I've been driving a Jeep Liberty for a couple years as my daily driver (and I've hated virtually every minute of it). Long story short, a 2105 Silverado crew cab followed me home this weekend (just in time for fireworks, my wife and I are both licensed "Exhibitors Assistants" (pyro techs) for professional shows). Within 12 hours of signing paperwork, we were hauling stuff around the site and driving through in 6" of soft muddy grass (oops). It's a truck, right?

I need a front license plate bracket. My truck came from out of state and what they gave me requires drilling holes in the bumper (I'd rather not due to rust concerns). Is there anything like the SLP bracket for the 4th gens that fits the new trucks?

I'm looking for a roll up (semi rigid/secure) tonneau cover.

Throttle response sucks, so I'm going to need a programmer to fix the throttle feel. I'm not worried about power (it makes enough for now), but the throttle could use some help. It opens really slow and then you start stabbing it to get it to move. I'm not a fan.

Has anybody fixed any of these issues? Tips, tricks or recommended parts?

Heh, my wife and I are pyrotechnical techs, too! We have the licenses to prove it! Small world, huh? This weekend was busy for us, too. I'm still trying to recover.

The poor throttle response is part of the 'torque limiting' programming, that is really pulling most of the timing out of the engine to keep you from killing the spawn in the Prius in front of you at the light.

We went with BlackBear Performance to tune our Tahoe, and Jason got rid of ALL of that lag. He uses EFI Live, so if you have that, you can easily update afterward with email tunes. I do not know what others use, though, or what works.

Sweet! I figured there were more techs around here somewhere. We've been doing it for a few years now. We did a private show on Friday (a LARGE private show and they hired Journey to play the show in his backyard!?!?!?!?!) and then a municipal show (Chillicothe, Oh) on Sat. I'm still sore...

Funny you should say that, I ran over a Prius in my Jeep a few months ago (did I mention that here?) She made a right on red...and stopped after moving a few feet and didn't have her foot on the brake. It was my fault, I just touched the gas and hit her at 5 mph).

I want a tuner so I can swap it in and out before service. I'm not looking for power, just better throttle response (I jumped in our 4 cylinder Honda accord and "launched it" from stabbing the gas pedal like I've learned to do in the truck now...that's pretty sad).

My wife and I have been helping a friend for almost 20 years now. Saturday's show was at a local country club we've been at for about 11 years now, after the previous team pretty much blew themselves up (put a shell in the tube upside down)

This friend had been doing it for many years, and was doing shows when he was in a local Impala SS club we belonged to. Many of us from that club joined him. We'd make a club event out of it. Since a couple of the members were great cooks, we'd bring the BBQs, ice chests, families, set up, and have front row seats during the event. Afterwards, there was a legion of Impala SSs lighting the up the field during clean up.

Back then, it was a manual event, we'd run a hand auger to dig the holes to drop 3", 4", 5" and 6" pipes into the ground. They served as the launch tubes. During the event, we'd drop the shells into the tubes, and one of us would run by with a road flare tied to a stick to light the fuse. Then you step to the next pipe and wait.... for the shell to go off. After that, a guy comes by and 'rakes' the remains out with a stick that has drywall screws driven into it. That keeps the next shell from being set off by the burning embers that are the remains of the last shell you set off.

I really miss those days, but what we do now is safer. When we manually-fired, the fuse you light has two burn rates, the tip burns at about an inch a second. It's about 3" long. The rest of the ~2' fuse burns at a rate of about 300'/sec. So you light the fuse, take two steps to the next pipe, and WHUMP! the shell goes off! 3" and 4" shells make a nice bang, the 5" and 6" shells take your breath away. Great, great fun!!

We're electronic now, but it's a manual electronic show. We touch a 12v probe to the circuit running to the tubes on a trailer. It's about the same work, and we still have a very front-row-seat to the fun (especially when a shell short-shoots), but you're not up close and personal any more, and misfires are more common than before. We put 400 shells into the air in 29 minutes, not counting the 'grand finally'.


