Supercharged 2014 Silverado

(Narrator)>> From stock to rocking, our Sea Foam Silverado is back for a major power adder, and the dyno don't lie. [ engine revving ] [ music ]

(LT)>> Hey guys, welcome to Truck Tech. We're actually starting out the day in the Engine Power shop with our 2014 Silverado on the chassis dyno. This is actually the Sea Foam Truck Tech Sweepstakes giveaway build, which means one of you lucky viewers could actually take this truck home.

(Austin)>> Now we took car of this solid red paint job, wrapped it up real nice, threw it eight inches up in the air, put an awesome tire and wheel package on it, and let me tell you the stance of this thing is a night and day difference. The only thing we've got to do is add some power.

(LT)>> So we'll take care of that in just a little bit by installing a supercharger. From the factory these L-83 five point threes put down 355 horsepower and 383 pound feet of torque, but that rating is actually at the flywheel.

(Austin)>> And we know we're gonna lose some power through the drivetrain, through the transmission, and driveshaft, but this chassis dyno will tell us exactly what we've got at the rear wheels. I say we crank it up.

(LT)>> Alright. [ music ]

(Austin)>> Alright man, what's the bet?

(LT)>> What's the bet?

(Austin)>> What's she gonna run, what's she gonna pull?

(LT)>> I'm gonna guess we're gonna be somewhere right around 300.

(Austin)>> I'm gonna go under, so you're over, deal.

(LT)>> Alright under over man. What are the stakes?

(Austin)>> Lunch bet man.

(LT)>> Steaks for stakes.

(Austin)>> Steaks for stakes I like it. [ engine revving ] [ music ]

(LT)>> Well what do we got?

(Austin)>> 303.

(LT)>> 303, steak for LT.

(Austin)>> You got me.

(LT)>> It was close though.

(Austin)>> You got me.

(LT)>> Well we've always gotta do two just to kind of get a good average.

(Austin)>> We'll do a few, be easy on it this time.

(LT)>> So if we get 296 or less it'll average out to less than 300?

(Austin)>> That cancels out the bad deal.

(LT)>> Alright so one of the tricks with the Six-L-80 transmission, well actually there's two tricks. Number one, you need to be in a ratio as close to one to one when you're doing a dyno test. The six-L-80 actually doesn't have a fourth gear ratio that's one to one. It's actually like 102. Now normally that'd be close enough but the problem is you've got a speed limiter. If you go wide open in fourth gear you actually wind up somewhere around 4,000 r-p-m. So we actually have to do this test in third gear.

(Austin)>> 2,500 and roll in from there. [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Alright man what do we got?

(Austin)>> 309.

(LT)>> I like 309.

(Austin)>> Better than 303, I'll take it.

(LT)>> 309 anytime. Alright let's take a look at these graphs.

(Austin)>> Not bad man, they're tight.

(LT)>> The consistency is what's really amazing. This is a bone stock truck. We could make runs all day long and it would just keep repeating those same exact numbers. Just real tight and consistent.

(Austin)>> Yeah it did 309 horse and 341 torque, not bad for stock.

(LT)>> You know the cool thing is 15 years ago if you had a five point three truck you'd have to throw on a cam and headers to get a number kinda close to that. So this is a really good place to begin, but we can do so much better.

(Austin)>> Hey any power adders we put are only gonna add to it.

(LT)>> Alright let's get her unstrapped, get her back next door.

(Austin)>> Let's take care of that.

(LT)>> When it comes to adding a whole of bunch of extra horsepower to a heavy truck or s-u-v the option that makes the most sense is a roots style supercharger, mainly because of how much torque it'll add in the lower r-p-m ranges. That'll really help with acceleration. This is a Magnuson supercharger kit that's been designed to fit 2014 and newer GM full size trucks and s-u-v's that are powered by the five point three. Now this is all designed around Eaton's Gen Six TVS 1,900 series rotors.

(Austin)>> And with the pulleys and calibration supplied we're looking at six pounds of boost and around 100 extra horsepower at the rear wheels, and that'll make this truck much more capable and fun for whoever wins it no matter what they plan on doing with it, and that could be towing, daily driving, or even working on the job site.

(LT)>> Plus doing some burnouts. Now the best thing about a roots style supercharger like this is how easily it installs. It should take the average guy with average tools less than an eight hour day.

(Austin)>> First thing we've got to do is yank this intake.

