The new member of the family

[piecesparts]

2011 GMC Sierra SLE 5.3, 6 speed auto, 3.42 limited slip gears with a 5"/7" drop---so the wife can get into it.

[LEEVON]

Very, very nice. I bet it scoots.

[ChevyTruckGuy]

Lucky, great choice, Mike

[bharrison1]

Nice truck!!!!

[buffle]

Looks a lot like my silverado

[bharrison1]

Did you notch the frame?

[72BlckButy]

Damn nice addition there Frank, and imagine that... it's black!

How's the ride with the 5/7?

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by bharrison1

Did you notch the frame?

Notched the frame and used a McGaughy's kit.

Just got it run past my EFI tuning buddy today, that 5.3 has some potential.


The ride is quite surprising. The front springs setup is a little stiff when one hits a pothole or sharp drop off, but the supplier said that is a norm for this kit until it settles in. There is no vibration that I have experienced. I even had a chance to find the fuel cutoff point and it rides smooth. The 20" tires takes up a lot of the choppy highway stuff.

When I went to the dealer to look, they had red, silver and black. I had to do the black AGAIN.

[lolife99]

Nice looking truck!
What size tires are on it?

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Nice looking truck!
What size tires are on it?

The tires are 265/50/20 Nitto NT850s. They are rate for 50,000 miles and run pretty quiet on the road.

[k5hart]

Very nice! Perfect look in my opinion.

What did you do with your OBS? It was very nice as well.

[piecesparts]

Right now, I have more trucks than I know what to do with. The 84 is still in the garage and the 91 DD is goign to a friend of mine. He wants it pretty bad.

[LEEVON]

that settles it 265/50/20 are next for me. 275/55/20 are too stuffed on a 4/7 drop, too much rubbing. And the first go around 265/50/20's were hardly around yet. It looks great, just perfect.

[piecesparts]

I was told about the Nitto NT 850 tires and that tire size by a friend that sells tires. I can't even find that size or style on the Nitto website, but they are out there and they are not overly expensive. They are rated high in mileage and workability. The size is a definite step down from the original 275/55/20 size tires that was on the truck. A total of 1.38 inches overall diameter. The handling is great.

[bharrison1]

Did you have this truck at the automobilia show last night?I think i saw it if not it was just like yours.

[bharrison1]

Did you have to remove the bed to do the drop and the notches?Did you use a flip and the drop rear hanger ?Sorry for all the questions but i have an 08 i want to sit like yours.

[ChevyTruckGuy]

I went to the chevy dealership to check out a regular cab short bed with a 5.3, nice but basic options, 17" rims...Couldent believe the price was 28k...Thats 5k more then I paid for my new ex cab sierra loaded back in 2008. I guess those new 6 speed transmissions jacked the price up way too much. Maybe the unions

Im going back to the GMC dealer and seeing what they have. I like the sierra.

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by bharrison1

Did you have this truck at the automobilia show last night?I think i saw it if not it was just like yours.

YES, it was at Automobilia, last night. It was sitting beside my son's red 86 SWB, on the West end of the show. There was also a black and silvefr 78 Indianappolis 500 Pace Car Vette sitting there.

I confess, I did not have time to do the drop myself, this time. I was working 5 nights on and 1 night off, for the last 100 + days doint the refueling outage at the Wolf Creek power plant. I had a friend of mine in Emporia Ks. do the work in his Sport Truck shop.

It is a McGaughy's drop kit. 5" front and 7" in the rear. The frame has been 'C' notched and the axle flipped. I believe they lifted the bed to do the work. The kit also changes the front springs to get the drop and to change the response rate. We changed the tires onit to get another 1" drop andadd the clearance for the front wheel wells.




Quore:

I went to the chevy dealership to check out a regular cab short bed with a 5.3, nice but basic options, 17" rims...Couldent believe the price was 28k...Thats 5k more then I paid for my new ex cab sierra loaded back in 2008. I guess those new 6 speed transmissions jacked the price up way too much. Maybe the unions

I did a search for GMC trucks and the dealer that I purchased my 09 G8 from found this truck on the net. It came with the 20" chrome rims, a 3.42 limited slip gear set, 5.3 with a 6 speed auto for what I thought to be a fair price. After my discounts from the company that I work with, the extra $1000.00 for purchasing the G8 ear;lier and the GM rebates, I got into this one for about $21,000. I put some down and had no trade-in.

[bharrison1]

Thanks for the info!I was also really curious as to where you got your mirrors from.

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by bharrison1

Thanks for the info!I was also really curious as to where you got your mirrors from.

The mirrors are from Street Scene. They are a direct replacement with the eloectric controls and heated glass in them. Sure beats having that large computer terminal sitting outside the window.

[bharrison1]

Thanks!!

[jb1016]

P/P that is a really nice rig, congrats. We'll miss you on the 88-98 side.

[piecesparts]

I still spend time there. It is a habit now. I start at the 67-72 section, go to the 73-87, next the 88-98, and now the late model stuff. This site has provided so many answers to the questions over the years. The 91 Silverado was a great truck and if I could have kept it, I would have. The new owner says it runs hnd handles better than his old truck which was a 01 SWB, that had been in a wreck. The 91 is sharing with him now.

[bharrison1]

Did you get your roll pan yet?

[piecesparts]

I have the roll pan on a stand in the garage and I need time from work to allow for fitment and creation of the license plate bracket (to allow for the hidden hitch). I am running out of warm weather fast and this is not working well for me.