Title sums it up fairly well. I am mechanically savvy and can do just about anything with a little guidance and a few tips. I am wondering what it will take to turbocharge a Gen IV 5.3l Silverado pickup. I want to stay under 5k if possible. Cheaper is better but I want to get it done correctly to be reliable! What complete turbo kit options are out there for me for this year and price range? Thanks in advance, don't completely tear me apart, its my first time and I want to learn!

 

Here is a link for most of the parts to get your kit built:

https://www.theturboforums.com/threads/365715-Denmah-super-turbo-special-Sloppy-Style

You will also need to upgrade your fuel system and come up with a way to control it all. Many guys use use the Mega/Micro squirt systems with great success.

 

All for under 1 grand? I apologize if I'm just ignorant but it seems sketchy. Plus I don't know exactly what all I need to make it work, a total parts list is what I really need from someone experienced haha.. I'm sort of lost right now trying to figure out what setup would be good and where to start.

 

There are kits out there.... sts, and kb racing are a couple that come to mind.

 

http://www.sloppymechanics.com/

 

Man, you're best bet is to spend a few weeks just looking through all of the information on this site. Then you should be well enough informed on what all it takes to make a turbo system work. You said you're mechanically saavy, get some tubing, a turbo, and some flanges and weld it all together. You'll not get a lot of feedback on here about kits, we have a separate forum just for that. You'll find that most of us on here build our own kits, or make a kit from some headers, etc.

The Gen IV stuff has been turbo'd many times by many different people. Just read and look at what they did, decide what is best for you, and go do it. You already sound like you're not comfortable with the "Sloppy" method, so decide what you DO want. your budget is more than enough to cover the best of all the parts needed.

 

Thank you all for the great advice, especially you Disney Lincoln! I have looked into the KB racing & trick performance kits and they are looking pretty good. Going to call around and keep researching on these forums. There is a wealth of knowledge here. Thanks all!

 

I'd you're thinking about building your own kit read Denmah's 2010 Silverado build, tons of good info...

 

Read all the sloppy stuff.
A guy local to me just turbocharged his GTO with stock manifolds, all ebay and chinese stuff, welded it himself, cost a total of $2250 including a dyno tune, made 584/512 to the wheels with too large of a cam and an unlocked converter, on 9lbs. Better cam would get him comfortably over 600, and boost the bottom end torque hes loosing.

The key to turbocharging a gen3/gen4 on the cheap is A) being able to weld, and B) not being afraid to use chinese made stuff.