I understand about the tune, thing, though. You have a warranty. The Tahoe didn't, so I'm fine with that. The tuner doesn't lock his tunes, though, so if I want to get into that stuff, I can play with the tune we have, or swap it out for the old tune if necessary (he saved that to the hand-held tuner, so I have that, too). That is one of the nice things about BlackBear, is they'll save the factory tune, in case you have a warranty worry. You DO have to buy the EFI-Live package, though, which is a requirement of BlackBear, but since I already had it, I was only out the tune money (and he updated my way-out-of-date firmware for free!). IIRC, though, they can now tell if you have flashed the ECM (I'm guessing they keep a counter, so the dealer will compare the number of official times you've been flashed, vs. the counter), so that may be moot.

We got our truck tuned for 93, got the torque limiting tune removed, and got the shifts firmed up,and moved around a bit. It's a LOT better that way, and I was able to get almost 20 MPG on the highway with that tune. We kept AFM, as this isn't a race truck, no matter how my wife drives it. That annoying hesitation off the line is completely gone, which makes me a very happy driver.

I have a Bak-Flip cover on my truck, it's nice, mostly conveninet, but not water tight or cheap. I can sent pics if you want.

And it looks like my neighbor has one that slides on his Fjiord. 3 or 4 panels, and they look to slide under one another in one way or another. I'll try to see what brand he has when he gets back into town.

I averaged 20.5 (rolling 50 mile average) on our trips to fireworks this weekend. That's dead stock with under 500 miles on it. It's beating my Jeep in fuel economy and makes nearly double the HP. lol.



They have a roll up version that I'm considering. It has aluminum slats and rolls up (externally) and you secure it against the back window (in that area).

Bakflip F1 here.
Pricey, but extremely easy to use and very versatile.




Also an old man step ....

How do you like the 3 panel version? How much water tends to get in (I know they leak somewhat)?

I wanted this style:

http://www.bakfliptonneaucover.com/revolver_x2

I came close to ordering a roll-up version.
I was concerned that the tabs to stck out and into the bed to secure and latch the cover would be in the way or get beat up or reach out and grab me or my gear.
If you catch your leg or back on that, it will leave a mark and make you say bad words.

The panel type latches (at least on the F1) have clear side rails with nothing sticking out.

I will warn you about BAK Industries ... if you don;t purchase from an authorized dealer, there is no warranty.
You can save a couple hundred bucks by ordering through amazon or some other mail order house. But you will be on your own.
I had a latch issue and found that little nugget of information. It was an easy fix and cost a couple bux to do so at Home Depot.

During a decent rain, there is a trickle of water that leaks by when stationary. One channel on each side of the bed will be damp. It has to be a heavy, prolonged downpour for there to be any standing water. At speed, it isn't as bad.

Installation was easy.

As far as use, I've hauled one of these from Denton to near San Antonio (~300 miles) ...

https://www.allseasonsfeeders.com/ProductDi...84%a2_Broadcast

Good info. Does it fold flat against the window? I usually tied things down at the front of the cab...but I worried about pulling things against it with ratchet straps.

Mine has the bumper corner steps (like the Avalanche). So I can skip the steps for now. And this is shorter than my old 3500 SRW (it was on factory 31" tires) so I can almost hop right to the tailgate.

Is this model a didsplacement on demand model?
will the tuner you get defeat that?

I have a module that that plugs into the OBD2 port and defeats that option without leaving a footprint in the ECU.
I no longer need it ...

It is the displacement on demand (V4/V8) version. Honestly, it's so seamless in operation and it does appear to save fuel so I'm ok with leaving it operational (unless I find a reason not to). It isn't a flex fuel version, it's the straight 5.3 gas motor (355 hp/383 ft lbs).

Why did you kill that part?

I have one of the BAK roll-ups on my 15 Silverado. I think any of the BAK tonneaus are nice options; comes down to your preference on roll-up or folding. I have no complaints so far and am very happy with my purchase.

I have a Sierra max tow with a L94 motor (420/460) and 6 speed auto.
I bought the module because I was having lurching issues and was convinced it was the DoD.
Seems the DoD wasn't a part of the max tow, but on the Denali w/o max tow.

