Want a fast Denali AWD

[fngh]

HAHAHAHA, so I should cancel the gofundme then, got it. Thank

We are here for you.

Try to always carefully 'plan' your future mods, so that you can also carefully plan on how you will pay for them. As many folks here on this Forum can attest, the costs of mods can get way out of hand really quickly, if not carefully planned.

And, while everybody here will love to help you spend your money, don't count on any of us to contribute to your monetary fund to achieve your mods.

Did it backwards but hahahaha and thank you. Yes, first I need a battle plan. So far I gotta do something bout that clunk. It literally makes me wince and go eeesh audibly every time it happens. Don't remember if I mentioned it but I got it w a flow master cat back. Its literally the most clean growl I ever heard outta a 4 wheeled vehicle owned by me. Sorry, first place all time is my first gen 06 Suzuki Hayabusa LE w headers and D&D straight can duals. Blows flames too. Best bike I ever owned. Anyways, I was thinking bout dipping my toe in the shallow end first cost wise. Im not broke but TT and SC are currently a lil over budget but I could spare a couple (2) grand wringing out some power. Reliability is important as I do lots of long boring slab drives, and will be dragging the bike up to 500mi a day. Not very often but in between I want more. Fuel Econ sux anyways so not really a concern. I guess the easy way to say it is bolt on until I find enough for forced induction. Thanks for the reply and I'm all ears. Appreciate your time and hope to hear back. Take care! Sincerely, Mike

 

[fngh]

Honestly the only way it's going get "faster" is weight reduction and engine work, all the other stuff will make it "sound nice" but wont get you from point A to point B any faster. A tune like others have noted will make it more enjoyable to drive.

Yes! thank you! drivability is very important to me. I do at least 2 500mi days a month to see fam in PHX. Mpg is not a concern, I know she's always gon be thirsty. Thanks man, Ima look into the tune thing. Also, how difficult or extensive is gearing mods? I do not know but can only assume given its full time awd status it not like regearing a rear end on an old mustang( had a 2000 gt w 3.55 and then 4.11) or Camaro. Or is it? Lol, I need to win the damn lotto, thats the real issue. OK cool, thanks so much, Ima get in touch w the black bear folks and hear what they gotta say. Much appreciated! Sincerely, mike

 

[fngh]

No reason to delete the VVT. The only people who say to delete it are scared of it because they don't know how to tune it properly. The VVT has the ability to get the power down low where you need it with a smaller cam that doesn't trash the drivability. To get what you can accomplish with the VVT out of a bigger cam you're going to need a torque converter, headers, etc. and you won't make power until 3k RPM (meaning it'll be slower than stock until you get to 3k RPM) which also isn't good for towing.

Appreciate the heads up. I don't tow heavy, but I do tow a kinda big bike(547lb Hayabusa, wet) plus trailer(3hundred and change). Is that enough to matter? Also, 3k rpm is a long way up, at least how I currently drive and I do enjoy the grunt off the line. Hmmm, guess I gotta make some decisions. Well thanks for the advice and appreciate ur time. Be well. Sincerely, Mike

 

[67RS427]

Yes! thank you! drivability is very important to me. I do at least 2 500mi days a month to see fam in PHX. Mpg is not a concern, I know she's always gon be thirsty. Thanks man, Ima look into the tune thing. Also, how difficult or extensive is gearing mods? I do not know but can only assume given its full time awd status it not like regearing a rear end on an old mustang( had a 2000 gt w 3.55 and then 4.11) or Camaro. Or is it? Lol, I need to win the damn lotto, thats the real issue. OK cool, thanks so much, Ima get in touch w the black bear folks and hear what they gotta say. Much appreciated! Sincerely, mike

Don't bother with gears... The 1st gear in the 6L80 is a stump puller and if you end up making decent power down the road, it won't hook with a 4.11 gear. Mine doesn't hook with stock gears but I'm making 1,000+ hp with a 402" iron block and ported LSA blower on E85. I make PLENTY of power below 3,000 RPM with my pretty large BTR Stage 3 CAM. I probably make double the HP below 3k RPM than these trucks make stock at peak RPM.

With a $2k budget, start with a tune, headers/exhaust & intake. You can also afford a CAM swap for under your budget and make pretty good power still.

 

[ThisIsLivin]

I went with an Airaid tube and K&N filter on the stock box. I went with Gibson exhaust as it was the only stainless 3.5" I could find, and on my 2015 they dyno'd a 22hp gain. I did mostly trans tuning and I knocked .7 seconds off of my 0-60 time with just these mods. I also recommend long tube headers if you can get away with them. I put them on my 03 Suburban with a CAI and custom tune and it is night and day different than stock. If you are considering a cam also consider sending your heads to Katech, they do a CNC port for $499.00. That will really wake it up.

 

[avalonandl]

First thing to do is check to see if you have the OE plugs and wires. If you do get new ones. Cheap mod and will improve performance and MPG.

You should be able to get 18 mpg on the highway. Also clean the throttle body. I thinka a Black bear tune will help. You only have 91 octane I think in AZ and Commiefornia.

 

[67RS427]

I went with an Airaid tube and K&N filter on the stock box. I went with Gibson exhaust as it was the only stainless 3.5" I could find, and on my 2015 they dyno'd a 22hp gain. I did mostly trans tuning and I knocked .7 seconds off of my 0-60 time with just these mods. I also recommend long tube headers if you can get away with them. I put them on my 03 Suburban with a CAI and custom tune and it is night and day different than stock. If you are considering a cam also consider sending your heads to Katech, they do a CNC port for $499.00. That will really wake it up.

