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Chevy Silverado - III
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Comments
Many people feel that an amp/subwoofer box is the best way to go, but for ease of installation and good sound INSIDE the truck rather than outside, a Bazooka is great. I have been more impressed with them than any of the other "tube" competitors. I had a 6-1/2 inch Bazooka in my S-10, an 8" model in my Camaro, and now an 8" model in my Silverado. Fits under the rear seat so that you can't even see it when the seat is folded down.
You don't need a line level adapter; the amplified Bazookas accept line or speaker level inputs. You DO need a wire run from the battery for power and (optional but I recommend it) a wire to turn on the unit when the radio is on. I used the same wire that turns on the radio, and placed a switch on the dash so I can turn it off and on while listening just to remind me how good the Bazooka makes the radio sound. If you don't run the "turn on" wire, you can set the Bazooka to turn on automatically when it senses an input from the radio speaker outputs, but it tends to turn o slower than with the actual wire and tends to turn off at low volume levels. Kind of annoying.
The amplifier section has a crossover so you can adjust not only the overall gain but the point at which the high-end of the bass is cut off.
Don't eliminate the 4x6 speakers. They sound good as filler in the whole system. You might replace them, but I wouldn't remove them. They do make a difference. Tap into the wires that run under the plastic door sill on the driver's side for the Bazooka inputs. I have the color codes somewhere, and I can forward them to you if you decide to go that route. You don't need to remove the panels to get behind the speakers for the wires; the channel is fine.
I didn't upgrade the 6-1/2" front speakers, but I may someday ... after I upgrade the 4x6s. With 6-1/2" speakers in front, the Delco SHOULD sound much better than it does (my wife's Sebring Convertible has 6-1/2s in front and it doesn't need a subwoofer. It does already have a seperate amp though).
If you want to see a picture of the switch on the dash, go to (I think) http://lausd.k12.ca.us/~rwagoner/camaro/silverado.html
Sorry this post is so long...
Richard
If you make a mistake cutting the hole for the swtch, the entire assembly is about $2 and the blanks for where the bazooka switch go are also only $2. How do I know? The shop that installed the Power Slider switsh screwed it up (needing the whole assembly) and I bought an extra blank for the Bazooka switch in case I screwed up. I didn't screw up, by the way.
Richard
Mike
Seriously, I have not seen one although it IS an obvious thing (now that you mention it...). I personally wouldn't want one, but I can see how they might be popular.
Richard
That Help?
- Tim
No offense to people who are...but we find ways to piss away money left and right in this Country. So a couple dollars at the pump...to be assured you have the power when you need it...sounds pretty fair to me
- Tim
I let others buy and maintain the boat ...
Did you read the GM truck sales for September were up something like 30%?
Richard
The Economic One
The Ecological One
The One Who Likes to Drive All The Way To Yosemite Without Stopping
(Choose one)
I think GM passed Ford for 1st place in light truck sales in the most recent month for the first time since the strike.
Another thing that changed was an additional choice for suspension. It was listed as AutoRide which is suppose to be available on the new 2000 Tahoes as well. Does anyone have any details on this option??
Actually that might not be true, since the 4.10 gears still allow the engine to turn fairly slow at highway speeds. What is the epa mileage for the 4.10 vs. the 3.73 gears?
Richard
The 26 Gallon tank is short boxes is kinda dumb. Oh well..26 will do for now..
- Tim
And I had said that "the 4.10 gears STILL ALLOW (emphasis newly added) the engine to turn fairly slow at highway speeds." I never said it turned slower than the 3.73, just that it would still turn fairly slow (as opposed to the pre-overdrive days). My '67 Camaro turns about 3200 rpm at 70 mph. My Silverado turns about 2000 rpm at 70.
I'm not stupid ... I don't own a Toy ...
Is your's a 26 gallon tank also?
Richard
- When starting from a stop (light to moderate acceleration, but sudden not gradual) the body creeks for a brief instance. It sounds like something on the frame is loose. This creek happens when the frame is torque'd:
· Immediately after hitting the gas (not hard acceleration but sudden)
· After braking too a stop when the body rebounds it happens sometimes
· Sometimes when going slowly and hitting a bump where the body travels (leans or twists, one wheel goes down) not just shock travel it happens.
It happens less after the truck has been driven for awhile. Can't tell if front or rear, sometimes it seems like rear others front. I have only tried this is 2 wheel drive.
Anybody else heard this noise.
Regards
Jim
The internet is totally amazing. I'm sitting in a hotel room in Tokyo and its just like my living room, well maybe a bit smaller and my Silverado is not outside...
Yup..I got a 26. All short boxes and stepsides get a 26. Long boxes fet a 34. Who thinks up these things?
- Tim
I'm not impressed. The bar has to be mounted off center to clear the driver side shock mount. And it has to mounted 1 1/2" forward for the same reason. Then I finally get the whole thing lined up and bolted up tight. I rock the truck side to side and it feels about the same as before. ??? So I rocked it while looking underneath the truck. This bar mounts with some pinch clamps that clamp onto the frame rails from the inside. Not a bad idea, but the frame rails flex as much as the bar does. So I took it all out a made a crossmember to go from side to side and tie the two pinch clamps together. No more flexing, and the anti-sway bar works the way it should.