Turns out it was a bad throttle rheostat.
So I have this module with nothing to use it on.

Yup ... it was a coin toss

Ah, that makes sense. That's a nice package. I forgot about the max tow, but I really don't need it. I'm sure I won't have 9,200 lbs on the back of this one. I only ever had 9,500 behind my old 3500. So I think this will do the trick for now.

No ... it covers a couple inches of the bed.

It has rubber pads that ride against the back glass.
Not thrilled about that.

My camper weighs 7400 dry.

Doesn't take much gear and water to get close to the max.
More camper than I need for the lease, the price was right.

I get 20-22 on the hiway at 65 and 15.5 commuting.
And its speed limited the 92 ... I'm not out of 3rd ...

That's a lot of camper. I could see how you could load that up and be over weight in a hurry. You still need food, clothes and ammo.

I'm seeing 21.5 (on the only trips we've taken) and I'm running about 15.5 commuting in the city. I can't really complain. My old 3500 only got 14.007 on one tank of fuel on the freeway. I usually got 8-12 out of it around town. This is nearly as much truck (as long as I don't need to drop 2 tons in the bed, this one won't do that) for my uses and the mileage is way better (and 4wd is nice, the last one was a 2wd).

92? I figured it was 106 (but I hadn't gone looking). I guess I'm getting old. I used to do the "very necessary top speed test" on every car. Never had my Jeep over 85-90 (which was likely as fast as it would go anyway...lol), never saw anything beyond 95-ish in my old truck (long story about an idiot kid while I was pulling a trailer). Haven't been over 85 in this one (and typically I look down and go "oops, didn't know I was running that fast" and then I slow and set the cruise).

You're definitely getting old....

Better get the Vette out for a blast through the gears, before it's too late.

If it ever quits raining?!?!?!?! This summer has been one big thunderstorm...

That one might be a little tougher to do the top speed test. I'm sure it will run past 170 and likely past 180. With the gearing, 6,800 rpm in 5th is 201 mph. That puts it at the approximate HP peak in the low to mid 190 range (if it's enough power). I'm going to need some space to play. lol

I've had one issue with the bak-flip, twice. The latch by the tailgate has pulled away from the panel since they just use self tapping screws. It's only been the passenger side, the first time I just moved the screws over an inch or so and the second time I added extra screws. Of course the first time it happened I was past the warranty period do I didn't bother to call.

Twice for me as well.

Both times the release cable loops through the latch's eye and uses a crimp.

Apparently either the crimping guy was either hung over or was thinking about the weekend ...

They do standing miles up there somewhere. There's a guy with a 70 Coupe DeVille who finally won his 200-MPH Club cert who lives in Ohio. That's the place to play with the top end.

We FINALLY dried out. Well, not dried out, I still have at least an inch of water still surrounding our shop. But at least the daily 5" rainfalls have stopped for a while. There's hope for you yet! Of course, you can now hearing them building the BIG mosquitoes out in the field at night. Heck, there's FISH in the drainage ditch by our road.

http://ecta-lsr.net/welcome-to-ecta-lsr/ab...hio-mile-track/

I wouldn't hit top speed in a mile. I'd need more space to see what it would run. We talked about that event when it first started a few years ago and found the pricing to be about the same as a day at Mid Ohio. So, we figured we'd wind up at Mid Ohio if we were spending the cash.

I should make it a point to at least go down and watch one year.

I wound up buying an "Undercover" brand "Flex" tri fold tonneau. My local truck accessory dealer sells Undercover and Bak Industries stuff and they prefer the Undercover. Pricing was similar and they were within about $30 of online pricing, so I bought it from them.

I wound up buying a set of stainless step bars (I really didn't want shiny). I was going to have them sprayed with Rhino Liner but they were afraid it wouldn't stick. So...stainless it is. They actually look decent on the truck, better than I expected. And I had the stock bedliner pulled out and I did a spray in Rhino Liner (I had one in my last truck and it was fantastic).

It's all done (I don't want to spend any more money on truck parts, I just want to drive it).

Nice! I think my neighbor has a cover like that on his Fjoird.

