Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
Hell yeah! Me too. I love sleepers, and that's a super sleeper.
RENAMED!! The adventures of Chase and his 2006 Yukon XL Denali!! Follow along on my travels!
- Thread starter adventurenali92
- Start date
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adventurenali92
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Yeah those track hawk GCs are pretty fast. Her trail hawk package still has the 5.7 hemi in it. It’s got some good get up and go power. But nothing like our rigs. And it’s so quiet when you step on it. Lol. Nothing like the nice rumble comin from the Nali when I step on it to pass someone! 
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adventurenali92
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Haven’t been around much lately. Been stupid busy with work on the ski resort since getting back from mammoth on the 19th of December. Haven’t even seen my family yet to do Christmas with them. I’ve worked more over time in the last four weeks on the ski resort than I did the entire last ski season. Crazy! Plus when the snow clears and the roads dry, the clients start calling like crazy and want their cars washed. My only day off on over three weeks, was last Wednesday and I spent it washing cars for my client that owns the mechanic shop. Finally yesterday I had had enough and I called my boss @ 7:30am and said I’m sick I can’t make it to work today. Fortunately I have a ton of sick pay built up so I used some of it and still got paid for yesterday. Lol.
At any rate I’d noticed less than a week after getting my new front bumper cover painted and the body shop fixed the gap, a red transfer scratch in my fresh paint!! I was PISSED!!! We had a snow storm just after it got done at the shop, and some dumbass flatlander probably brushed it in a parking lot. So I finally had time yesterday after washing the tank to grab out my clay bar, and my torq polisher and some CG V38 polish and take it out. And then reapply a fresh layer of hydroslick ceramic coat over the polished area. Looks so much better.
At any rate I’d noticed less than a week after getting my new front bumper cover painted and the body shop fixed the gap, a red transfer scratch in my fresh paint!! I was PISSED!!! We had a snow storm just after it got done at the shop, and some dumbass flatlander probably brushed it in a parking lot. So I finally had time yesterday after washing the tank to grab out my clay bar, and my torq polisher and some CG V38 polish and take it out. And then reapply a fresh layer of hydroslick ceramic coat over the polished area. Looks so much better.
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adventurenali92
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And then retard me brushed against a trash receptacle yesterday pulling into my moms house to drop stuff, and put a scratch into the passenger side backseat door and a little bit into the panel above the rear wheel 
I gave it a quick clay, And then while I had the polisher out, I hit those spots too and the V38 polish cleaned it up quite nicely, and then reapplied ceramic coat. Before with scratch:
After polish and reapply ceramic coating:
I gave it a quick clay, And then while I had the polisher out, I hit those spots too and the V38 polish cleaned it up quite nicely, and then reapplied ceramic coat. Before with scratch:
After polish and reapply ceramic coating:
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adventurenali92
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Pro tip I learned from a high end detailer I follow on Instagram that’s also a good buddy.
TIRES! Even after scrubbing them during a wash often times they will still have a layer of nasty brown gunk covering the rubber. It’s actually a chemical in the rubber compound that has oxidized onto the outer edge of the tire. To get rid of it, grab yourself a can of stoner tarminator, it’s an aerosol can designed to remover pitch, tar, and tree sap. Spray a bit on a rag and start scrubbing your tires, it’ll 86 that brown gunk, pull off any old residual tire shine, leave your tire with a natural grey sheen, which is actually what the tire is supposed to look like clean. This is what my tires look like after wash and then a scrub with tarminator, they look like they’re dressed with shine but they are not.
Doing this extra step to your tires will also help eliminate tire shine fling off, and will make your tire shine last longer on your tires because the tire shine is actually applied the rubber of the tire instead being applied over the layer of brown gunk.
TIRES! Even after scrubbing them during a wash often times they will still have a layer of nasty brown gunk covering the rubber. It’s actually a chemical in the rubber compound that has oxidized onto the outer edge of the tire. To get rid of it, grab yourself a can of stoner tarminator, it’s an aerosol can designed to remover pitch, tar, and tree sap. Spray a bit on a rag and start scrubbing your tires, it’ll 86 that brown gunk, pull off any old residual tire shine, leave your tire with a natural grey sheen, which is actually what the tire is supposed to look like clean. This is what my tires look like after wash and then a scrub with tarminator, they look like they’re dressed with shine but they are not.
