Bolt-On Half-Ton 4x4 Long-Travel - 2011 Chevy 1500 4x4

If you’ve ever been to the SEMA show, you’ll attest to the fact that there is no larger collection of unused vehicles put together at any one time. But not all the rides are trailer queens; some of the trucks at SEMA get cleaned up just for the show, only to go put on a coat of dirt again after it’s over.

For the few who want to show off after the show, the OHV grounds north of the Las Vegas Speedway offer a pavement-free playground that anyone could get into trouble in, and there are plenty of photographers to capture the action and, sometimes, pick up the pieces.

And such is the case for one new 2011 Chevy that took a high-flying leap off a dune directly at our camera guy—it’s like the truck couldn’t wait to ditch the show and test out its new long-travel suspension taking the leap and putting its Pure Performance 4x4 suspension to the test.

And we must say that we’re impressed with how well the lift kit/long-travel kit soaked up the hit. In the end, the Chevy 1500 4x4 only suffered some misaligned fiberglass due to a 35-inch General tire coming up and grabbing the fender.

This Chevy is shod with 35-inch General Grabbers wrapped around Method Standard 18x9 wheels. The way Chevys are designed, 37s will not fit at full compression—even with a 6-inch lift kit and fiberglass fenders—due to the fact that the A-arms travel slightly towards the rear of the fenders (not straight up and down) as the suspension compresses.

The truck is outfitted with Pure Performance’s new Chevy 1500 Prerunner LT kit for 4x4 trucks. It not only enhances a 4WD truck with more suspension travel, it also lifts it six inches for a larger tire using subframe drop brackets and new knuckles. Also note the skidplates that connect both drop brackets together.

The Chevy is outfitted with new full replacement bumpers from N-fab, front and rear. They’ve both been colormatched, and have two Rigid 30-inch LED lights bars sitting in the middle. The entire package was bolt-on and not only gives the Chevy more protection, a better approach angle, and better looks, but also provides much more light than the stock headlights could ever produce.

Pure Performance tells us that the ratio of the 8-inch-stroke coilovers to the wheel is not quite 2:1, but the kit still nets 15 inches of travel with 4WD CV shafts installed. A 650-pound-per-inch coil is installed on each 2 5/8 coilover. New 3-inch-wider upper and lower A-arms are provided, as are new CV shafts to keep the four-wheel drive fully functional.

Though the truck has the stock 10-Bolt rear axle, there are new Nitro 4.56 gears put in both the front and rear differentials. When you put gears in these new trucks, you need to use a programmer to update the tuning and let the computer know the new gear ratio you’ve changed to. This will allow the powertrain to work correctly.

The rear N-Fab bumper on this truck looks great with the twin exhaust tips coming in between the two tubes.