We have the spray-in on both of our trucks, and LOVE it. The only problem we've seen is the stuff will oxidize in the sun, and rub off when you rub against it. Kind of sux when you reach over the side of the bed to fetch something out of the bed and end up with a black smudge on your shirt, or arm. Otherwise, the stuff is great.

My last truck had a Rhino and in 5 years it turned very slightly grey, but that's it. My friend has an old Rhino in his 2001 F250 (that was purchased with the liner in it and very well used) and it's been good so far as well. Either way, due to the plastic bed rails and the cover, it will stay out of the sun. I hope that fixes that issue.

I liked this cover because it had "struts" to hold it when it was folded...it doesn't lay against/rub on the back of the cab. It also has latches to secure it if you only fold it twice. We went to the range the other day and went through a pouring (wipers on high) rainstorm and everything stayed dry in the bed. A little water can get in the bed from rain when it's sitting, but it's not much and I've been pretty pleased. I expected it to leak a lot more than it does.

Other than the black smudging that they give you with age they've otherwise worn quite well. Grease, gas and oil don't affect the coatings at all, and they take sliding of stuff over the surface quite well.

What's this 'rain' you speak of?

I swallowed the pill too, cept mine is a GMC:



SLT 5.3 4x4 Leather holy crap there is a bunch of doo-dads comaired to the '93 I've drove for the last 6 years.

Big reason I went for the latest generation trucks is they come standard with the 9.5" axle instead of the 8.6", the direct injection motor makes more power than the gen IV, and wow there are a lot more features.

I feel like a kid on Christmas right now

Nice truck! Did you get the HID lights? I didn't buy the LTZ, so I didn't get the HIDs on mine. And I was ok without leather (though I've had leather in most of my recent cars, so I could go either way).

I've done some digging and I also found that these had the 9.5" axle in them. It's not as bomb proof as the 11.5 in my last truck, but it should be a lot more efficient. And the 6L80 transmission has two overdrive gears (I wasn't aware of that either).

What gears did you get in yours?

I just took mine on a 900 mile road trip (from Columbus to the Summit Point Raceway area) and I averaged 18.5 mpg for the entire trip (city, highway, stuck in traffic and all). We were seeing up to 21.5 average (on the rolling 50 mile average) in the mountains with the cruise set on 77-80 mph (with lots of 6-8% grades). I can't complain about that at all.

It requires "Dexos" rated oil (0-20) and it holds 8.5 quarts (seriously). They claim GM can tell if you run non Dexos rated oil and the engine fails. I was not aware of the new Dexos spec, but the green cap Mobil 1 0-20 has the Dexos logo on it.

The LTZ does not have HID headlights-just a projector high beam. It still uses the same H11 low beam bulb too. Also the oil capcity is 8 quarts. GM issued an addendum reducing it from 8.5 to 8 quarts.

I bought a '14 Silverado last year.

Glad to see you're still around! (or have I missed it when you've been here?)

I pulled the 8.5 number from my manual. I guess I'll start with 8 and see what the dipstick says. Good info, thanks!

Mine's GMC, so I don't know what LTZ is But the I have the SLT which has "Headlamps, halogen projector with LED signature" upgraded over the SLE.

3.42 gear ratio, exactly what I wanted. 9.5" axle will last forever behind the usage you and I will put it to :-)

I haven't looked into oil changes yet because I get it free at the dealership for 2 years. After that, $29.95 for GM spec synthetic. With that price I'm done doing it myself.

I was somewhat indifferent on leather at first, but I have 2 kids so I thought it would be good for easy clean up. Now I'm glad I have it. GMC is offering 20% off on select SLT models so with the deal that I got an SLT was as cheap as an SLE so it was a no brainer. I'm also glad I have the front and rear back-up camera's because the shoulders are broad on these trucks.

SLT = LTZ

I did the 3.42's for the tow rating and it makes the gearing about perfect on the truck. I'm glad I held out for that ratio. And you're right, the 9.5" rear is plenty strong for anything I'll ever do with this truck.

Any idea what diff is in the front end? Dana? 8.5"?

