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ProfBrown's 1500 Truck Build

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43K views 478 replies 43 participants last post by  ProfBrown  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Bought the truck mid to late January 2017. Kind of a little present to myself, turning 20 this year and always wanted a truck so why not get a good one am I right?

Truck is a 2013 GMC Sierra SLE with the 5.3, 6 speed auto, Extended cab, 6.5 foot bed, rear gear is a 3.08 (I know the worst one) and has leather, parking assist, and the 20 inch chromes (going soon trust me) other than that it seems to be a base model.

Here is the pic of the day I drove it home....
First day.jpg


After about two days I felt the need to spend some money! Yeah I know I'm about to catch flak for putting HIDs in a reflector housing, but hey I haven't been flashed yet!
headlight swap.jpg


After that, I had to wait a while, stuff gets expensive fast!! Here are the spindles I decided to go with. I was looking at spacer originally, but then decided spindles were the best for me with what I was wanting to do to the truck. Went with the 3.5" lift spindles from CST, I will slowly be turning this truck into more and more of a prerunner!
Lift spindles.jpg


Below are pics of the installed kit and comparisons! Let me know what you guys think!! So you guys know the pics of the front end without the wheels on (just looking at the rotors) is with the front of the truck jacked at an equal height.
Stock hieght front wheel.jpg

Front hieght with spindle.jpg

Lift comparison (no spindle).jpg

Lift spindle comparison (with spindle).jpg

stock vs lift spindle (double pic).jpg

Post lift spindle (single).jpg
 

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#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
So I went ahead and joined the group who have removed the lower front valance. Here are some pics! Yeah the wheels are dirty I know, they are going to be gone/ for sale soon. Have some aftermarket wheels on order from Americas Tire.
Left Side with valance.JPG

Left Side without Valance.JPG

Right side with valance.JPG

Right Side without valance.JPG

Front With valance.JPG

Front End Pic without valance.JPG


I would recommend most people do this. As I'm going with wider and taller tires, the supposed mileage loss is not even a worry anymore. Plus it looks good and only takes 5-10 minutes.
 

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#7 ·
project_darkphoenix_ said:
Looks good! Should look into swapping some Denali/All Terrain parts on and some custom headlights/tail lights.
Click to expand...
I've already done an HID kit on it and I don't like the longevity of a lot of the aftermarket lights, as well as I can't find one I like enough to justify spending the money on ya know? The stock ones look good and are still really clear! Also, the front end is going to have a decently major makeover in the future. I will be taking off the other part of the black plastic valance and wiring the current fog light wires to LED pods that I will mount on a custom prerunner style front bumper. Only parts left stock on the front end body wise will be the body color portion of the bumper, the headlights, and maybe the grill.
 
#10 ·
project_darkphoenix_ said:
I liked stock too, that's why I retrofitted mine. The Sierras look really good with quad projectors.
Click to expand...
I must say those look really good! I still like the look of the reflector housing though. I'm weird I know, but the projector style just isn't what I'm going for, and also the look doesn't seem right for these trucks. That's just my crazy opinion though.
 
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#11 ·
Everyone has their own tastes, You're right. I just was tired of getting flashed with PnP stuff in reflectors. Granted I'm on 8" of lift plus tires, but still. I wouldn't totally leave out projectors as a possibility though, mostly because the output is so much better with HIDs in a projector. I won't get preachy like some guys do though, as long as they're aimed low, roll on haha.
 
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#12 ·
project_darkphoenix_ said:
Everyone has their own tastes, You're right. I just was tired of getting flashed with PnP stuff in reflectors. Granted I'm on 8" of lift plus tires, but still. I wouldn't totally leave out projectors as a possibility though, mostly because the output is so much better with HIDs in a projector. I won't get preachy like some guys do though, as long as they're aimed low, roll on haha.
Click to expand...
I have the 6500k kit and the color is really clear. I'm against the blue. I have mine aimed low, other than the 3.5 inch lift. Ive never been flashed with them. But I get where you're coming from. Maybe I will switch to a retro fit later in the course of ownership.
 
