Opinions
There are only a few different companies that
manufacture a suspension lift for the four wheel drive Silverados,
and given the fact that the Pro-Comp lift is made right here in the
US, (San Diego to be exact), that alone was good enough for us. In
addition to its place of origin, the ORC staff sat down and thought
out what the truck was going to be used for. Mainly, the Silverado
needs to perform its daily driver duties of cruising down the
interstate, but on certain weekdays, and almost every weekend, the
truck will see just as much rock and dirt as it will
pavement.
Quality - The fit
and finish of the components appears top notch. Cast in a gray
"wrinkle" type finish, the lift doesn't stand out obnoxiously like
a bright red Rancho lift, or Fabtech's trademark blue. 4Wheel Parts
shop foreman, Brian Forest and I inspected the numerous pieces, as
far as welds and other miniscule details; all of the contents
cleared our inspection.
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Before: How
low can you go? |
After:
Caption not necessary! |
So How Does it Ride?- Surprisingly,
down the highway you wouldn't even know that we just gutted nearly
the entire suspension system and started over. The only noticeable
difference is in the sudden, harsh hits, which results in a rough
hit in the truck's ride. Meaning, it doesn't soak up bumps at speed
like it did. As far as its cornering ability, surely the truck has
a higher center of gravity, but the Silverado still corners
seemingly just as well as before. I feel a little more hesitant to
dive into a tight corner at 70 mph, but that's natural.
Off-Road Handling - First of all,
obviously the truck will go nearly anywhere, especially compared to
its stock ride height. We took it out to the rough and treacherous
Black Mountain, in the southeastern part of Las Vegas. The trail is
cluttered with a constant variety of rocks and boulders of all
sizes. The Silverado didn't ride like a Cadillac, but I'd like to
see a Cadillac cover the ground that the truck did that afternoon!
The terrain varied slightly in obstacles, with some sections
relatively fast paced, and some parts of the trail were taken at 5
mph. The Chevy was able to attack nearly any obstacle, only having
to turn around and back out once. Yet even with the lift, the
Pro-Comp crossmembers still hang somewhat low. We'd like to see
Pro-Comp follow ideas of other companies in how they arched the
front crossmember, providing even more ground clearance, but maybe
that will come with time.
All in all, we
were soundly satisfied with the fit, finish and performance of the
new 6" Pro-Comp lift. Now the truck actually 'looks' like a 4 wheel
drive, and performs like one also. The guys at 4 Wheel Parts
for
The Good |
The Bad |
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The best cure for the incredibly low stock
ride height
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The look!
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Improved suspension action off-road, with
un-noticable difference on the pavement
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Quality components, from the finish to each
specific weld
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Design of the front cross member could be
re-thought to allow for even more ground clearance.
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We are open to suggestions from you on why,
how and what we should put into this project. Like I've said
before, the ORC Silverado will accompany the Off-Road.com staff to
many of the events that we cover, from Baja races to the Chevy
Trucks US Motocross Championship Series, so you'll get the chance
to have a first hand look at how our truck is coming along.
As of now, the project Silverado will be solely
dealing with 4
Wheel Parts Wholesalers. If you would like to be a part of a
major project after this series is over, we would like to hear from
you.
For all future sponsors, we
will provide a complete full-feature article that will include
full-color photo galleries and detailed descriptions of your
product, along with step-by-step installation instructions.
PLUS, we will also provide a link from the
project vehicle page to your web site.
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