Then keep the Dexos oil in it! It seems the current crop of LS3/L99s have weak rocker trunions, which break, letting the needle bearings drop into the engine. Sometimes it's caught as a tapping noise in the valvetrain, sometimes it's caught on engine teardown after the car is towed into the dealership after loosing power.

Some are bringing their brand new Chevy SSs home to start engine mods, and discover needle bearings laying in the head when they pull the valve covers.

Heck, the engine in our '12 Caprice had a cam and lifter replacement after a lifter failure, but that's associated with the AFM system.

Yea, I wasn't saying not to run the Dexos oil...just that I was unaware of a new oil spec out "there". Just mentioning the things I've learned in case I can save Stan some time. lol.

Yeah, I was surprised at that, too. Had to go get a couple of quarts so we could add some before autocrossing the Caprice. Luckily, we can use Dexos-grade in the other vehicles we're running Mobil1 in so we'll just cycle out the old stuff for the other cars, and probably start running the older vehicles on the Dexos, too.

The Caprice was great fun on the autocross course, BTW.

I'm pretty sure it is the 8.25" AAM that has been in there since the 80's, with some enhancements.

I ordered this roll up tonneau cover: http://www.realtruck.com/truxport-tonneau-...2015Y856MA.html

4.5 stars and almost 700 reviews, made in the USA, and only $270 on sale.

I lurk. I really miss you guys. We should have a reunion one day or get together.

Also check out gm-trucks.com and get a catch can as your first mod.

We can always go to the range again!

Well, it's been a bit over a year now. I figured it's a good time to come back and give an update.

The 4wd system is amazing. We've been shooting on my friends farm when the ground was super soft. It was soft enough that we were past the sidewalls of the tires (in mud deeper than the height of the tire sidewalls) and it never missed a beat. It didn't try to get stuck, never gave any indication that it wasn't going to just motor through. We didn't have mud all over the sides or anything, it wasn't "mudding" in the traditional sense. We were just out in grassy pastures that were so soft we sank 6-8" into the grass which quickly became mud. The AWD setting is great in winter, there's no binding of the AWD system in turns when you run out of snow, etc.

Fuel mileage is quite good. The "best 50 mile average" gauge is showing 22.1 mpg. That was run from rush hour in Columbus to about 60 miles east. I had the cruise set at 75, then 77 and finally 80 for the last 20 miles. I was in traffic and they seemed to be breaking some air for me, but I'll still take it.

I towed the Camaro home from Grand Rapids on a 1,700 lb open trailer and with the cruise set at 80 for a portion of the trip. I still saw about 15 mpg while towing the Camaro. That's pretty impressive. However, the factory shocks are junk. They were "bad" when I bought it but I tried to live with them. The trailer bounced the rear end off the bumpstops (or nearly so) at every expansion joint. It was awful. The truck has plenty of power (though I'll always take 200 more HP if anybody wants to build them that way), but the shocks are pathetic. I've been resisting the temptation to install some Bilstiens, but I think that's on the list for very soon (assuming I keep the truck). The integrated brake controller was flawless. It worked seamlessly. I was really impressed. I had a Tekonsha Prodigy in my last truck and it always seemed to have too much initial bite or to soft at first and too much as braking increased. It was still one of the best brake controllers out there, but it was never exactly "right". I never had trouble stopping the trailers (but my 3500 and my new truck both have pretty serious brakes), but the integrated system is the best brake controller I've ever used.

The tonneau cover has been great. However, the company that built it used screws that are just long enough for the "point" of the screw to hit the layer of metal below before getting tight. So, they stripped some of the fasteners to the point that they virtually fell out when I tried to adjust the latches on the cover. Then the "bars" that run across the center (with the release cables through them) have come loose. Just the second one actually, but it's fallen off a few times. Last night I put steel pop rivets in it and pulled the rusty screws out. I then emailed the company because it appears to have a 3 year warranty (far longer than I expected). I'll keep you posted.

