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View Full Version : General suggestions on setting up a 2000 Silverado SWB 1500 for AutoX



pharmd
09-16-2013, 05:59 PM
I think I have a really good idea of where to start but I know a lot of you guy can probably rattle of what suspension you would do, what trans, what motor, what rearend/gear, wheel/tire setup etc that would make a pretty competitive pro-touring style truck from this year model platform. I know this may not fit exactly into what pro-touring is (older rides made to handle well) but this is what we have to start with and we want to go play on a realistic budget. So we are focusing on cost effective mods. The guy who is building it actually owns a tire/wheel shop so we will have access to lower costs on some of this stuff and the labor aspect. I was checking out the Truckin' throwdown from 2011 and saw Dan Wards 2004 Sierra...other than the motor which was NUTs ( I would think a cammed ls3 would be more than enough to start with), would you guys say his setup is about as good as it gets without major chassis mods?

Thanks in advance.

rentedmule
09-18-2013, 08:11 AM
I was waiting for some of the more knowledgeable members to chime in but I guess I'll throw in my 2 cents. If you're just building it for auto-X you don't need anything exotic. Stiff suspension and sticky tires will make up for a lot of geometry problems. On my truck the tall ball joints and control arms helped a lot with grip but the improvement in tire wear was the biggest thing for me. I just run drop blocks, stiff leafs, and adjustable shocks on the rear (I don't even use a rear swaybar because I find it makes it over steer too much). The setup probably gets more complicated if you want to make it good at auto-X and comfortable to drive!

pharmd
09-19-2013, 07:59 AM
We are looking to run a RideTech level 3 suspension with the Air setup swapped out for a coilover setup (the truck owner prefers coils to air). This will utilize their strong arms, sways and rear 4 link setup. He will run the largest wheel/tire setup he can run (Im gonna encourage him to tub the rear a little for running 335's on the back). Other than that we are swapping in an LS motor and manual trans, likely putting in a cage and may put in a fuel cells and battery relocation.

Are we on track here...are there any other blatant holes in this plan?

Ziegelsteinfaust
09-28-2013, 08:47 PM
I had a 07 GMC rcsb with the 4.8. I added a trail blazer converter, 4.56 gears, cat back, roller rockers, cai, and custom tune. It was rev happy, and would make a decent engine for a pro-touring truck on a shorter course or cone events. Long courses it would run out of steam, and the 4L65 doesn't do much with full throttle past 90. I wish I did 4.11's, but I got stupid.

Also I had a 6/8 drop which involved djm arms, and drop spindles. Not the greatest handler due to the arms, but I am sure I was around a .9G turn on street tires you could actually drive anywhere. The arms caused a wonky feeling, and if I did it over again I would lightly Z the frame. The tires were 255/50/17's front, and 275/50/17's rear on the stock steel rims with a 450 treadware. I think those were Falken tires, but I had 4 sets of tires on that truck because I tried a couple of things. Plus I drove tons of miles at that time.

I would start with the basic bolt ons, and modify the stock arms a bit for better camber/caster gains if your willing to do some test. Stick with 17's, and SUV tires if you want to be able to drive it anywhere with out issues. The tires I mentioned above come in a 250 treadware, and are easy to get. Do a basic 4 link, and you'd have a fun truck with out testing your credit cards limits.

rentedmule
09-30-2013, 04:19 AM
Sounds like a fun set up to me! I would run as fat a tire as possible on the front, the 335's on the rear will make it want to under steer. Is there such a thing as a quick ratio rack and pinion for the full size trucks? With the stock steering wheel and miles of linkage I really have to work on tight courses (even with a quick ratio steering box). Quick steering would be a big benefit.