Bored, Thinking out loud, 2000 Silverado

rjirvine · September 3, 2006

Okay, I gotta vent/rant/think out loud because I'm bored on a Sunday and have a few ideas/questions for my 2000 Silverado with 100k miles (I bought it with 92K), and have about 1k to spend that I recently came into (and am trying to keep it from the ol' lady)

Has anyone tried put the rear brake shield kit and/or the wheel well guards on their trucks? (factory kit) I don't know if I really need them, but am getting antsy to do something to my truck. My Hellwig front sway bar gets shipped on Tuesday, to augment the rear bar I put on last week. The rear one rocks! Other than maybe putting in a mirror with compass, and braided brake lines I think I'm about done "playing". I'm still debating rocker panels (chrome etc., but am not sure if they will look "cheesy") and a tune of some sort (still doing research on a hand held vs, PCM reprogram), I will be replacing the rear parking brake cables too, because they are extremely stiff. I think I'll stick with the stock exhaust, because I do a lot of freeway trips, and enjoy a "quiet ride", but have no experience on aftermarket exhaust's. It's my belief they are too loud? Also, I've read that the stock headers are pretty good unless you go "long tube"? Also, am thinking of putting in a new guage cluster so I can have a trans temp guage, and am also toying with the idea of the guages mounted on the window pillar. A friend has them on his ford diesel truck and they look pretty nice. He also has a Diablo tune, but haven't found too much posititve on them thru the search function for chevy. I'm also thinking of "catch all" carpeted floor mats to replace the crappy stock plastic ones. Thanks for letting me "think out loud"....any opinions welcome!

2500HD4X · September 3, 2006

The two biggest improvements I have enjoyed on my truck have been the tune and the catchall floor mats. The tune makes it "go" better and the mats make it easy to keep the inside clean. If you want a tune-(IMO) stay away from the handhelds, you can get better results with a custom tune for not much more $, especially on a 2000 model (there are a lot more core PCM's available on older trucks). Good luck with it and have fun!

rjirvine · September 3, 2006

I take it the "wait4metune" from Jesse is the best? I just want better economy and perhaps power, nothing fancy, and no towing.

2500HD4X · September 3, 2006

A lot of people on here have used wait4me tunes. I don't know that much about them, but I know he is economical compared to some of the others and people have had good results. Hes also a sponsor/vendor on here so he must be doing something right....

When I got mine, I read the boards, (GM Trucks, LS1TECH, Etc.) and did some research on my own and contacted both of the big tuners that were around back then. I went with Nelson Performance, but it was a tough call between him and a Westers tune-this was several years ago. Basically, my advice would be to do your own research on what is out there, contact the companies and tell them what you are after-see how responsive they are to what you want and make your own decision. There are a few more options out there now and a lot of people swear by just their choice and everything else must be crap. The old "if I got it, it must be the best!!!".

I like my tune and have had no issues with it. It really woke the 6.0 up- but thats just my experience/opinion. Good luck with your decision. Like I said, its my favorite "upgrade" so far-the dual 40 series flowmasters are actually my second favorite...but I like loud!

Elwood 2000 · September 4, 2006

I have a Westers tune on my Silverado and I love it. Also have an Escy cluster. I have a 22" Magnaflow muffler with duals out the back and it is not loud at all. Sound more like a Corvette than a truck. I have Husky liners and love them. Also an AEM Brute Force air intake. It is a bit noisy when you get on it, but otherwise quiet.

I think I just spent your grand and a few $$$ more!

Best of luck with your choices!