Is a tuner and cold air intake worth the $? Found some tuners for around $450 with a heavy towing tune built in and intakes around $350. Really don’t want a loud exhaust, do they make quieter ones that you can still get some increased performance from? Headers? Just looking for bolt on type mods. I am towing a 5th at around 10,000 lbs. it pulls fine but wouldn’t mind for it to tow better.

Most trucks already have a cold air intake.

I have no direct experience with gas truck tuners but there is a mechanic where I work that had his 2012 6.0 2500hd Chevy tuned and he said it made a world of difference.Ive heard Blackbear performance is one of the best.Join a Chevy truck forum and see what those guys are saying.

Don't waste your $. Either live with it as is, supercharge it if you want or to spend some $ or get a diesel if you're interested in towing performance. Jmo

Take a really close look at where performance gains occur with any "upgrades" you want to do. In many cases, they occur from 3/4 throttle up to full throttle. Most people don't spend any time in those ranges with normal driving. I would be especially critical of cold air intakes and exhaust mods and the claimed increases they show. As was said, you probably already have a cold air intake and the stock exhaust is plenty big enough. You can probably get one that is a little more free-flowing, but at the expense of added noise.I don't have any experience with tuners, so that may be an option to add some HP and torque in a broader range.

Best bang for the buck is EFI live tuning from Blackbear. I have 3 tunes installed on my 09. Wakes up the 6.0 on standard 87 oct fuel. I have th 87-89 performance tune, tow tune and 93 performance tune. I generally pull with the tow tune, or with the standard 87 tune. I have used the 93 tune a few times empty and seeing what its good for... that tune will leave both tire marks down the road if you want... lol. People ask well what do u get with the 600.00 dropped.....well u get rid on most of the TQ management for one. Second u do truly get better fuel mpgs...Third, your 6.0 gains 25-35 hp, and depending on tune.. 40-50 lbs of TQ. is it worth it? Yes. I drive the truck conservatively, don't hot rod it, don't need to. I have increased fuel mpgs by 1-2 on both city and hwy. it's not going to pull like a diesel, but it will pull and drive far better from the detuned factory setting.... I don't have any other mod on my truck, don't need it. The GM 6.0 will really wake up with a cam change, but I'm not doing it. I've worked on LS engine for a long while. They're one of the best ever made. I like them better then my 350 engine for sure. I can tell u that in the 6.0 your power is stronger after 3k, rpm. The so call VVTI kicks in, peek TQ is found around 4K rpm. The nice thing about Blackbear performance is that Justin won't tune it to destroy it. Reallly a great guy to deal with. When u order, he sends you a scanner, you connect it to your truck and run it in for about 1/2 hour. It records the engine parameters and you email him what it recorded. Then he ask what do you want tune wise and he then send you and email back with the custom tunes. You download it on your scanner and then to your truck. Very easy and lifetime tunes! Check out there website, I think that's the best bang for the buck. Sorry to ramble on with the post, tired from last night working. But always up to help out answer questions. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Mods for 2014 GMC 2500 6.0 with .410 gears? | Good Sam Community

ScottG
Nomad
Jul 23, 2018
Most trucks already have a cold air intake.
73guna
Explorer
Jul 23, 2018
I have no direct experience with gas truck tuners but there is a mechanic where I work that had his 2012 6.0 2500hd Chevy tuned and he said it made a world of difference.
Ive heard Blackbear performance is one of the best.
Join a Chevy truck forum and see what those guys are saying.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Jul 23, 2018
Don't waste your $. Either live with it as is, supercharge it if you want or to spend some $ or get a diesel if you're interested in towing performance. Jmo
p220sigman
Explorer
Jul 23, 2018
Take a really close look at where performance gains occur with any "upgrades" you want to do. In many cases, they occur from 3/4 throttle up to full throttle. Most people don't spend any time in those ranges with normal driving. I would be especially critical of cold air intakes and exhaust mods and the claimed increases they show. As was said, you probably already have a cold air intake and the stock exhaust is plenty big enough. You can probably get one that is a little more free-flowing, but at the expense of added noise.

I don't have any experience with tuners, so that may be an option to add some HP and torque in a broader range.
kw_00
Explorer
Jul 23, 2018
Best bang for the buck is EFI live tuning from Blackbear. I have 3 tunes installed on my 09. Wakes up the 6.0 on standard 87 oct fuel. I have th 87-89 performance tune, tow tune and 93 performance tune. I generally pull with the tow tune, or with the standard 87 tune. I have used the 93 tune a few times empty and seeing what its good for... that tune will leave both tire marks down the road if you want... lol. People ask well what do u get with the 600.00 dropped.....well u get rid on most of the TQ management for one. Second u do truly get better fuel mpgs...Third, your 6.0 gains 25-35 hp, and depending on tune.. 40-50 lbs of TQ. is it worth it? Yes. I drive the truck conservatively, don't hot rod it, don't need to. I have increased fuel mpgs by 1-2 on both city and hwy. it's not going to pull like a diesel, but it will pull and drive far better from the detuned factory setting.... I don't have any other mod on my truck, don't need it. The GM 6.0 will really wake up with a cam change, but I'm not doing it. I've worked on LS engine for a long while. They're one of the best ever made. I like them better then my 350 engine for sure. I can tell u that in the 6.0 your power is stronger after 3k, rpm. The so call VVTI kicks in, peek TQ is found around 4K rpm. The nice thing about Blackbear performance is that Justin won't tune it to destroy it. Reallly a great guy to deal with. When u order, he sends you a scanner, you connect it to your truck and run it in for about 1/2 hour. It records the engine parameters and you email him what it recorded. Then he ask what do you want tune wise and he then send you and email back with the custom tunes. You download it on your scanner and then to your truck. Very easy and lifetime tunes! Check out there website, I think that's the best bang for the buck. Sorry to ramble on with the post, tired from last night working. But always up to help out answer questions. Let me know if you have any other questions.
kw_00
Explorer
Jul 23, 2018
Grit dog wrote:
Don't waste your $. Either live with it as is, supercharge it if you want or to spend some $ or get a diesel if you're interested in towing performance. Jmo

Yes sir! Supercharging!!!. I thought of supercharging my next engine project which will be a LS 6.0. Won't be in my 09 or my 69 c-10 but when I get another project truck... I did ponder the thought on adding one to my 09 2500HD but I hear that heat soak will be an issue while pulling my 10k fifth wheel.
parker_rowe
Explorer
Jul 23, 2018
A good tune can make a noticeable difference for that engine.

I don't think you will see any gain from an intake on a mostly stock truck, but if you talk to the guy doing the tuning he should be able to tell you what bolt-ons actually work.

I have also heard good things about Black Bear Performance.
dodge_guy
Explorer II
Jul 23, 2018
Black Bear tunes are the tuner for GM trucks, and are the way to go and will make a huge improvement in how it performs both towing and non towing.

As far as the cold air intake, I’m running a K&N and it works great! You do here some intake resonance under full throttle but it’s not objectionable. And it really improves partial and full throttle performance due to the intake tube and filter flowing better.

I would definitely do the tune!
hawkeye-08
Explorer III
Jul 23, 2018
x2 on BlackBear tune, it is on my wish list for sure.
APT
Explorer
Jul 24, 2018
I have heard nothing but positive comments from those who have BlackBear tunes on their GM trucks. While I agree that peak power improvements are not significant at least in the 2000-4000rpm where most people want them, the transmission shifts and throttle response is really what people notice. I with the shifts would be about 15% higher rpm and never go below 1500rpm, or 2000rpm when using tow/haul mode.