I'm running Kooks 1 7/8" Headers and a gutted Kooks Y Pipe... The OEM Y pipe back on the 6.2L is already 3.5" stainless so I just cut out the muffler and replaced it and did a resonator delete as well. I don't see the need to spend a ton of money on a 3.5" cat back when you can just replace the muffler for $80 and do different tips if you want.

 

[imkwuzn]

Hi everyone! My name is mike and I'm new here and to the full size truck world. I will get right to the point. Very recently, like a month ago I picked up a 2011 Denali 6.2 awd flex fuel and want more out of it. Its now got 106,*** miles? or really close. My question(s) is/are this. How do I start? What is the route the experts(you guys) would take to get this thing to really move? I do not have the dough to go S/C or TT yet but would love to get a lil more or a lot more until that day. I have ZERO experience w these trucks, please keep that in mind. I am willing to pay someone to do the work if necessary btw. Do I start w K&N? New plugs? Flash? That kinda stuff. Rookie stuff. Im not ashamed to crawl before walking. I plan on keeping this truck for awhile so I want to enjoy it. Also, I live in Huntington Beach, CA so if anybody has a guy, that'd be awesome as I am not very skilled nor equipped to do much. Just bein honest. Any and all recommendations are appreciated, even you turbo n supercharger guys as that day will come. Appreciate ur help and hope to hear back soon. Thank you. Sincerely, Mike

As a fellow SoCal resident, the best advice I can give you is to be sure whatever mods you make are CARB legal. Even a cold air intake needs to have a CARB sticker on it or they will fail your vehicle without even testing it. Ask me how I know! They will absolutely inspect your exhaust with a mirror and if you don’t have a factory cat, you better have the paperwork proving the replacement is legal. I know some people have “a guy” but just be careful because most places will not risk their business or license. Best of luck.

 

[mikeseay]

If you haven’t figured it out by now
“Speed cost money, how fast do you want to go?”
And it will snowball on you, build a good strong running engine and it will tear up your transmission, so you build a good strong transmission and that engine and transmission will rip your rear end apart. All the while you don’t get to enjoy your truck because it’s broke or you are working on it all the time and you are also broke. Been there done that! Enjoy your truck

 

[Tonyrodz]

If you haven’t figured it out by now
“Speed cost money, how fast do you want to go?”
And it will snowball on you, build a good strong running engine and it will tear up your transmission, so you build a good strong transmission and that engine and transmission will rip your rear end apart. All the while you don’t get to enjoy your truck because it’s broke or you are working on it all the time and you are also broke. Been there done that! Enjoy your truck

Domino effect.

 

[Kelly Steeves]

Congrats on your new YD AWD...I also picked up a 2011 YD AWD last month and joined this forum...So much to learn....So much help here...For peace of mind I changed and flushed every thing in the 1st week. With only 37,000 miles everything was black, from the tranny flush, power steering, diffs, and brake fluid. The rad was nice and clean but I flushed that as well... It might not run any better, but when I firer her up and head out I have smile on my face with no worries...

 

[FrankU]

Kelly , Something isn't right there. At 37K miles the only fluid that should be dark is the oil.....if it wasn't changed.

 

[Big Mama]

As the saying goes “horsepower is expensive, how fast do you want to go?” The BB tune wakes these rigs up pretty well without a lot of effort.

 

[Jjdenali]

I just like the way a more aggressive cam sounds is all and would be willing to sacrifice low end for the big cam lopey idle. Bah-rohm...bah-Rohm..bah-rohm.

I kept the VVT and have a very lopey idle. We tried to tune as much of it out as we could because my wife keeps getting asked questions she doesnt know the answer to lol. Its a Gwatney performance stage 2 VVT cam. Ill post a video if i can find it.

 

[swathdiver]

...I picked up a 2011 Denali 6.2 awd flex fuel and want more out of it. Its now got 106,*** miles? or really close. My question(s) is/are this. How do I start?

After changing the fluids and plugs and wires and such, the tune is the basis for all future mods, do this first. High dollar fluids like Red Line deliver better gas mileage which translates to more power to the pavement so consider that.

Then you'll have to decide how fast you want to go, how much driveability to sacrifice along with a budget. 3.73 gears will give you a nice hole shot advantage over another Denali, provided you have the right tires to hook up with!

 

[ls1frc]

If you haven’t figured it out by now
“Speed cost money, how fast do you want to go?”
And it will snowball on you, build a good strong running engine and it will tear up your transmission, so you build a good strong transmission and that engine and transmission will rip your rear end apart. All the while you don’t get to enjoy your truck because it’s broke or you are working on it all the time and you are also broke. Been there done that! Enjoy your truck

This. I have to stop myself weekly from slapping a blower on. Will be cheaper in the long run to just have a faster car. B

I did a 6.2 swap, headers and vvt cam. Goes mid 5's 0-60 prob runs mid 13s in 1/4. Its a 6k lb vehicle, to go much faster than that with any reliability youre gonna pay.

 

[91RS]

I kept the VVT and have a very lopey idle. We tried to tune as much of it out as we could because my wife keeps getting asked questions she doesnt know the answer to lol. Its a Gwatney performance stage 2 VVT cam. Ill post a video if i can find it.

I’d love to hear a video. I’ve been thinking about replacing the valve stem seals and springs on my Yukon since it has 185k miles and I didn’t think to do it when I deleted the AFM hardware but if I do all that work I was thinking about throwing a Gwatney stage 1 cam in it. I didn’t know about them when I originally deleted the AFM or I would have done it then. Texas Speed will only sell their VVT cams in a kit and I didn’t need their kit because I already had most of what I needed.

 

[Jjdenali]

 

[ivin74]

Sounds bad ass!!

 

[Jjdenali]

Sounds bad ass!!

Thank you!