Doing this extra step to your tires will also help eliminate tire shine fling off, and will make your tire shine last longer on your tires because the tire shine is actually applied the rubber of the tire instead being applied over the layer of brown gunk.
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adventurenali92
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LONG POST ALERT!! Haha
So 2 years and 30,000 miles later it was time for new shoes! I knew it was coming and was incessantly searching craigslist to find a decent set of 275/60 series tires to replace my nitto dura grapplers. Overall I was happy with another set of them, but I was coming up empty handed. Then last week the owner of the mechanic shop had brand new general grabber tires put on his new super duty that he bought recently and a 2 inch lift kit. So his stock almost new 275/65 series Michelin tires were gonna get posted for sale. I’m standing there looking at them thinking damn I wish those tires would fit on my Nali! I had that exact tire on my stock 17 inch Denali wheels, and were hands down the best tire I ever had on this truck. Granted the 17s made a big difference in ride quality, but those tires were awesome! They rode quietly, cornered really well, and had really awesome grip in both dry and wet/snow conditions. I never once spun out or got stuck with those tires. And really like the slightly more aggressive all terrain look yet not super beefy.
Well after a little persuasion on Dan’s part with how cheap he’d sell me the tires, I said to hell with it let’s do it! And I’m SO GLAD I DID!! Here’s a little teaser of the first tire mock up last week to see how the tire would fit on stock ride height, and what we would need to change:
Tire fit on stock suspension but it was super close to rubbing at full lock, on both the lower corner of my bumper cover, as well as the inner fender liner. So naturally the talk led to a leveling kit......
So 2 years and 30,000 miles later it was time for new shoes! I knew it was coming and was incessantly searching craigslist to find a decent set of 275/60 series tires to replace my nitto dura grapplers. Overall I was happy with another set of them, but I was coming up empty handed. Then last week the owner of the mechanic shop had brand new general grabber tires put on his new super duty that he bought recently and a 2 inch lift kit. So his stock almost new 275/65 series Michelin tires were gonna get posted for sale. I’m standing there looking at them thinking damn I wish those tires would fit on my Nali! I had that exact tire on my stock 17 inch Denali wheels, and were hands down the best tire I ever had on this truck. Granted the 17s made a big difference in ride quality, but those tires were awesome! They rode quietly, cornered really well, and had really awesome grip in both dry and wet/snow conditions. I never once spun out or got stuck with those tires. And really like the slightly more aggressive all terrain look yet not super beefy.
Well after a little persuasion on Dan’s part with how cheap he’d sell me the tires, I said to hell with it let’s do it! And I’m SO GLAD I DID!! Here’s a little teaser of the first tire mock up last week to see how the tire would fit on stock ride height, and what we would need to change:
Tire fit on stock suspension but it was super close to rubbing at full lock, on both the lower corner of my bumper cover, as well as the inner fender liner. So naturally the talk led to a leveling kit......
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HiHoeSilver
Away!
Score one for the good guys! Lift that bad girl up!
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adventurenali92
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So after 5 years of listening to everyone on here telling me to do a drop kit, I ignored them and did the exact opposite! I brought the front end up! Lol.
While I was initially hesitant, I figured it couldn’t hurt too much, and when Dan told me how much he could get a simple set of leveling keys for, and the alignment, and tire mount, I just couldn’t pass it up! It was too good of a deal and I really wanted the Michelin tires! So up it went on leveling keys and 275/65/R20 Michelin LTX A/T2 tires. I absolutely love the ride, having my freshly painted front bumper cover a little higher off the ground is also a big plus for driving in the snow and not having the paint get trashed! It’s a tiny bit higher than where I expected it to be, and for those who are suspension experts correct me if I’m wrong here, I’m guessing it’ll settle down a tad bit as I drive it around the next few days and not be quite so tall.... but we shall see. For now I’m just gonna enjoy it. Denali’s unofficial nickname has always been the tank, and then my friends that I snowbaord with call him the mammoth road tank, since we always take him to mammoth on our snowboard training trips! Now he really does have the road tank look! Haha
While I was initially hesitant, I figured it couldn’t hurt too much, and when Dan told me how much he could get a simple set of leveling keys for, and the alignment, and tire mount, I just couldn’t pass it up! It was too good of a deal and I really wanted the Michelin tires! So up it went on leveling keys and 275/65/R20 Michelin LTX A/T2 tires. I absolutely love the ride, having my freshly painted front bumper cover a little higher off the ground is also a big plus for driving in the snow and not having the paint get trashed! It’s a tiny bit higher than where I expected it to be, and for those who are suspension experts correct me if I’m wrong here, I’m guessing it’ll settle down a tad bit as I drive it around the next few days and not be quite so tall.... but we shall see. For now I’m just gonna enjoy it. Denali’s unofficial nickname has always been the tank, and then my friends that I snowbaord with call him the mammoth road tank, since we always take him to mammoth on our snowboard training trips! Now he really does have the road tank look! Haha
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adventurenali92
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He’s a boy... lol. Finn is his official name, but see last post for the nickname that now fits him even more haha
HiHoeSilver
Away!
