2006 Chevy Silverado - Western Alliance

Once the protective film was removed from the Volant intake lid, it was placed into position and then cinched down.

Finishing the intake's installation, the inlet air tube was slipped into the Volant silicone MAF coupler and the factory rubber throttle body coupler. Then, all of the clamps were tightened and we closed the hood on Part One of the installation

Many people don't even know that Volant makes exhaust components, and sure enough, the company had one for our application. Once safely on a lift and in the air, HTS jerked the stock pieces apart and unceremoniously tossed them aside. Out of the packaging, the polished stainless head pipe was fit to the stock Y-pipe connection and we encountered our first glitch.

Either the wrong part was in the packaging or there was a problem on the jig, but our pipe did not clear the factory crossmember. As you can see from the image, it wasn't just close-it was flat out on the crossmember. Thankfully, we were in the capable hands of HTS Innovative Design and Owner Doug Dobson grabbed a pipe from a competing manufacturer's kit to save the day.

Moving forward, the tail pipe was fed upward and over the axle, and then mated properly to the Volant stainless muffler. We breathed a sigh of relief when we knew our Silverado was inhaling and exhaling properly.

The only outward clue that we had done any modifications was this shiny, stainless double-wall exhaust tip laser etched with the Volant logo. Between the air intake and the exhaust, we had added ponies and surprisingly little noise, which makes these parts perfect for someone who desires performance without drawing attention to themselves as they roll by.

It was time to get our Chevrolet down on its Western Chassis and Slam Air suspension we had procured from Sport Truck Direct. The kit came with 2-inch drop coils, 2-inch drop control arms, a 6-inch flip kit with C-notch and U-bolts, shocks, bumpstops, load support 'bags and mounts, and an in-cab controllable compressor kit.

Doug didn't waste any time in tearing down the truck and attacked the rusty stock U-bolts with a 1/2-inch air impact gun.

With assistance from Doug's brother, Scott Dobson, we had the rear axle safely supported on jack stands while the duo whipped the rear leafsprings off of the truck from above the axle and then placed them back into position underneath the rear axle. And so, the rear end was now flipped.

These saddles from Western Chassis are the key to holding everything in its place. The saddles cup the axle in place above the leafsprings and the tops of the saddles are designed to sit underneath the spring perch, as shown here, when being settled into place.

With a helping hand from Scott, Doug zipped the new U-bolts down with the new spring plate sandwiched between the nuts and leafsprings.

In this particular instance, flipping the axle required a notch to clear the rear axle's suspension movement. After careful measuring, marking, and then remeasuring again, the Miller plasma cutter was entrusted to slice through the frame in the "C" pattern the not ch is named for.