If you want an anti-sway bar, you might want to try a Hotchkiss or something else. I was not impressed with the Hellwig kit.
Mike
side. They are torwards the back of the cab on
the sides right behind the doors. They run
between the cab and the frame. On the frame side
they are intentionally loose. Liberally apply
a thick grease on the loose side. This will cure that annoying squeak.
It is too early to tell if it was worth the upgrade to the Bilsteins or not.
From and earlier upgrade (to the Z71's) I have a set of Firm Ride shocks available. 3000 miles. $75.
Mike
Kevin
Kevin
I had not noticed but you are right it looks like the radio delete is only available with the base truck.
If I were getting the base model, I would probably get the delete. For the others, the stock radio is good, and gets better reception than almost all aftermarkets.
As for Crutchfield, while their regular prices can often be beat by local shops, their sale prices are good and their package deals on radios/cd changers are excellent. Their support is excellent also. I recommend them highly without reservation.
Richard
of course i would like to have a sub in my truck, but when you pay, damn near 30 grand for a truck, money gets alil on the tight side
Vince
- Tim
http://www.hotchkisperformance.com/
They are not cheap. The only kit I could find was front and rear for $500.
Mike
I saw one in a lot today...stopped and took a picture real quick. Sun was directly in my eyes. Only way to get a good shot was to go to the road side and take from front. A guy was already walking out to me and asked if he could help me as I was pulling away. Whoever ya are...I got a so so picture for you.
- Tim
I'm not the guy you were talking about, but I wouldn't mind seeing the picture anyway. That sounds like an interesting combination of colors.
Could you post a website or something?
-powerisfun
Mark
On the next paragraph is some information I copied and reworded to compact it from Crutchfield on their speaker and radio topics, all the credit goes to them.
"Factory speakers are made up of paper cone midrange and woofers with foam surrounds. The surround is the flexible ring around the edge of the cone. The tweeters are cone type and therefore efficient and economical. Paper cones don't stand up to heat, cold or moisture. After market speakers, if you stay away from paper cones, are made up of Dome tweeters that sound smoother and more accurate with an extended high frequency response. Most after market midrange and woofer speakers are made up of polypropylene of poly mixed with other materials that gives excellent sound and become more efficient and sound louder because the material is stiff and lightweight and stand up to the heat, cold and moisture."
Foam surrounds don't last as long as after market rubber type and I have seen some become brittle. "With three way speakers you get enhanced warmth and texture", that means that with two sets of three-way speakers you get 12 speakers not the standard 6 in the LS/LT SILVERADO for better reproduction. I don't know about everyone else but I can tell the difference, specially with my SILVERADO base 4 speakers system.
With the LS/LT SILVERADO I would replace the speakers if I added an amplifier because the new amplifier will tear the factories sooner on the surround area since they are not intended for the extra power. Does anyone know what the wattage and RMS of the SILVERADO radios is?
rwagoner
Blancpunct radios don't all have the same power rating for example some are 40 watts/17 RMS, 35 watts/23RMS and 25watts/14RMS. It would mean a lot more if you could tell me what Blancpunct model you are referring to.
But trouble getting it into 3rd can mean a problem with the synchros. Had the same intermittent problem trying to get my Mustang into second gear. Usually fine, but then sometimes wouldn't want to slip into gear. Finally, I told the dealer service department about it, and they replaced the synchros under warranty, no haggling required. The best part was, it completely solved the problem on that car. Worst part was, they had to drop the transmission.
thanks
kevin
This is NOT for the faint at heart :
1) Open window and remove hinge/latch mechanism - it will snap out at the frame connection first and then rotate out at the glass. Not as scary as it looks - put latch aside for safe keeping.
2) Keep glass open about 2 or 3 inches by stuffing a rag between glass and frame/truck body.
3) Loop about 3 ft. of 1/4 inch nylon cord around the black plastic latch attach point on the frame in such a way that you pull it in towards the center of the rear part of the cab (an imaginary point in the middle of the back seat)
4) Notice that the harder you pull, the more the frame/latch post will flex towards the center point.
5) Now, fire up an electric heat gun; the kind you use for shrink tubing in the electronics business - mine was rated at about 1000 w - hair dryer probably won't work because the heat isn't concentrated enough.
6) Slowly move it all around the base of the latch post/frame connection while exerting constant pressure on the nylon cord - about 30 seconds max. Remove heat/keep pressure on until cool.
7) The correct amount of deformation on the post is not even noticable by the eye - too much heat and you will be very embarrassed when heading to the dealer. Might want to practice on something plastic first . . . (buy a 1/24 Monogram model kit of a Ford F-150 at WalMart and melt the hell out of it)
The latch now really "snaps" shut - window is really seated against the rubber. No more noise.
Pretty easy fix - no drilling or removing door/trim panels. I've done 3 trucks so far (all '99s) and no problems - hope it helps.