2013 Chevrovolet Silverado 2500
The 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 pickup is broken down into three trim levels. At the base is WT, followed by LT and LTZ, with each trim level getting more features along the way. The standard powerplant for this year is the 6.0L Vortec V8, in current form producing 360 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque. New for the year, however, is the option to make the 6.0L a bi-fuel engine, allowing it to run on regular pump gas or compressed natural gas. When running on the latter, power drops slightly to 301 HP/333 TQ. The bigger jobs are still left to the turbo diesel 6.6L Duramax, which uses single rail direction injection to rout 397 horsepower and 765 lb-ft of torque through an upgraded 6-speed Allison automatic gearbox.
Best First Mod
The best first modification to make to a 2013 Silverado 2500 has to be a tuner. With so many features and functionality, a handheld tuner can really help unlock and set up the truck exactly how you want it.
- Performance tunes: Unlock more horsepower & torque
- Eco tunes: Focus on fuel economy
- Towing tunes: Focus on low end torque
Owners usually buy tunes to re-flash their ECU to better match their intended driving profile. Performance tunes increase horsepower and torque (in the neighborhood of 15-25 HP for gas engines, easily double that for the diesel) by revamping the fuel, spark and timing curves, alongside improving throttle response to create an overall more exhilarating drive. Economy tunes are the exact opposite, downgrading the engine and focusing on holding higher gears in order to sip as little fuel as possible. Finally, towing tunes focus on low end torque production and revamp the shift points to hold a higher RPM, facilitating towing a heavy load without the transmission hunting for the right gear. Now, this is just the beginning of what a tuning device can provide, as they can be updated with custom tunes that take into account other performance modifications you may have made to your Silverado. Further, handheld tuners allow you to diagnose and troubleshoot fault codes, read live engine and sensor data, provide an interface to re-calibrate the speedometer, axle ratio and wheel size and additionally control other ECU controlled features like interior lighting, door chimes, daytime running lights and more.
Emissions Friendly Performance
Changing the catalytic converters on a 6.0L 2013 Silverado 2500 can net a few positive effects. First, many check engine light and misfire codes can actually be related to the catalytic converters. As the miles accrue, the catalyst scrubbing media inside the converters do wear down and can get plugged. This causes a ton of back pressure and may cause the engine to lug and throw a misfire code. Replacing the cats alleviates this issue and restores performance. Further, a quality set of high-flow cats will increase performance over stock, particularly when integrated with a full Y-pipe exhaust pipe. This type of setup has much better flow characteristics than the OEM converters and piping and thereby can net another 5-7 horsepower while staying emissions compliant.