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adventurenali92
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So here’s a quick shot of the front end, got everything all cleaned up when I got home, tires rinsed off and grime cleaned off, but it was dark when I finished. So I’ll take some fresh shots in the morning off the stance. Old nitto tires:
Still had some a little tread left but I also didn’t want to push them, especially with how much I’m driving right now.
Before level and wheel clearance:
Still had some a little tread left but I also didn’t want to push them, especially with how much I’m driving right now.
Before level and wheel clearance:
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adventurenali92
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After level, alignment, and new tires:
Also while it was up on the rack for a test fit, we inspected all the front end steering stuff. Turns out my tie rods are all good. No play like I previously had thought. But pitman arms were bad again, so I had them replaced and Dan got me AC Delco replacement Pittman’s. So that’s all handled and I shouldn’t have to worry about front end stuff for a little while either. Which I’m also happy about!
Also while it was up on the rack for a test fit, we inspected all the front end steering stuff. Turns out my tie rods are all good. No play like I previously had thought. But pitman arms were bad again, so I had them replaced and Dan got me AC Delco replacement Pittman’s. So that’s all handled and I shouldn’t have to worry about front end stuff for a little while either. Which I’m also happy about!
Awesome! Where’s the leveled pics?!? I just turned my factory keys last week, and will be doing a couple more turns this week. May end up using the keys I bought, but depending on where she ends up. I wanna see the mammoths leveled pics! [emoji106][emoji16] ok you were posting while I was asking. Lol. Looks great man!!
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adventurenali92
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Thanks friend!!
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adventurenali92
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Um excuse me.... boys can be pretty too ya know!!! I know cuz I’m a handsome country boy.... hahahahWay too purdy to be a boy. Jussayin.
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adventurenali92
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Stay tuned tomorrow morning for some better lit full shots of everything all clean and some different angles.
Handsome, not pretty.. [emoji106][emoji6]Um excuse me.... boys can be pretty too ya know!!! I know cuz I’m a handsome country boy.... hahahah
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adventurenali92
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Better lighting this morning! Please excuse the water from the rain that I didn’t have time to dry off before leaving for work....
I’m no @Fosscore when it comes to clean shots of my ride.... lol
Also I believe the bottom of my front bumper measured roughly 15.5” off the ground yesterday when I measured after pulling in the driveway. And 39.25” from top of the wheel well to the ground after the level kit. I’ll be curious to see if the front end settles down a tad after a few days. I’ll remeasure.
I’m no @Fosscore when it comes to clean shots of my ride.... lol
Also I believe the bottom of my front bumper measured roughly 15.5” off the ground yesterday when I measured after pulling in the driveway. And 39.25” from top of the wheel well to the ground after the level kit. I’ll be curious to see if the front end settles down a tad after a few days. I’ll remeasure.
Very nice! Imagine it’s going to settle just a little. Tires & wheels look good. No rubbing? Or do you need to clearance a bit?Better lighting this morning! Please excuse the water from the rain that I didn’t have time to dry off before leaving for work....
I’m no @Fosscore when it comes to clean shots of my ride.... lol
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Also I believe the bottom of my front bumper measured roughly 15.5” off the ground yesterday when I measured after pulling in the driveway. And 39.25” from top of the wheel well to the ground after the level kit. I’ll be curious to see if the front end settles down a tad after a few days. I’ll remeasure.
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adventurenali92
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No rubbing whatsoever.
