Our Fantastic Four series has been showcasing many manufacturers and products for your trucks. We've seen quite a few of the truck models that readers have been asking about, and this month we'll be looking into taking some daylight out from underneath an '06 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab two-wheel drive. We talked to Sport Truck Direct in Phoenix and ordered a Western Chassis 4/6-drop with Air Lift Slam Air Load helper 'bags. Continental laid a set of 265/35R22 ContiCrossContact UHP tires on us and we stuffed some 22x9-1/2-inch American Racing Cryptic Black wheels into them. Feeding our addiction for more power, we sought Volant's fully enclosed cold-air intake and one of its polished stainless after-cat exhaust systems. Being the only truck magazine that matters didn't make us superstars; as during this build we had a shop begging for some exposure but didn't return any of our calls. With no time left to get this truck finished, we fell back on the professionals at HTS Innovative Design in Simi Valley, California. HTS received a phone call on Friday evening and had our truck on the rack first thing Saturday morning. Now that's what we call super customer service
Our Fantastic Four Chevy was...
Our Fantastic Four Chevy was sporting a billet grille and some window tint, but that was only the starting point. After many hours, we had made the Silverado something worth taking a look at.
Volant's air intake for this...
Volant's air intake for this application is a fully enclosed box that takes air in through both the factory fender opening and from underneath, between the core support and the inner fender. With this set up, there is not any under-hood heat that can travel to the intake openings. And since it is fully enclosed, the intake charge is somewhat quieter upon its entrance versus that of an open filter.
HTS began the installation...
HTS began the installation by removing the entire factory air intake, including the support tray, as directed by the instructions. Notice that this truck has the factory electric cooling fans. The added space behind the core support is apparent, also.
After removing the MAF sensor...
After removing the MAF sensor from the stock intake, we placed the included Volant gasket between the MAF and airbox and then slipped the sensor into position.
Inside of the airbox, the...
Inside of the airbox, the included filter mount was fitted with a gasket and slid home. Three included bolts went through the MAF and into the filter mount, sandwiching the whole assembly together and sealing everything from any external air leaks.
Four bolts secured the box...
Four bolts secured the box into position where the stock tray was removed. As you can see, we slipped the filter onto its mount inside of the box and cinched its clamp down tight. Our man in the know, Doug Dobson, pressed the silicone coupler over the MAF's outlet to prepare for the final couple of steps.