#13 · (Edited by Moderator)
So since the last time I posted up here I took out the stock 1.25 inch lift block that comes on these trucks and trashed the stock rear shocks. ORW was out of the Bilstein 5100 shocks so I had to pay more for the Fox 0-1 inch lift shocks. The Ubolts I'm using as well as the lift block are both iniversal parts I grabbed off the counter at my local O'Riellys and Auto Zone. They got the job done just fine, bolted and slide right into place no worries. Same with the shocks, the ride is way better than stock, the OEM shocks were for sure shot and needed to go. I totally blanked on getting pictures of the shocks and lift blocks but nothing crazy fancy going on there. Also put in the 1 inch ring spacer that goes on top of the Strut that came with the CST Lift Spindle Kit. Total lift now up front is 4.5 inches, and the back is 3/4 of an inch.

Ohh and she got some new shoes!! The rims are Method NV 17x8.5, the tires are General Grabber M/Ts with the red letter size is 33x12.50x17 (its a discontinued tire, so I'm sorry to say this is probably one of the last sets you'll ever see). I got this set up specifically because of the look and reviews. The look fits the Cali Prerunner look and I absolutely love it. Im Still having some issues with rub, but its only on the plastic and Ill have to do some trimming soon. Nothing major and the lift spindle kit said I would be able to fit the tire no problem, but hey this tire must just be a bit bigger than the tire they tested so no harm no foul. Like I said just some slight plastic trimming and Ill be fine. Let me know what you guys think!
IMG_5783.JPG

IMG_5786.JPG

IMG_5782.JPG

IMG_5781.JPG


Ill be looking to get some more pictures of it on the flat but I couldn't wait to snap some pics.
 

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#14 ·
A quick little review of the tires and how I like them. These are pretty nice tires, they are considered a M/T so they make some noise but nothing turning up the stereo a bit wont take care of. The ride quality in better than it was before, maybe due to more side wall or just a fresher less dry tire but I like it none the less. My mileage hasn't seemed to change much but all my driving has been in town and semi spirited. The look I'm in love with. I mean come on, meets the prerunner style I'm shooting for! Little bit of rubbing, I assume its partially from the previous owner bumping something and slightly bending the passenger side of the front bumper, and partially from the offset of these wheels. No matter I'll be doing some slight trimming of the front valance on the bottom corner as that seems to be the only place I'm rubbing that is dangerous. The rest is just at full lock where it rubs a tad on the fender liner so I'll call that good. They look good covered with some So Cal dirt on em too that's for sure! Running them at 34 psi right now. Tire when cold on the side wall says 35 max, they are a C load range. All my reading says they are a heavy tire with a nice thick side wall for desert conditions. Have nothing bad to say about them. Have you seen the tread pattern on these things???
 
#17 ·
Alright so Diablo tune has been in for a bit now and I'm liking it a lot. Shifts are buttery smooth with normal driving. Rpm at a stop light is nice and smooth, out side of that rough patch. More responsive, maybe a bit more power, hard to tell for sure. And haven't driven it enough to see if mileage has changed. I'm having an issue with wot shifting almost like it's got a really aggressive shift kit in it, but I can just avoid that for now. Monkeyed with shift pressures at wot and it didn't seem to do much. Canned 87 tune, firm shift pressure, idle rpm in gear up 50 rpm, speed calibration set to 33 inch tires, changed shift pressure (all pressure only on the wot shift pressure parameter) 1-2 -20%, 2-3 -17%, 3-4 -15%, 4-5 -12%. Can't remember if I changed 5-6, if I did it was -10%.

I also washed it.
Image
Image

This color I wasn't 100% on at first but I love it now! Not very common around these parts!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#22 ·
Ordered the following package deal from Corsa. Thanks to some really smart guys here I saved around $160 on this whole package. Plus the $100 mail in rebate that I am eligible for, and being able to sell the factory stuff on Craigslist, I imagine this kit might only cost me around 200 in the long run.
http://corsaperformance.com/viewpart.as ... &cfg=4026#
 
#26 ·
Update: Well I'm still waiting on my exhaust and Intake to start its way over to Cali from Ohio... Hope they get the ball moving soon, getting antsy over it not being on its way yet!
Also, seems my oil pressure sensor is acting up again. It peaked for a while, and then went back to normal operation, but seems to be going back to being pegged when the truck is running. I hear its a real B to do, so hopefully when my CAI and exhaust comes in, I can just do all that at the same time. Might as well look into seeing how dirty the intake manifold is, shes seen some dirt, and has almost 100k on her, so I would assume a little early summer cleaning wouldn't hurt!
 
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