Armo325's 4WD 2017 Silverado Double Cab LT Z71

Armo325 · October 29, 2017

I've had my eye on a new truck for years and decided this was the year to make it happen. I sold my beloved 2005 Tahoe after 10 years and took the plunge on a new Silverado. It is now my project, daily driver and hobby all at the same time.

Mods so far:

Fabtech 6" Gen II suspension lift

Fuel Krank 20x10 (-24mm offset) wheels

Maxxis Bighorn 325/60/R20 tires

McNally 16oz. dual-valve catch can

K&N Blackhawk intake

New cat-back exhaust with Flowmaster Super 44 muffler

Retrofitted GM camper mirrors (swapped door harnesses for light functionality)

Replaced mirror lights with smoked lens marker lights and Boost Auto parts relay for turn signals

Rockford-Fosgate P3SD4-10 subwoofer in custom enclosure

Westin step bars

Replaced tail lights with LED bulbs and resisters

Cleared front turn signal and marker lights and replaced turn signals with LEDs and resistors

Replaced door speakers and dash tweeters

Future plans/wish list

Replace OEM 3.42 gears with AAM gears front and rear - planning on a 4.10 ratio

Big brake kit when one comes available

Replace headlamps with LTZ lamp assemblies (probably going to have to wait until they start hitting salvage yards)

Possibly re-paint to custom color someday.

Some photos:

This is the most recent photo I have right now:

Edited October 29, 2017 by Armo325

2017_whitez71 · October 30, 2017

Looks good. Did you put LTZ headlights on, or install clear lens?

Edited October 31, 2017 by 2017_whitez71

Armo325 · November 1, 2017

On 10/30/2017 at 5:38 PM, 2017_whitez71 said:

Looks good. Did you put LTZ headlights on, or install clear lens?

Thanks!

The lights are the original LT lights with clear lenses. I put LEDs and resistors in place of the OEM bulbs.

I hope to put LTZ lights in eventually but I don’t care to spend the money on a new set right now. I’m hoping to get lucky and find a pair at a salvage yard eventually. I do not expect that will happen any time soon.

Edited November 1, 2017 by Armo325

Armo325 · March 30, 2018

I put this post in the modifications forum, as well, but it makes sense to me to add it to this thread so I can have it all in one place.

Unlike the LTZ headlights, which I love, I don't really care for the styling on the LTZ tail lights. I do, however, like LEDs so I decided to do a swap. For those who haven't considered it, it's a pretty easy process and doesn't require many parts or a ton of skill. Both of those things are good news for me.

Here's the result.

New "bulb" and old bulb:

I prefer to solder all of my connections rather than using the provided wire splice clips. It takes a little longer this way but I like the assurance of a solid connection.

Resistors wired in:

Everything taped up and back in the OEM wire loom:

New LED inside the stock housing:

A couple VERY short clips of the LEDs in action:

I had had a few folks ask what I used for this swap, so here are a couple Amazon links:

Bulbs

Resistors

As you can see, you can get everything you need for $41.97 before tax and shipping. Not too bad if you're looking for an inexpensive mod.

Also, it has been several months now and everything is holding up great. I'm still very happy with the look. I'll try to report back on the durability of the bulbs and resistors after some more time passes.

Edited March 30, 2018 by Armo325

Armo325 · March 30, 2018

I recently cleared the front lights, too. As I mentioned previously, I really like the LTZ headlamps. I also didn't want to spend $1600 on a new set (I might grab a pair down the road when they start making their way to salvage yards) so the Klearz lenses seemed like a decent, less expensive alternative.

As for the process, it was pretty tough and I'm not sure I'd do it again. Bear in mind, however, this was my first attempt at opening sealed headlights and I had a lot to learn in the process. These headlights have a solid bead of permaseal all the way around and it was tough to keep them at a workable temperature. The workable temperature for the permaseal also leaves the plastic housing VERY soft so it was tricky to pry the permaseal out without damaging the housing. There were a lot of trips back and forth from the oven.

The learning curve was pretty good, though. The second one was a lot smoother than the first and I have some tips if anyone is considering it. I'm not especially happy with the quality of my work on them and I definitely notice the imperfections. The lights are properly sealed and work fine but the fit and finish isn't great. As a group of people that care more about your trucks than most, all of you would likely notice my substandard work but I doubt an average person would pay much attention.

Before:

After:

You might have noticed I also swapped the tow mirror turn signals with a set from Boost Auto. I'm pretty happy with those.

Edited March 30, 2018 by Armo325

Armo325 · April 22, 2018

I finally tracked down a reasonably priced set of OEM LTZ headlamps and made the swap. I apologize for the quality of the photos. I'll try to take better ones soon.

Before:

After:

I also decided to change step bars to OEM. The Westin bars are off and I'm hoping to grab a stock set in the near future.

Fix29 · April 23, 2018

Truck looks great man, keep up the nice work!

TX LIMO · April 29, 2018

Truck looks awesome. I have been looking at adding a sub or two to my crew cab. Where did you get the enclosure done? Did you do it yourself or have a local shop do it?