(Narrator)>> Next, there she blows.

(LT)>> We're back on Truck Tech preparing our giveaway Silverado for its supercharger install, and the first thing to do is remove the intake manifold. This serpentine comes off, and the alternator is loosened and pivots out of the way for now.

(Austin)>> The throttle body is pulled from the stock intake along with the O-ring, and they are both transferred onto the inlet of the supercharger. On the bottom side the inlet air temp sensor goes in, the O-rings are swapped in, and the coolant hoses are attached to the back. The evap line has to be swapped to a shorter one. We'll lightly lube the intake ports and reinstall the noise insulator. Now the Magnuson blower can be carefully lowered into place and lined up. [ music ]

(LT)>> I think we're there.

(Austin)>> Good. It's secured to the heads with some provided hardware and must be torqued in a proper sequence.

(LT)>> The harness for IAT sensor connects, the alternator goes back into place, and it's secured with a longer bolt and a smooth idler pulley. Now the longer belt will connect the crankshaft to the blower. I love it.

(Austin)>> Almost like we meant to do that.

(LT)>> On the driver's side the evap solenoid goes back on, the vacuum lines are connected, and the coolant reservoir and bracket attach to the brake master cylinder.

(Austin)>> Now we need to gain access behind the grill to add the rest of the intercooling system.

(LT)>> You got her. [ music ] Alright go drill a hole in that.

(Austin)>> Alright. Using the provided template... [ music ] ...we need to drill two holes... [ drill spinning ] ...and add some grommets. Beauty.

(LT)>> Supercharging is a great way to add extra power to any engine, whether it be gasoline or diesel, even two stroke or four, but as we know supercharging and even turbocharging adds a lot of extra heat to an engine. This is a basic law of physics because any time you compress a volume of gas its temperature is going to rise. Now a hotter intake charge is actually not good for making power. We all know that colder, denser air can contain more molecules of oxygen, more fuel, and has a great capacity to make horsepower. Also a cooler air charge is less susceptible to pre-ignite, which is safer for your engine. Now the supercharger companies, they have absolutely thought of this when they're marketing their system because inside the manifold there's actually a heat exchanger that liquid is circulated through. That's why you saw these hoses on the supercharger earlier, but it does not plumb into the engine's high temperature cooling system. That's much too warm. Instead Magnuson provides a low temperature radiator that sits out front of the grill. Coolant is circulated through it. They provide their own water pump, and there's a reservoir which you saw us install just a little bit earlier. So all that heat is pulled away from the intake tract, allowing for cooling better running engines and more capacity for horsepower.

(Austin)>> Done yapping yet?

(LT)>> What are you talking about? You got somewhere to be?

(Austin)>> Hair cut man, let's go, let's get this thing in.

(LT)>> What are you talking about, you look beautiful already. With the shroud back in place the low temp radiator attaches to the support beam with the provided brackets and the hoses are connected with spring clamps.

(Austin)>> On the driver's side front the wheel liner is removed, the intercooler pump is attached to the hoses, and then secures to the frame with another bracket. The wiring harness is plugged in, wheel liner reinstalled, and we'll make a few wire connections at the fuse block. The p-c-v hoses attach to the intake tube and valve cover. Finally it's time to add the coolant. [ music ]

(LT)>> The very last step is to load up the provided calibration into the computer, which makes changes for the extra air flow of the roots style supercharger and corrects for the fuel and ignition timing as well.

(Narrator)>> Ahead we go nowhere fast. [ engine revving ]

(Austin)>> We're back on Truck Tech getting our Silverado up in the air to help it exhale just a little bit better.

(LT)>> My absolute favorite thing to change up on any vehicle, whether it's a car or a truck, has to be the exhaust system because it'll make the engine sound cooler, give it a little bit of horsepower, and of course add that personality.

(Austin)>> And bro stock exhaust is cool and all for somebody else, but it's a little too quiet for us. So we're yanking it out.

(LT)>> And we're gonna be replacing it with a cat back exhaust. What that means is we'll start at the rear of the factory catalytic converter and everything from there to the rear bumper is gonna be replaced. So let's tear this thing out.

(Austin)>> I'm gonna get some wrenches. The stock system is attached with rubber hangers and one clamp on the back of the cat. Then the whole thing removes in one piece. [ music ]

(LT)>> We're installing a Hooker Blackheart system, which is made from 18 gauge stainless steel and has dual tips which exit straight out the back of the truck.

