I was thinking of over the course of time investing in a cold air intake, throttle body spacer mass air flow sensor, and a reprogramer.  Do these things really help or are they just a scam.  I have a 2007 silverado classic 5.3.  It's all stock.  I see these things all over the place but do they really make a difference?  My experience has been with older cars with carbs.  If you wanted more power it took more time then an hour bolting on an air intake or plugging in a reprogrammer.  

Reprogrammers can work if you stop using 87 octane gas. As it sits, that engine has to tolerate 87 octane by retarding spark a lot at times. You will see a overall boost in power just by using at least 89 octane in it all the time. I NEVER use 87 in any of my modern fuel injected vehicles. THe only reason that your engine has a knock sensor is to quell knock before you hear it to limit consumer complaints as they strive to burn cheapest possible fuel while it quietly steals your MPG and power. Only modern engine have long been MPG and power rated on 93 octane fuel but they are not required to tell you that on sticker. YOu cannot burn 87 octane fuel in a engine with 9 to 1 CR or more without spark trickery and you cannot load a more aggressive timing curve and feel results without better fuel. SOme tunes give you the illusion of more power because that is easy to do because that is a drive by wire truck with no link between foot and throttle valve and they can have software rampup opening quicker and farther so it feels stronger part throttle. On cool air intake, this is kinda a waste in my book. If you install/use a CarChip in OBD2 port and monitor intake air temp you will find that there is little to gain there overall.  

if you're gonna run a programmer, you will need to open up the air flow to achieve the full potential of your upgrade. cold air wont make much of a difference, just get MORE air with a different airbox like a k&n. if you run in the dirt, use a paper filter or a big sock over your aftermarket foam filter. k&n and fram's air hog filters increase airflow by allowing more air to get through. consequently, more fine particles of dirt and sand also get through. changing the filter or socking it when offroad will reduce a little performance, but its better for your engine, especially if you go to the beach or the sand dunes. if you have played with carb engines, you prob know the old trick of flipping the air cleaner top upside down to achieve more airflow. you can feel the difference. a new intake will help, and what the programmer ppl dont tell you is the full advertised power gains are not achieved with all stock components. you're on the right track for making the programmer achieve its full potential. go for a better breathing exhaust, too. a throttle body spacer will allow the fuel & air more time to atomize, so they help, too. basically, yeah, buy the fun stuff and make your truck faster. snoball was right about the gas, run high octane if you want to get good perf. and mileage.  

K7N is more hype than value on a new truck . That engine is well tuned intake from factory. Given HP and MPG wars in Detroit is power and MPG gains were that "easy" they would do it. Buy and use a CarChip to read and record engine data (air temp, air flow, manifold pressure and so on) and you will find that it is more hype than reality. K&N's tap into people wanting to believe in silver bullets. Also the oil vapor on a K&N has wiped out many mass air  flow sensors on GM products so be CAREFULL!! They are expensive to replace.  

Ok, i kinda get what your saying.  I didn't really think it was that effective and easy.  As far as the octane.  I wish I could put higher octane in but between my trucks gas milage and the price of high octane I don't think it is worth it, unless the reprogramer effects the MPG so much that paying extra for high octane will balance out the cost in the long run.  thanks for the info.  

Try this, run a few tank of 89 or better and I think you will find that MPG average will increase more than enough to pay fuel cost. It is cheaper to drive my cars on 89 or better than 87 because they use less fuel. If you are getting 15 MPG, a .5 MPG increase will "pay" for 89. It will run better too.  

I will give it a shot.  

If you want to speed up ECM learning new fuel, pull ECM fuse for a few minutes and replace it as that clears old timing retard data and starts fresh.