Captain Insaino
Full Access Member
Other than driving on a well-maintained dirt road, all of us non Z71 guys know that our trucks are pretty wimpy out of the box with some serious off road limitations. I’m 90% highway and 10% off road. My main concern was just not getting into trouble. To have a truck that wasn’t a liability in my off road travels. With a one speed transfer case, I’m not going to do anything crazy, I just wanted a competent truck that would survive most common off road situations while not incurring severe on road penalties. So, what worked for me was:
2+” front level with Bilstein 5100’s all around. 1” rear spacers. Combined with trimming the front air dam, my front clearance went from 7” to 12” and rides MUCH better than stock.
Quiet, mild All Terrain tires in my case. I don’t see a lot of snow or ice.
Z71 skid plate kit. A protective functional replacement for the wimpy plastic covers.
Tow/extraction hooks. If getting pulled out from the front is your only option, you are screwed.
LED lighting. A major improvement over stock. I added supplemental lighting behind the grill for a wider beam pattern.
Tuner of your choice to manipulate the shortcomings of AFM, stock transmission settings, throttle response, etc.
I added a K&N so I could hear the engine, but wanted a quiet truck so I did not go with a cat back.
Then there is the looks dept. Other than debadging, nerf style running boards and the level, this wasn’t super important to me.
I am relatively content with the way the truck is now. At least I’m not worried about taking it places.
Please post up your basic performance upgrades and your application. Maybe get a consensus to save the next guy/gal the hours and hours of reading and research most of us have already done on this site.
i’m also looking for ideas on anything I may have missed.
Other than just reading your signatures, I’d be really interested to know what you all have done and why.
2+” front level with Bilstein 5100’s all around. 1” rear spacers. Combined with trimming the front air dam, my front clearance went from 7” to 12” and rides MUCH better than stock.
Quiet, mild All Terrain tires in my case. I don’t see a lot of snow or ice.
Z71 skid plate kit. A protective functional replacement for the wimpy plastic covers.
Tow/extraction hooks. If getting pulled out from the front is your only option, you are screwed.
LED lighting. A major improvement over stock. I added supplemental lighting behind the grill for a wider beam pattern.
Tuner of your choice to manipulate the shortcomings of AFM, stock transmission settings, throttle response, etc.
I added a K&N so I could hear the engine, but wanted a quiet truck so I did not go with a cat back.
Then there is the looks dept. Other than debadging, nerf style running boards and the level, this wasn’t super important to me.
I am relatively content with the way the truck is now. At least I’m not worried about taking it places.
Please post up your basic performance upgrades and your application. Maybe get a consensus to save the next guy/gal the hours and hours of reading and research most of us have already done on this site.
i’m also looking for ideas on anything I may have missed.
Other than just reading your signatures, I’d be really interested to know what you all have done and why.
