The majority of our readers are very familiar with aftermarket parts. Basically, aftermarket products serve to improve or customize your truck. This may take the form of exterior dress-up products, such as billet pieces, custom taillights and headlights, special paint, larger and flashier wheels, upgraded tires, stylized hoods, and much more. On the inside, you might be considering custom leather seating, aftermarket gauges, carbon-fiber dash pieces, upgraded mobile electronics, a billet steering wheel, and additional interior goodies. Performance-wise, you can consider after-cat exhaust systems, chips, bigger and better brake components, performance intakes, and a number of other engine enhancers. For better ride and handling ability, take a look at a number of suspension upgrades, including upgraded springs and shocks, antisway bars, lowering and lifted kits, and more.
Many of the above mentioned components are relatively inexpensive, and often easy to install. Here, we present a special simple upgrade focus, with numerous insights into improving your truck's appeal. There's a bit of everything, from upgraded exhaust systems to gauge upgrades to exterior billet enhancements. The next few pages will serve to give you a number of ideas to refine your ride, and most are easy on the wallet and do-it-yourselfer-friendly.
Read along, and decide what upgrades are right for your own truck. Once you start adding a few aftermarket products, it's hard to stop, and you'll be well on your way to creating a customized truck that will definitely stand out from the rest.
| custom Upgrades For Your Custom Truck cadillac Gauge Cluster
Caddy Gauge ClusterThis install is definitely easy, from start to finish. The hardest aspect of the install is ordering the part, which if you know all of the information, will only take a couple of days. Trader's is no newcomer to the world of performance truck accessories, and when we found out the company had a new gauge cluster for Silverados, Tahoes, Yukons, and Denalis, we grabbed our camera and headed over to see what all the hype was about. The only tricky part of this install is finding out which gauge cluster is currently in your truck. What the crew at Trader's needs is your vehicle's VIN number, how many miles are on it, and which style of Caddy cluster you desire. For less than $400, you can have Cadillac styling and as a bonus, the transmission temperature gauge will now work in your truck. For more information, contact Trader's.
| custom Upgrades For Your Custom Truck engine
Aftermarket Air IntakeNo big surprise here - an intake will improve horsepower, torque, and gas mileage by simply allowing more air into the combustion chamber. What might be a surprise to the average truck owner is the ease of installation of this performance-adder. When choosing an intake for your application, consider the following: type of materials used, location, warranty, and CARB approval. For one lucky Suburban owner, we tried out CGS Motorsports' new intake for the 5.3L to see if it truly was as easy as it looks. Less than 30 minutes later, we had a better-looking engine compartment, a better acceleration sound, and a better feel from the gas pedal. CGS Motorsports makes intakes and exhaust systems for most fullsize trucks and many mini-trucks as well. One big plus you get with the CGS kit is all parts are CARB-approved and can be ordered with heatshields.
| With a fresh new face, our Envoy looked like a mini Denali. Who says luxury has to cost a fortune?
Billet GrilleUpdating the bland front end of our resident '02 GMC Envoy was a no-brainer for the talented team at TruckPerformance.com. When we placed the call to the company's tech line, a Putco stainless-steel polished Punch grille was recommended to answer our SUV boredom. The crew at TruckPerformance.com knows trucks and SUVs, as thousands of calls a day are handled and stock trucks no longer look factory flat with the company's assistance. Carrying parts from every major manufacturer, with parts ranging from lights to lift kits to superchargers, small or large, TruckPerformance.com has your accessory answers. Follow along as we install a Putco Punch grille in 30 minutes with only one Allen wrench.
| custom Upgrades For Your Custom Truck b And B Exhaust System
After-Cat Exhaust SystemQuality. A simple word with not so simple implications. When we send that $800 monthly payment in the mail every month for our luxury truck or SUV, we don't want to add cheap parts to it when improving the ride, handling, and performance of our daily drivers. When it came time to install an exhaust system on one of our '03 Hummer H2s, we called upon one company where quality is a given: B&B Exhaust. Quality was evident as soon as we opened the box. Manufactured from T-304 stainless steel, the entire system was polished to a shine, ending with two 4-inch double-wall tips. This kit is a true dual exhaust, with 2-1/2-inch piping from front to back. After 30 minutes, we fired up the H2 to a noticeable grumble that sounded like the 6.0L actually had some gutsy performance. We traveled to Westminster, California, to CTL Motorsports for the photo shoot and the crew had us out of there in less than 45 minutes. Trust us when we say these guys know H2 Hummers, and tell them we sent you. Follow along as we take you through the simple install of this quality system.