The local Rhino liner shop did the Rhino liner. It's the thinnest Rhino liner I've ever seen. I had one in my old 3500 and it was indestructible, truly tough stuff. This one tears anytime I put something in it. I moved a 4 cubic foot dorm fridge and it tore holes through to the paint. I took it to back and they keep patching it with urethane (like you glue windshields in with). I contacted Rhino directly and they contacted the shop who called me for a meeting. When I got there, he offered to put urethane on the spots. Awesome. So, I'm actually thinking about trading this truck in and buying another one....and going to Line-X.

I still dislike the throttle response. I'm still not a fan of the transmission calibration and how it shifts. And I still have a high frequency noise when it's in 4WD or AWD mode (all of them have it, I've sat in 2016's and they have it too). GM has a TSB out on it, but only to say it doesn't hurt anything and they recognize it...but they have no fix. It's funny because my wife can't hear it, but I can. After years of loud car stereos and doing stereo competitions in my youth, I appear to still have pretty decent hearing.

Overall, I think it's the best truck in it's class (the Tundra gets crappy mileage and the Ecoboost doesn't seem to be living up to expectations either...and it costs a good bit more than the Silverado). It's just sad that it's not "better". With that said, I'm still watching for deals to buy another one.

And my wife has decided that I'm just not happy with anything when it comes to cars. Maybe she's right?

I probably shouldn't be so honest since it could wind up in the classifieds here at some point.

Nice update. We're still enjoying our '02 GMC. Best truck I've ever owned. It just runs. I recently replaced the yellowing/hazing light lenses (headlights, turn signal, HMSL, and brake lights) and the thing looks new!! Those parts were pretty cheap, even from GM, so I figured that I'd do it now, so I have a few more years with the truck. I also installed LED all the way around. The headlights are awesome. I had to replace the flasher, though. The stupid thing is hidden under/in the dash, you have to take the freaking dash apart to replace it!! Hell, it's easier to replace the cabin air filter.

Following your blockers is a great way to get MPG, although these newer GM trucks get great mileage. A friend recently replaced his '04 Chevy 1500 with a '16, and says the performance and mileage are night-and-day different. I think he's also netting upper-teens towing his BSP Vette to SCCA autocross events all over the country. His son had an Ecoboost Ford truck, and I think he sold it because loaded, it got worse mileage than a 4X4 extended cab F250. That, and his dad kept rubbing the mpg in.

The Bilstiens are the way to go, no doubt about it. If you're going to keep the truck, get the yellow shocks on it. They were the first thing besides diesel we put on our truck. Heck, they may have been one of the last sales Arlen Strano made.

The throttle response and trans shifting is just a tune away, but GM will screw you then. We had our Tahoe tuned, and if they did nothing more than fix the 'torque management' the tune would have still been worth every dollar.

My 2007 3500 Silverado had such awful shocks that I ordered Bilstiens from Sam at 600 miles and by 1,200 miles I had them installed. Best thing I did for that truck. At first there didn't seem to be shocks for this one, then the Bilstien 5100's appeared (nickel finish and some have two front perches in case you want to raise the front end) and now they show Bilstien 4600's for it (yellow bodies). Prices are about the same so I think I might go for nickel (it's pretty rust resistant). But I'm trying to find out about any internal or valving differences first.

Wow. I didn't realize it had been that long. I always loved talking to Arlyn. I think she became the adopted mom for hundreds of gearheads across the country. And she was always so proud of Sam, she always had a fun story about recent events and competitions.

I just installed the 5100's on my 99 F250 Powerstroke. They look awesome. More importantly they are an amazing truck. Very heavy duty, which I need to control 33's and two very heavy axles. don't get me wrong, it still rides like an empty dump truck, but it finally doesn't hop all over the place.

I installed new rear leaf springs and hangers on the back of a 2001 F250 in my driveway last weekend. I think the neighbors are still pissed about the noise. He added a leaf to them and ordered the upgraded springs. It's about 5" taller in the rear now. That was quite a job.

Thanks for the update as I'm looking for a new(er?) truck. But I will say that the 5100s will rust. I put them on my 2005 Silverado in 2011 or 2012 and they're looking pretty rough already. Granted I never wash the truck and the rest of it is rusty, but it seems like you may think the coating is better than you think. I might be able to post current pics later today if you're interested.