Armo325 · April 29, 2018

4 hours ago, TX LIMO said:

Truck looks awesome. I have been looking at adding a sub or two to my crew cab. Where did you get the enclosure done? Did you do it yourself or have a local shop do it?

Thanks!

I built the box myself. It's the first time I ever tried to make one and it really wasn't bad. The hardest part for me was the carpet. I couldn't find a good color match so I went with gray. The seams aren't perfect but most of it is covered up by the seats.

I wanted to build something that would support one sub and provide some under-seat storage. There's lots of off-the-shelf stuff if you just want storage or just want subs. There is NOTHING out there if you want both.

Here it is in its final stages:

Edited April 29, 2018 by Armo325

TX LIMO · April 30, 2018

Thanks!

I built the box myself. It's the first time I ever tried to make one and it really wasn't bad. The hardest part for me was the carpet. I couldn't find a good color match so I went with gray. The seams aren't perfect but most of it is covered up by the seats.

I wanted to build something that would support one sub and provide some under-seat storage. There's lots of off-the-shelf stuff if you just want storage or just want subs. There is NOTHING out there if you want both.

Here it is in its final stages:

Looks like you did a great job. How does it sound. I did custom build one for my 07 Dodge Mega Cab that I had before trading for my Silverado. I need to figure out some measurements to do one of those for my Crew Cab.

Delivered via my cellular device using a mobile chat forum thingy.

Armo325 · April 30, 2018

38 minutes ago, TX LIMO said:

Looks like you did a great job. How does it sound. I did custom build one for my 07 Dodge Mega Cab that I had before trading for my Silverado. I need to figure out some measurements to do one of those for my Crew Cab.

Thanks again. I meant to mention the sound in my first response. I'm very happy with it. Even with the shallow-mount sub, it was tricky to get enough volume for it. I managed to get just above the low end of the manufacturer's recommended volume range (calculating the volume on that odd shape was a nightmare) and then added a little poly fill to give it a slight bump.

There might be some more pre-built options for a crew cab since they are much more popular than the double cab I bought. There is virtually nothing out there for a double cab. If you build your own, there will likely be a few tricky spots but, since you've already done it once, I suspect you'll have no problems. I did find myself going back and forth between my bench and the truck to make sure the really complex cuts were spot on. It took a while but I'm happy with the result.

TX LIMO · April 30, 2018

Thanks again. I meant to mention the sound in my first response. I'm very happy with it. Even with the shallow-mount sub, it was tricky to get enough volume for it. I managed to get just above the low end of the manufacturer's recommended volume range (calculating the volume on that odd shape was a nightmare) and then added a little poly fill to give it a slight bump.

There might be some more pre-built options for a crew cab since they are much more popular than the double cab I bought. There is virtually nothing out there for a double cab. If you build your own, there will likely be a few tricky spots but, since you've already done it once, I suspect you'll have no problems. I did find myself going back and forth between my bench and the truck to make sure the really complex cuts were spot on. It took a while but I'm happy with the result.

I hear you on the measurements being a pain in the butt. Luckily my Mega Cab didn’t have any crazy shapes to contour around. It was nice because the two 12s just fit snug behind the seat. I may see what prefabricated boxes I can find. Thanks again for the explanation. I’ll let you know what I come up with.

Delivered via my cellular device using a mobile chat forum thingy.

jgraves13 · May 3, 2018

Sub'd, truck looks good

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Armo325 · November 18, 2018

It's been a little while but I have made a few minor updates to the truck since my last post. Here's the new list:

Mods so far:

Fabtech 6" Gen II suspension lift

Fuel Krank 20x10 (-24mm offset) wheels

Maxxis Bighorn 325/60/R20 tires

McNally 16oz. dual-valve catch can

K&N Blackhawk intake

New cat-back exhaust with Flowmaster Super 44 muffler

Retrofitted GM camper mirrors (swapped door harnesses for light functionality)

Replaced mirror lights with smoked lens marker lights and Boost Auto parts relay for turn signals

Rockford-Fosgate P3SD4-10 subwoofer in custom enclosure

Replaced tail lights with LED bulbs and resisters

Replaced headlamp assemblies with LTZ OEM assemblies

Replaced door speakers and dash tweeters

Painted calipers

Frame tube plugs

As much as I liked the black truck with black everything, I decided to add a touch of color and painted the OEM calipers blue. I expect I will eventually replace them with upgraded brakes but I like the subtle touch for now.

I was also very unhappy with the quality of the Westin ProTraxx 4 step bars and preferred the OEM style so I replaced the Westin bars with the GM 4-inch round steps.

Finally, I "borrowed" an idea from the "$50 mods" thread and added some plugs to the ends of the cross members in the frame. Those holes aren't easy to see unless the truck is lifted (mine is) and I didn’t care for the look with the open ends. It was a cheap mod and, in my opinion, really cleaned up the look in the rear wheel wells.

I'm still trying to save some cash to re-gear to 4.10 but that might be a little while so I expect the truck won't change too much in the near future.

I hope everyone has a great holiday season.