(Austin)>> Alright here I am talking about how quiet factory exhaust is and we're bolting up a muffler.

(LT)>> What would you prefer?

(Austin)>> Straight pipes man all the way back.

(LT)>> Okay you do remember this is a giveaway truck right?

(Austin)>> True.

(LT)>> And whoever winds up with it will probably have neighbors and a little bit of class.

(Austin)>> Good point.

(LT)>> So yes this system is going to have a muffler on it. This is a straight through high flow design. It's got a three inch inlet and dual two and a half inch outlets. It'll give the truck a really nice aggressive sound without any of that racket and drone that you bayou style exhaust is gonna have.

(Austin)>> Yeah man, nothing like some galvanized fence post coming straight out the back, and you boys down there know what I'm talking about.

(LT)>> Alright tell you what. Let me handle all the important exhaust decisions from now on, and I can take care of this.

(Austin)>> I can't reach up there anyway. That's all you.

(LT)>> The new muffler attaches to the original hangers. The tail pipes slide in, and one new hanger bolts to the driver's side frame. With the tips lined up and everything tightened down this exhaust system is done. To see how well our modifications will work we're back next door on the Engine Power chassis dyno. So the combination of the one point nine liter supercharger and the cat back exhaust are going to transform this truck and make it sound a whole lot better at the same time.

(Austin)>> Yeah man and this supercharger install went on super easy. I mean this kit flew on no issues, I loved it.

(LT)>> Without a doubt the easiest kit that we've ever had to install and that's 100 percent no kidding, but where'd we start power wise?

(Austin)>> Just to remind you guys with a stock baseline pull we did 309 horse at the rear wheel and torque was right at 341.

(LT)>> And the torque is really where this truck is going to be transformed because that positive displacement supercharger will have a tremendous increase at lower r-p-m's, and that's where the fun is really gonna come in and when you feel that acceleration.

(Austin)>> And that gives us that throttle response we want. So let's get this thing cranked and see what it does. [ music ]

(LT)>> Alright buddy what do you think power wise?

(Austin)>> 417 man, 417.

(LT)>> Alright well I'm gonna play sneaky and I'm gonna bet 418.

(Austin)>> Alright we'll see who's closer.

(LT)>> Alright. [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Alright what do you think?

(Austin)>> 412 buddy.

(LT)>> No, no way.

(Austin)>> I got you, I got you, 412.

(LT)>> That wasn't a good run, let me do another one.

(Austin)>> Alright let's do another one.

(LT)>> 412 come on. [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> One more dyno run just proved our number. Come on.

(Austin)>> 414.

(LT)>> 414, and simple math tells us it's 105 horsepower over stock, which is exactly what the kit claims. 437 pounds of torque at 3,700 r-p-m. Man that thing is just gonna be a blast to drive. You get onto the pedal it's gonna set you back in the seat. I mean our work is pretty much done.

(Austin)>> Yeah it is however not to state the obvious, 414, I guessed 417 buddy.

(LT)>> Yeah but here's the problem. Price is Right rules is closest without going over. So I think it in face means you owe me lunch.

(Austin)>> I don't think it works like that. It doesn't work like that.

(Narrator)>> Next Austin gets a little help.

(LT)>> You didn't even need a step ladder.

(LT)>> Owning a lifted truck, well it's just great. It comes with a lot of benefits but it can be just a little bit difficult to get in and out of the thing, especially if you're a little less than average height.

(Austin)>> Dude five-seven and three quarters is average.

(LT)>> That's debatable, but what we do know is that we need some sort of a step to get in to this truck just a little bit easier. Now we could install the traditional nerf bar. They just kind of hang out below the cab, but in our opinion it kind of ruins the clean looks of the side of the truck. So instead we'll be installing some Best Stop Power Board NX's. Now this is a folding design. It sits up below the cab and when you open the door the step extends, allowing you to easily gain access, but when you shut the door again the steps retract for a nice clean look down the side of the truck. And they're really easy to install. [ music ]

(Austin)>> Our Silverado came from the factory with cloth seats. Now we chose to upgrade with these leather wrap precision fit seat covers from Covercraft. They have the look and feel of genuine leather and also foam back for added comfort. Now we yanked this passenger seat out just so you could see how snug the fit is on every corner. They're super easy to install, come in the interior color of your choice, and also made in the US of A. Find your application at Covercraft dot com. [ music ]

