are looking for better performance from 5" over 4", that's not going to pan out. If you are going for the noise factor... or who has a bigger tube hangin' out - then that will get you admission to that playground.

 

Pardon the egg on my face but I could have sworn I got that from your chip chasers thread. Thank you for pointing that out. I don't care about noise or size - I actually would prefer to keep the noise down. So I need to be looking at 4"?

 

4" Turbo back with a muffler should do you right

 

I had to look at the Chip Chaser thread again. I didn't specify what size, so I guess I left it open to interpretation.

Every time I read that thread (as I learn more and more), it still rings true - but I might have re-worded a couple of things for the sake of clarity.

 

IMO, neither of those items is an upgrade unless something is wrong with your current system. Install the fuel pressure gauge and then see if you have any problems with fuel flow. If so, then move ahead with the commonly accepted solution which involves dropping the tank.

Why would you want to get rid of your perfectly sized stainless steel exhaust system and replace it with something that won't last as long? I wouldn't change the exhaust system unless I was increasing the size of the injectors...

Remember, anytime you change something all you are really doing is trading one problem for another. Be careful what modifications you make because it might not be an improvement from what the factory provided.

My personal truck has well over 330k miles on it and the fuel tank has never been dropped and the exhaust system is still in place. I have modified some things but the fuel lines to the bowl and exhaust system are still original.

 

All comes down to what you want the truck to look like, sound like, and perform over what you have with a stock truck. Some build them up, some build them down and some just leave them "as is" and roll with it. I would say most of my mods are strictly "wants" over "needs" or maybe I should say that I convinced myself at the time I needed it but in reflection, is was a "want". Just remember that in some mods, changing one thing requires you to change several others so make sure you have a list of what you want and complete it in an order that supports the other mods. If I could do it all over again, my first upgrade would have been to purchase a larger fuel tank for under the truck and not placed the 91 gallon aux fuel tank in the bed and went from there.

 

We had a big thread awhile back about the exhaust questions, I think it was Tugly who started it. I can't seem to find it and could prove to be full of knowledge for the OP

 

Maybe I should restart my thought process.

My end goals are longevity and performance. I don't need to be racing everything on the road, but I would like to have the option to do so if I want. I don't want to change the appearance, at least not dramatically. This is my daily driver and I tow a trailer about once a month (trailer weighs in at 2k, so I don't think that factors much).

My reasoning thus far is gauges - I went with stuff I'm not able to see on torque, or at least I'm not able to find it. I was thinking exhaust because from what I've read here so far, the more air you can get through your engine (to a point) the better it works. To my mind a better working engine should increase longevity. I was thinking the Hutch mod because, again, in reading here it seems to make things easier on the injectors.

So that's where my thinking is leading me, and I'm looking to either have my thought line corrected or if y'all have a better idea for things to do/start with as far as mods or changes go, I'd like to hear them. I have said and will almost certainly continue to say I'm very much in learning mode and looking for all the help I can get.

 

You can see trans temp on torque.

Just do the hutch and harpoon mod despite the direction this thread is going....

Your list of things in your first post... Is that all you've done? Look at everyone's signatures, it should give you a good idea of where we all have been and what should be done. Obviously the guys with more $ and have had their trucks longer will have more and better stuff in their signatures but like I said it gives you a good idea of where to start.

I recommend dual EGT gauges. Once you get your fuel pressure gauge on you never know you may have to spend money so save it for now.

Intake and exhaust are pointless for most applications, intake before exhaust because the factory box on these trucks isnt the greatest. The exhaust will be fine unless you step up to big injectors

 

The only thing I've done so far is to put in the napa air filter... 6627 I think is the number. Aside from that this truck is completely stock. The gauges are ordered and on the way to me now, and I'm just trying to decide on my next step.

Having an EGT gauge makes sense to me, and I know I've read a thread somewhere in here about running dual EGT but I'm not understanding the point. Pretty clear I'm a newbie huh?

 

A 4" turbo back stainless exhaust is a rather common addition; however, you may need to address the intake setup as well in order to get any benefit from the entire system. Some don't select stainless but for the little extra cost you might as well do it right the first time especially if you live in areas where it snows and they salt the roads. You also need to figure out what muffler you may to install as many of the ones that come in "kits" may not be as good as some others that you can add. As far as intake, I ran an Airaid system for years but went to the AIS and the truck is much quieter now.

Hutch mods are one of those mods that some people swear by them while others don't and continue to run stock systems for years with no issues. That mod is mostly done as a preventative measure to avoid future issues. I have not done one and will most likely never do one as I will switch out my tank with a larger upgrade when that time comes. Is this a new truck to you or have you had it for some time and deciding to change things up a little?

 

I've put 10k miles on it highway and city, so I'm comfortable saying I have a baseline for normal. That said, 9500 of those miles were without any sort of add on gauge info, which is why I was originally thinking maybe I should just run with only gauges for a bit.

 

In my opinion, I'd sooner skip the exhaust and get the RiffRaff Diesel Billet Compressor wheel which will give you more power across the entire rev range. I'd couple that with a new set of intercooler 'boots' to ensure there aren't any boost leaks. Maybe an intake while you are there. Personally, I'd get the 6637 intake since it's cheap and effective.

From there, maybe a tuner if you still feel the need for more power.

Of course, maintenance would be a first step - fresh trans, diff oils and a coolant flush and hutch mod are usually a good thing to do.