2018 Silverado High Country - Hello, all. New to the forum, but I’ve been reading and following for a bit. I used a lot of guidance from here on my ...

Hello, all. New to the forum, but I’ve been reading and following for a bit. I used a lot of guidance from here on my last truck which was 2015 Silverado LTZ 4x4. Unfortunately, I was hit and totaled it out a few weeks ago. Needing a new truck, went back to my Chevy dealer and got a bit of an upgrade. My wife makes fun of me saying that only I could have someone total my truck out and get an upgrade......hahaha. So, here’s where I am with new truck and the build (or project) that I’m putting together with it so far. I picked it up, and we immediately drove it to FL for vacation. So, the mods and the build didn’t start being applied until this week (I was ordering most of it from the beach sipping on pina coladas....;-)

2018 Chevy Silverado High Country. 5.3L - 8 SPeed -Graphite exterior with Jet Black/Dark Ash interior.

20% window tint on front windows. 5% tint on the front windshield brow. (Going to add tint to stock tinted back window soon for more privacy as it’s not dark enough).

Bilstein 5100’s on all 4 corners. Front maxed out at 1.87” (just under 2”). Not completely level and has the slightest of take, but that’s what I wanted b/c I tow my boat with the truck.

Fuel Maverick Machined 20x9 +20 offset

Nitto Trail Grappler M/T 35x11.50R20

Corsa Performance Exhaust

N-Fab wheel-to-wheel need steps
(Had to take the stock running boards (pontoons) off ASAP

Very nice looking truck!


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Welcome to the High Country! LOL....I gotta ask, do the fronts rub? I run a 2.5 level and my 305/55's rub ever so slightly at full lock, not that I'm ever there.
Love the steps...nice and clean.

Some nice mods so far.

Thank you, ‘05Canuck (and everyone else)! Yes, it does (did...;-)) rub ever so slightly at full lock on the very inside bottom corners of the backside of the front tire wells. I’m sure I’ll make some stomachs turn saying this b/c it’s a brand new $62K truck with only 1,000 miles on it now, but I did just a smidget of trimming in that area as to not have to worry or ever hear the rub. Nothing mechanical was touched with the rubbing, and honestly you would never see the trim job if I didn’t point it out to you as it is so minimal and virtually unnoticeable.

I looked at a lot and tried a lot of different configurations to minimize the rub, and I was dead set on putting 35” of rubber under it. Personally, I made the decision not to add any spacers for the extra .25-.75 inches of level and only used the Bilstein 5100’s. I think a normal full 2” or a RC 2.5” would have cleared as it barely caught that back inside corner down low. It was def. a 35” diameter hit and not a width issue for me. It was one of the reasons why I made the decision to go 11.50s over the 12.50s. Nitto is like the only tire manufacture that I found that I liked that made an 11.50. In addition, they are 8 lbs lighter than the Nitto 12.50, and I think 10 lbs lighter than the Toyo 12.50 per tire, and they have a better load capacity as well which helps since I drag a few things around behind the truck. Doesn’t sound like much, but 8 lbs a tire does help with MPG and gear ratio b/c I have the 3.42 and not looking to rehear anytime soon. Also went with the +20 offset to minimize the rub and have the tires fit flush with the truck. I love a little “aggression” and slight stick out with the offsets, but I didn’t want to chip or nick the paint because it would be so noticeable in a dark color paint, and I wasn’t completely sold on the idea of adding fender flares. So, I wanted the tires flush in width because I do use her off the beaten path (especially in the fall/winter chasing furry critters). When these tires are done and I’m out of warranty (or at least far enough along to know I didn’t get a lemon), all bets are off, and I’ll look at potentially doing different rubber and different offsets.

I can’t say enough about the Bilstein 5100’s. They are AMAZING!!! The only thing I didn’t like about the HIgh Country when I bought it was it seemed a little “squishy” and soft in the suspension. It would almost do this float or bounce over bumps especially at highway speeds on bridges. While my wife loved it (hahaha), I told her “No, this isn’t a suburban or Escalade, it’s a 4 wheel drive truck and will act and handle like one” and I knew I could fix it with the Bilsteins. Even she has commented on how great they are with maintaining such a nice smooth ride (she was expecting a much worse and harsher ride with level and big tires). If you’re looking at shocks and firming up your suspension response while maintaining the most comfortable smooth ride possible, Bilstein 5100s are the way to go.

I know the picks I added make it look as it has some squat, but it doesn’t. It’s just uneven ground. It still has a very, very small amount of rake in it on hard, level ground.

I should have a pretty busy weekend with a few more mods coming in. I’m hoping that I can find the time to add them to the truck this weekend. I received my OPT7 double row LED interior footwell lighting yesterday, I’m expecting my Volant Powercore CAI today, and a DiabloSport inTune i3 Platinum on Friday to recalibrate the speedometer and disabkenthe AFM (maybe start playing with the canned tunes as well even though I do plan on just reaching out Lew and seeing when he can find time to do a custom for me). ****If you’re reading or see this Lew, we haven’t met yet, but I have high hopes in your workmanship.....hahahaha****

Great looking truck!
I love the N-Fab steps. Those are what I've been eyeing lately, since my girls (wife and 2 daughters) are complaining about the jump into the truck. I need something shinny to match the rest of my truck, like yours.

GXPWeasel wrote:Great looking truck!
I love the N-Fab steps. Those are what I've been eyeing lately, since my girls (wife and 2 daughters) are complaining about the jump into the truck. I need something shinny to match the rest of my truck, like yours.

Thanks, GXP! I really like them. I actually had ordered them for my 2015 LTZ that got totaled when I was hit a few weeks ago on I-10 in NOLA. They actually arrived the day I was hit from N-Fab. My 2015 LTZ had the chrome appearance package. I do like the color coding of the HC and Z71, but a small and controlled amount of the shiny bling is will always be appreciated and accepted IMO.

They were super easy to put on. My 9yr old son “helped” (he was a great bolt and wrench sitter/fetcher” while I was underneath the truck and my 11yo daughter supervised.....hahaha. I’m just not a fan of the running boards that come stock on the HC. I think they look great and are attractive on a 2500 especially with lift and tire mods, but I find them odd and weird on 1500s. I will put a couple of pics of the boards and bars below and the difference in appearance.

I’ll likely move to the AMP Research Powersteps in a year or two. Not that I don’t like the N-Fabs because I love them. Best nerf steps on the market. N-Fab wants a 20% restocking fee, and there were other pressing mods that I wanted and could get in this initial mod budget cycle for the price difference and restocking fee since I had them in the garage. It’s just that I rented a loaded Expedition with power steps needing a ride to get around, and fell in love with them. So, I’ll have a set at some point.

Nice truck. I have the AMP steps on my 2015 gmc and love them.

Good looking truck. 2nd on the Amps. My favorite mod still.