09 Upgrade Options

[Ragsy1083]

Hey everyone, I bought my Sierra a few months ago, coming back from Dodge to GM, and have loved every minute of owning this truck. I've done some work already, but I was looking into more upgrades for it. For starters, I was looking into getting a suspension lift (somewhere in the realm of a 4-6") and found some options with Rough Country, Superlift, ect. Which company would you all recommend I go with and what size lift? Also, I was looking into installing an iPod adapter for the factory stereo. I have an iPhone and was wondering if the PAL from GM is compatible for it. If not, does anyone have any recommendations?? Finally, has anyone heard if K&N will be releasing a cold air intake for the 09 silverado/sierra? If not, I've also heard of some ram air intake for the silverado/sierra. Manufacturer?? cost?? I'll post pics of my baby when I get her all cleaned up again. Thanks for all the help!

[SeirraRR]

Welome to the site. Congrats on the new truck. Can't wait to see some pics. If you look though the suspension section of the fourms you will find alot of info on lifts there. Not sure on the other ones but I'm sure someone will help out. They always do.

[jro909]

why did you leave dodge? just curious, was looking for more ammunition....welcome

[Harvey Halabookie]

Regarding the intake, I am not sure about the K&N, but I just ordered the Volant kit. Seems to be one of the very few available for the '09. Vararam makes the Ram Air kit, but I emailed them and they replied that due to "changes" in the '09, their kit will not fit in our trucks. Not sure exactly why, but I did not want to wait for them to "develop" one.

[Ragsy1083]

why did you leave dodge? just curious, was looking for more ammunition....welcome

 

The big deciding factors were what I could get out of the truck for the price and actual performance. For the same price of an 09 Ram 1500 SLT 4x4 with base features (Except for the Hemi of course), I could get an '09 Sierra 1500 4x4 with the 5.3L, dual climate control, autodimming rearview mirror, steering wheel controls, tow package, and built in trailer brake controller. Definitely a lot more, especially since Dodge ended the lifetime powertrain warranty last year also. Another factor was the fact that even though the real coil suspension of the new Ram gives a nicer ride, it severly limits what a truck is meant to do, and that's haul, tow, and actually work. There's nothing wrong with using a truck as a daily driver or having fun offroad, but I would like to be prepared if the need ever arises. When you compare the rated towing weights between an equally equipped Ram vs. Sierra/Silverado, the GM can haul/tow 3x as much (this might have improved for the Dodge for the '10 model year, I haven't really done the research on it)

[Bluedog]

The GM PAL SUX! It constantly locks up and says "no iPod" and the only way to reset it is to turn off the ignition and wait 10 minutes so you can switch back to the XM band. It's slow as hell loading, especially if you have a large library on the iPod, and the menus are quite confusing.

 

Buy an aftermarket one...any aftermarket one!

[emwolb469]

I hook up my iPhone using a plane green audio cable in the AUX port on the front of the radio....Its a cheap solution until I get the DVD/Nav system I want.

[trucc_boi]

3.5 mm audio cord to aux port ftw.

 

i got a long cable with an elbow in it so it doesn't stick out or pop out easily for like $5 off amazon.. i can look up the exact one if you want.

 

how much are the aftermarket/gm adapters?

[Ragsy1083]

3.5 mm audio cord to aux port ftw.

 

i got a long cable with an elbow in it so it doesn't stick out or pop out easily for like $5 off amazon.. i can look up the exact one if you want.

 

how much are the aftermarket/gm adapters?

 

From what I've found, both the GM PAL and the iSimple (the aftermarket kit I'm looking at) run around the same price of $150. I currently use an audio cable right now but to use it, I have to remove the case I have on my iPhone so the jack will fit. Also, I would rather use my steering wheel controls to change songs than fumbling with the device itself, let alone the kit makes the interior look a lot cleaner than with the aux connection. Thanks though!