03 Suburban Performance

[MBurke]

Hello, We have a 2003 Chevy suburban with 73k miles. Looking at two things....What about the K&N Air Filter kits ? Do they do what they claim ? Improve gas millage a little and improve the torque ?

And looking for some good floor mats and cargo mats. Does anyone use mats that Cabelas sell ??

Does anyone have any suggestions on either one of these items ?? Or have any other suggestions on improving performance.

Thanks

Mike

[aczr2k]

As for floor mats check out the weathertech molded ones, cabelas has there own version. Wouldn't waste my money on a k&n airfilter, for the little difference it makes.

[polarsusd81]

I am not comparing apples to apples here, but I had an 02 S-10 with the 4.3 V6 and an auto. I installed the air raid cold air intake as well as a throttle body spacer. Before the install I was averaging 19 mpg and after I got 21 mpg. I kept a log of every tank of gas I put in and it was a noticable difference on gas mileage. Now as far as torque, my trusty butt dyno told me there was more power there, but it really isn't going to be enough to notice, unless you put it on an actual dyno to see the numbers, you wont notice much. The increase in mileage alone was worth it to me, as I was putting on 45,000 miles a year at the time.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I am also not a big fan of K&N filters. The big reason is the majority of the ones I see are neglected. In order for these to work they need to be cleaned which seems to be the problem. Then there is the initial cost. If you figure out how many regular air filters you can buy and your current mileage vs. the cost of the filter and the mileage savings and the cleaning/maintenance is it really worth it?

The other thought is ford has a TSB out for MAF sensor contamination from over oiled "high flow" filters. If they are over oiled the oil particles can collect on the MAF sensor which will attract dirt wich will ultimately mess up the signals it gives out wich leads to some funky driveabilty issues.

[polarsusd81]

Definitely good point Airjer. They do have to be cleaned regularly, and they do have to be taken care of. I never really had any problems with mine, cleaned it about every 8-12 weeks and it worked fine, but I can see what you are talking about with other people I know that run them.

The initial cost part is why I went with the air raid intake versus the K&N. I got the filter kit and the throttle body spacer for under 300 bucks, where as the K&N kit was like 275 alone for my truck. Most of the cold air intake kits will work pretty equally, but there are differences. If you do decide to purchase one, make sure you do some research.

[Hookmaster]

I have their TrailGear 2 floor mats in the front of my 04 Silverado and have been happy with them. In the back are another brand that I can't recall that fit better than the TrailGear brand.

[jwhjr]

I've had Husky Liner molded floor mats in my truck for about 4 yrs now and have had good luck with them. If you search around online you can find decent prices on them.

[MBurke]

Thanks for the suggestions

[jerkin'm]

I had an 02' Suburban and was in the same boat..Not enough power for towing. Thought about getting one of the chips, or filter, exhaust combo...I didn't really care for the ride though when towing either...Ended up getting a 3/4 ton burb with the 8.1 motor..No more performance worries..