New to Duramax, and at a New College

Forest319

2003 2500HD LB7
Jan 16, 2014
10
0
0
Fort Worth
So first off I am glad that I bout this truck, my main reason was just because of how big and clean it was, the miles scared me a little at first but I've come to learn they're okay!

I bought my first truck (with parents help) in august 2011 i believe, it was a 2005 extended cab Silverado 1500, 5.3l on 33's and man it when through anything a 16 year old could want.
Eventually i sold it made a little profit, but i wanted bigger, at the time my dad was against getting a diesel because of prices and he couldn't fathom it getting better mileage than my truck,

In august 2012 I ended up buying a 2002 F250 V-10 4x4 Long bed Lariat, and my first decision as a now 17year old was to remove the cats and muffler lol. That bitch was so loud, and god i loved it. But after driving from denton to fort worth multiple times a week i realized my 12mph highway wasn't going to be good for college lol
So that summer I sold that truck too

Again in August, I think I'm seeing a pattern…, I finally had found myself a truck, A 2003 Silverado 2500HD Crew Cab 6.6l Lb7
Man has this truck been good to me, all my long travels from lubbock to dallas every other weekend, this truck was amazing through all of it.

So far the only thing I've done to it is maintenance and i cut the muffler off and straight piped it, 3.5 inch. I also have a new Kenwood DDX470 for it, but haven't installed it yet. I'd love to get subs but can't find any 12's that'll fit, and the last ones i had i just got off a kid and set them on the back seat :roflmao:

Well I transferred from Texas Tech and am now at TCU, going the Pre-med track, I try to work when I can, but college and wanting to spend money on my truck don't coincide to well.

So that's the basics of me, what i really want to know is what I should be doing to it next,

Obviously theres lot i'd love, but I'm not sure what to get brand wise for any of it and well you know I'm just a kid with big ambitions and no knowledge

So I'd love to get a real straight pipe for it, 4 or 5 inch
Lift kit would be good, or any combination of lift and fenders and things,
I want to fit 37's or 38's
I really like the rims i have but they're factory so I'm not sure if id need new ones or not.
I want to buy some tow mirrors, but thats just for looks, i do pretty well with my normal mirrors when i take trailers out
Replacement bumpers would be nice to have but again they're expensive

As to the engine, I'm honestly not sure what to do, the injectors were replaced at 180,000 miles, the truck was one owner an older man who took pretty good care of it from what I've seen.
I'd like to get a programmer, for mileage and the fun speeding, but i really don't know much about them.

For any of these things I really just need to know what should come first and how I should prioritize these things when saving up or buying?

And any information on programmers, lift, exhaust just anything would be nice, Id love to learn all I can, and I know y'all have plenty of information and experience to offer!
 

LoadednLong

New member
Jan 10, 2014
6
0
0
St. Louis
Welcome!

Sounds like a nice rig you got there. I'm a new member myself, but had my truck for several years now. My son's been the main driver, and he did the obligatory leveling kit, wheels and tires right off. That's it though. The truck's loaded and in good condition, so the main effort is just keeping up with maint. items and repairing wera and defect stuff.

As with other forums for other vehicles I'm on, search is a freakin' goldmine for intel, and money/aggravation saving help.

BTW, mine came from Texas with a Ranch Hand bumper. I hear other brand names are out there, but aside from the stuff they put on MRAPS I can't imagine anything beefier for the domestic market.
 

Forest319

2003 2500HD LB7
Jan 16, 2014
10
0
0
Fort Worth
Thanks guys, and a Ranch hand would be nice, i haven't found any recently, once I'm done with everything else i might want something a little more fancy, but a ranch hand would be nice, there's a lot of idiot drivers down here, and i mean on on hand id love to let off the brakes a little in those close calls lol, but it'd also be good for protections on unintended collisions
 

06_6.6

Haulin Assphalt
Sep 3, 2012
159
0
0
Indian Territory
Welcome to the site. I straight piped the stock 3.5" on my 06 and it was fine. If you want loud i would get a 5" with 6" tip. My boss has that on his lb7 and it sounds pretty good. Tuning I would go conservative and get efi live from a reputable tuner like atp trucks/idaho rob or la tuning/kory willis. I'm selling my superchip if you want some cheap fun though. Post pics!

Edit- I only mentioned those two tuners because I have friends with their tuning and love it.

Sent from the land of teepee's and buffaloes
 
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Forest319

2003 2500HD LB7
Jan 16, 2014
10
0
0
Fort Worth
Where do I find the Exhaust on here?
And I hear about getting efi live from those people you listed but what does that actually mean, how do i get it from them? Are they the ones writing the tunes?
and How much would you want for the super chip?
 

Dozerboy

Well-known member
Jun 23, 2009
4,809
391
83
TX of course
Welcome to DD
Well you just named of $10K worth of mods, so unless your parents are buying them you need to prioritize and give us a budget.
 
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TexasRob

New member
Dec 19, 2012
319
0
0
Canyon Lake Texas
I've seen several from the Austin craigslist from 200-400 dollars in decent shape. Most of them need a respray. Nothing a 5 dollar rattle can can't fix.
 

Forest319

2003 2500HD LB7
Jan 16, 2014
10
0
0
Fort Worth
Well i'm not sure what to prioritize first, thats why I'm here to get some ideas from y'all, because I'm not going to have all this anytime soon but i just want to know what i should be doing first then so on. What do y'all think my first priority should be?
 

TexasRob

New member
Dec 19, 2012
319
0
0
Canyon Lake Texas
Well i'm not sure what to prioritize first, thats why I'm here to get some ideas from y'all, because I'm not going to have all this anytime soon but i just want to know what i should be doing first then so on. What do y'all think my first priority should be?

I would personally do a lift pump first. It will help out your injectors and save you money.
 

Forest319

2003 2500HD LB7
Jan 16, 2014
10
0
0
Fort Worth
What kind of lift pump would you go for?
And I think first I need to get my dash cluster fixed lol Its not killing me but slowly the speedometer is becoming more and more off...