UofAZCats

Thinking about changing out the struts/springs on my truck. I have stock for both but they feel too soft. I want something stiffer. I lowered the front using a drop spindle and don't want to lower it any further so I am looking for struts/springs that match OEM height. I thought about Belltech coilovers but those indicate a 1" to 3" drop which I don't want. Any recommendations?

Picture of the painted caliper once the truck was put back together (note this taken was before I removed the bug deflector). I was not entirely sure how they would look but I am really happy with them.

Decided to make a change and took off the chrome bug deflector. It really changes the look and I really like it. Just worried about chips so I ordered the form fitting bug deflector from AVS that tapes to the front face of the hood. Before I put it on I am going to get it painted red to match the truck. Before: After:

Decided to make a change and took off the chrome bug deflector. It really changes the look and I really like it. Just worried about chips so I ordered the form fitting bug deflector from AVS that tapes to the front face of the hood. Before I put it on I am going to get it painted red to match the truck. Before: After:

I had always liked the look of colored brake calipers. One of my boys got me the Duplicolor Brake Caliper painting kit for Christmas last year. Given you can’t drive the truck for at least 24 hours after painting I just had not found the time to tackle this project until this week. One of my boys is out of town and we were able to use his truck for the week. This gave me the opportunity to finally get this done. Getting all the prep work done took some time. All the research I did before getting starting emphasized prep as the biggest factor in getting a good result. I cleaned the calipers at least three times each starting with Brakeleen and Adams Wheel Cleaner before sanding with 80 grit and then 400 grit sandpaper before finishing up with the t Duplicolor cleaner that comes with the kit. The kit is brush paint kit so I didn’t have to mask much though. One garbage bag each wheel was all I did for masking. As recommended in my research I did not use the provided paint brush and got a better one from Lowe’s. The paint is very thick. I probably put on too heavy a coat on for the initial coat. Part of that is that as I tried to avoid brush strokes I kept putting on more paint to try to smooth out the paint. Overall it did not come out very smooth but unless you are up close you don’t see the imperfections. If it bothers me, I have read that it can be sanded down. I’m going to give it a couple of weeks to see what I think.

Hellwig Sway Bar was as advertised. Great transaction. I highly recommend SWOYER.

I have a 2015 5.3 with stock gears. Like you I used the canned Diablo tune for 87 for awhile but then did the Lew tune. It felt like an improvement to me. I think the shifts were more in line with what I expected/prefered. I don't think anything stops the learning process but in the 2 years I have had Lew's tune it does not feel like it has changed. Don't be afraid to email Lew. I asked him a bunch of questions before finally taking the plunge. I am very happy with my Lew tune.

I put in the 2" drop shackles and removed the rear block to get it level on my 2WD Silverado CC 1500. It had no issues with bottoming out or towing. I loved the look better than raising the front and eventually ended up dropping the whole truck a couple more inches.

Inspired by the others that have recently done the tranmission thermostat delete, I finally got off butt and did it to my truck. I used the Superior Solutions kit and the install went pretty straightforward. I had to improvise since I didn't have snap ring pliers but that was about the only issue. I purchased the kit at https://globaltransmissionparts.com/6l80-6l90-sure-cool-cooler-flow-system-stl010/

Inspired by the others that have recently done the tranmission thermostat delete, I finally got off butt and did it to my truck. I used the Superior Solutions kit and the install went pretty straightforward. I had to improvise since I didn't have snap ring pliers but that was about the only issue.

Great video. I have that same kit and have been planning to do this for some time. This is the best video I have seen on the install. Good work.

I haven't had a rubbing issue on the top of the rear wheels. On rare bumps it does have rubbing on the top of the front wheel wells. Part of that is my front suspension on my 2" front drop. I would have thought the same as you that with my 4" rear drop it would rub the wheel well but even with 285/45/22 wheels (stock size for my model) I don't have rubbing.

I have 1.5" spacers on my truck whihc is lowered 2"/4". I put the 1.5" on because I didn't want to trim the wheel bolts. My wheels do stick out a bit more than I would like. I have purchased 1" spacers but haven't been able to get the wheel bolts trimmed and the spacers installed. I am ruuning the stock rims in the picture. I don't have any pictures showing how much they stick out otherwise I would include them.

Also added another Christmas present - a black chrome Chevy Bowtie exhaust tip. Not much too it but I love the look. Plus I am sure it added about 1,000 hp...

I while back I found the thread that showed how to upgrade puddle lights on the DL3 mirrors to the Chevy Bowtie. I always thought something like that was a cool idea. Sold on getting this done I got on Facebook Market and found a pair of the DL3 mirrors for $150. The seller ended up dropping the price to $100 since I had to drive 2 hours to meet him. The mirrors were in great shape. I used the conversion harness from Dr. Harness. The directions were great and swap went very well. I was able to get the mirror caps swapped out from the typical chrome to the glossy black that coems on the Rally without breaking any of the tabs. Wiring the harness was something Iwas worried about because I didn't want to screw it up but after double and triple checking before I put them in the end result worked out perfect. This Christmas my wife was good enough to get the bowtie puddle lights. Tonight I put them in and, while they are oriented perfectly yet, they look great. I was concerned about the brightness but they look great. Tomorrow I will be able to test them in the daylight.