(LT)>> Just about every single pickup truck that's on the road today has a solid rear axle underneath the rear end. They're durable, inexpensive to manufacture, fairly strong, and easy to work on. Now over the last 70 something years there have been many, many different types of solid rear axles found in different makes of pickup trucks. The main difference is just the size and the strength of the components, but they all function exactly the same way. Now we've shown you guys in the past how we rebuild a rear differential but sometimes we skip over the easier steps. So today we're gonna show you the basics of disassembling a rear end, and it all starts by popping off the cover. [ music ] With the bolts loosened up the seal is broken and the cover removed. Now the fluid is drained out. We'll take off the bolts holding the center pin and slide it out of the carrier. This allows the axles to be pushed in and the C-clips removed so the axles can slide out of the housing. Now the bearing caps are marked for position and can be taken out. The carrier assembly now lifts away and is set aside. The pinion nut is removed and the pinion gear is driven out of the housing with a tapered punch. Man I never get that in one shot. Now the ring gear can be taken off of the carrier. All rear axle assemblies use the principles of leverage to help accelerate a vehicle down the road. Now that actually involves gear ratios. Now there's a lot of different ways to tell what your vehicle has. Whether it's an i-d tag in the glove box, a tag on the rear axle, or some other identifier, but if you have no way to tell there is one way to figure it out and that's using math. First of all you have to count the number of teeth on the ring gear. In our case there are 41. Then you have to count the number of teeth on the pinion gear. This has 11, and then we do some simple math. You divide 41 divided by 11 and that comes out 3.72 and some change. In our world we round up. That's 3.73 to one. Now that's a great overall ratio for a blend between acceleration and a fairly low r-p-m when we're cruising down the highway. Now the other thing that all differentials have is some sort of a way to split power between the rear wheels. This is an open differential, which really kind of sucks for traction. That's why you spin one wheel. When we rebuild this axle later on we'll probably swap this guy out for some sort of a posi or a limited slip differential. The pinion yoke, seal, and roller bearing come out, and the races are driven free. With all the parts removed this axle is ready for some clean up and reassembly.

(Austin)>> We're really looking forward to restoring our '65 fleet side project "Low 'n Slo" and Brothers Trucks makes it super easy to find those hard to find parts, such as door seals, mirrors, and front and rear bumpers. The grilles and emblems are GM licensed reproduction parts, which meet a strict quality guideline, and all the chrome has a high quality finish for a long life. Download your catalog for your classic GMC or Chevy at Brothers Trucks dot com.

(LT)>> Whether you're building a show quality engine or just need to find the last few pieces of hardware to finish up your build ARP makes it easy with their engine and accessory fastener kits. They're available for most popular engines, and you can choose between polished stainless steel or a black oxide finish, and they have both a 12 point and a six point hex head available. Either way they have a tensile strength rating of 180,000 p-s-i, which means they are much stronger than hardware store or even grade eight bolts. We picked up a kit for the five point three in "Project RedTide", and it includes fasteners for exhaust manifolds, the water pump, ignition coils, valley cover, and more. It even comes with some Ultra Torque assembly lube for accurate torque readings. Find your applications at ARP dash bolts dot com.

(Austin)>> We all know Rock Auto dot com is a premier source for o-e-m replacement parts. Well they've recently added Permatex products to their growing line of automotive fluids. Rock Auto now carries Permatex gasket makers, thread compounds, sealants, and other parts lubricants. So that means you don't have to make that extra trip to the hardware store just to get what you need. Instead find Permatex products under the tools and universal parts tab at Rock Auto dot com.

(LT)>> We are one major step closer to wrapping up this Sea Foam Truck Tech Sweepstakes, and that supercharger and freer flowing exhaust will certainly transform how this five point three is going to run and drive.

(Austin)>> Plus we even made it possible for us average height guys to hop in.

(LT)>> Alright well let's give it a test. You didn't even need a step ladder.

(Austin)>> Nice! So next time you see this truck we'll be installing a transmission and some 4.56 gears, and for anything you've seen on today's episode visit Powernation TV dot com.

(LT)>> Thanks for watching Truck Tech and we'll catch you guys next time.

(Austin)>> Hop in man. Let's go do some burnouts.

(LT)>> I love it.