| 2006 Chevy Silverado clouds
Our Fantastic Four series has been showcasing many manufacturers and products for your trucks. We've seen quite a few of the truck models that readers have been asking about, and this month we'll be looking into taking some daylight out from underneath an '06 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab two-wheel drive. We talked to Sport Truck Direct in Phoenix and ordered a Western Chassis 4/6-drop with Air Lift Slam Air Load helper 'bags. Continental laid a set of 265/35R22 ContiCrossContact UHP tires on us and we stuffed some 22x9-1/2-inch American Racing Cryptic Black wheels into them. Feeding our addiction for more power, we sought Volant's fully enclosed cold-air intake and one of its polished stainless after-cat exhaust systems. Being the only truck magazine that matters didn't make us superstars; as during this build we had a shop begging for some exposure but didn't return any of our calls. With no time left to get this truck finished, we fell back on the professionals at HTS Innovative Design in Simi Valley, California. HTS received a phone call on Friday evening and had our truck on the rack first thing Saturday morning. Now that's what we call super customer service
| Our American Racing Cryptic black wheels and Continental ContiCrossContact tires were the last parts to go onto the truck, and they made the whole thing look complete. With the low-slung stance and minimal sidewall over the black-face wheels, this once mild-mannered Chevy has taken on a whole new look that definitely says custom and cruisin'.
From The Driver SeatProblems, stutter steps, and general trip-ups seemed to pop up too often with this assembly. If you noticed, we made absolutely no mention of the Slam Air Load carrying kit. Although advertised by Sport Truck Direct as a bolt-on with the Western Chassis kit, it is in fact only a bolt-on for the Belltech C-notch setup. The hardware holes aren't even close to aligning correctly with the Western Chassis C-notch-and for that reason-the Air Lift Slam Air kit is still in the box. This Chevy tows a boat during the summer and a motorcycle trailer during the cooler months, so this modification is mandatory and we will put it on; although the mounts will have to be entirely customized from scratch. We love the transmission crossmember, but no mention of the part was referenced in the directions or the fact that we had to cut and weld steel into place to make the framerails truly flat. Western Chassis' flip kit worked just fine, but our Crew Cab's driveshaft hits one of the frame crossmembers on the upstroke long before the axle contacted the bumpstops. By our own fault, we had to extensively cut the front inner fenders to allow suspension clearance for our chosen tires, as well as cut and flare the rear bed sides so they did not drag on the tire sidewalls. Now, the truck can be driven, but the tires bottom out against the front inner fenders before the lower A-arm contacts the bumpstops. Slow and low is how this Chevy rolls. Western Chassis offers a 3/5 drop kit that would have been better suited for our wheel and tire size. Volant's equipment went on flawlessly and added power without noise; and that is new for us. So, we must be getting old because we like it like that. The Continental tires worked out perfect in this build, as the tires were actually designed for a truck and not a car. Load ratings are way above normal for a tire this size and not that our truck could get there, but the tires are Y-rated for sustained speeds as much as 186 mph. Yeehaw!
| 2006 Chevy Silverado left Front View Done
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED Time Spent Working: Approximately 12 hours (due to plenty of cutting of sheetmetal to clear the tires) Degree of Difficulty: Advanced (frame cutting, drilling, and welding)
PARTS USED: * Western Chassis 4/6 Drop Kit $669.95 * Doetsch Tech shocks $44.95 each (four needed) * Air Lift 25592 Load Controller $149.95 * Air Lift Slam Air Load Booster $273.00 * Continental ContiCrossContact UHP 265/35R22 Tires $274.99 (four needed) * American Racing Cryptic Black 22x9-1/2 Wheels $349.99 (four needed) * Volant 15053 Air Intake $466.99 * Volant 15053750 Exhaust $628.95 * Mounting and balancing tires with lug nuts $50.00 Total Costs: $4,{{{968}}}.56 (Not including tax or installation labor.)
