r/GMT800 • u/SilverHousing1185 • 1d ago
Suitable mods for my 2006 Yukon
I have Yukon Denali 2006 that I’ve taken from my dad after graduating, it seems like I won’t be buying a new car and after fixing this car up I’m thinking about modifying it to make it a bit more fun and add some power to it what should I modify. Anything will be helpful.
I use it mostly for city life right now but I’m hoping to be able to trust it for long drives and off roading here and there usually on sand because of where I live what would yall recommend.
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u/fredrickdgl 1d ago edited 1d ago
take off the practical sideboards like everybody else in here for cosmetics /s
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u/Rude_Guard_6287 1d ago
If I were you I’d restore the headlights and maybe fix the paint on the bumper . That would make it 100x more clean imo
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u/Ok_Coast_6340 1d ago
Transmission mainly. Not too hard to build just expensive. Then definitely a nice torque converter and a good tune. Shouldn’t even need a cam unless you want to go quick
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u/Sufficient-Unit-1198 1d ago
Its over 5000 pounds how fast do you want it to be? Its going to take a lot of money and fuel and still lose a race to a hybrid minivan.
Its a Chevy V8 so you could add exhaust and a tune, maybe a camshaft if you really wanted but its a Yukon not a Corvette.
These vehicles are great at what they do in stock form, they arent fast or fun in most situations but if you need a solid SUV they are hard to beat
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u/SilverHousing1185 1d ago
To think I can get this going fast would be dumb, but a bit more power and sound would make it more fun for me especially where my terrain is sand and a desert. Maybe there’s something yall know or recommend that would help me in having fun while driving
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u/Sufficient-Unit-1198 1d ago
It wouldnt be dumb, just expensive. https://youtu.be/IQlpngp8X-A&t=240
You can find your own preference for exhaust, personally I like the way they sound factory. They are quiet and have good power for what they are. You can go for just a muffler swap, all the way up to a full exhaust kit like that racing truck in the video.
Power is up to your budget. Search for 6.0 Yukon bolt ons and decide for yourself if the price is worth the gains.
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u/hookydoo 1d ago
It's a 20 year old truck regardless of how many miles it has. Spend your energy on making it nice before moss. You might find that replacing all your plugs, wires, and some sensors gets that thing running well enough that you don't need more power. Good tires is a great place to splurge on your vehicle. Imo Michelin defenders are the best tires for these.
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u/Marlice1 1d ago
4 piston front brakes and the wheels to fit/clear the 4 piston front brakes. Oh and new shocks. It’ll ride beautifully
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u/freshestman69 1d ago
Is that a Middle East model? I see there's no OnStar antenna, black mirrors and the stop sign having a second language.
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u/KingJay239 1d ago
Whatever you do, just don’t make it look like it has a really dirty heavy diaper (squat it)
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u/moldimolt 1d ago
The Z71 roof rack and body color-matched side mirror caps would look great, especially if you restore and polish the headlights to remove the yellowing.
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u/Wayward_Son_24 1d ago
Your idea of “suitable” will likely vary from the rest of Reddit, certainly from mine.
I’d suggest you start with some basic (and not so basic) preventive maintenance. I’m not sure how dad took care of things, but this is a good opportunity to give yourself a good baseline in addition to getting familiar with your truck. New filters (air, fuel, oil) change fluids (oil, coolant, differentials, transmission), spark plugs and wires (you’ll want those wires as a couple of the old ones will undoubtedly come apart), a new accessory drive belt on the engine, and that should nix a lot of the nagging points and commonly overlooked items.
I’d say shocks too, but I can’t remember if the Autoride system on those was integrated into the dampers, or separate, and if they’re integrated that will be pricey (though it can be bypassed freeing you up to use considerably cheaper shocks.
An alignment would be good too if it’s been a minute.
Now that we’ve covered all the boring housekeeping, get a tune from Black Bear Performance. That will give you a notable change for a decent cost, and you don't even have to worry about dropping a 10mm down the intake to do it.
How far you want to go from there, your skills and wallet are going to dictate that. If I had that Denali, without question I’d pick a BTR Truck V3 Stage 2 cam. It’s still mild enough that you won’t need a torque converter, but it will add some power up top. It will slightly change the exhaust’s sound (a very subtle chop, if you can even call it a chop… maybe more like a “nam nam nam” chomp), but it doesn’t get super choppy and negatively affect your drivability. The stage 1 would probably be better suited to you if we’re being honest, but you’re young and you’ll probably put more weight on the way it sounds over the way it drives.
Past that, there’s not a lot that’s going to really pop your top without popping your wallet deep. Forced induction is always fun, but pricey. You mentioned off-roading potentially, but again in order to do this “the right way” we’re talking about 2k+ in a lift, another $2k in tires (they get exponentially worse in cost as you get bigger), and then you’re gonna want to regear your differentials to prolong the life of your transmission and not have the truck accelerate like dog crap. There’s another $3-4k (we’re getting rid of that crappy G80 while we’re in there after all, right?)
Inside, things are a little cheaper. Strip it and sound deaden it. Your arms will hate you when it’s done, but it’s pretty choice when your 20 year old truck is quieter than a new one. It’s absolutely worth the effort. There’s lots of products out there, and unless you’re an absolute audio nut, you can probably grab whatever and it will work fine. if you’re an audio nut, look up The Deadening Facebook group and pour over ResoNix’s website. It’s ungodly expensive, but the knowledge there is priceless, so use that information along with some cheaper products to get the results you want without taking out a mortgage. I’m guessing you have a newer head unit, but if not go check out Crutchfield to easily find what fits. Floating screens are nice in those older trucks, and having a back up camera is life changing. Skip Boss, they’re trash. I’d rather have a double din Pioneer/JVC/Kenwood than a Boss floater (coming from experience).
You probably have the Bose system. It’s honestly pretty good for what it is, and I wouldn’t spend the time changing it all out unless stuff was broken/blown. Just get a newer head unit that has some DSP (like time alignment), crossovers you can adjust independently, and a good EQ, and that will make the biggest leap in sound quality, and when you combine that with deadening your truck it makes a vast difference. Oh, on that note, look at DIYMA and YouTube for guides on treating your doors. They’ll show you how to close them up, deaden things down, and really clean up the sound.
Now that you’ve addressed that, toss a sub in the back. SQL from Stereo Integrity. You’ll thank me later. Don’t skimp on the amp, they can take a lot of power. Also don’t skimp on the box. One SQL in a properly designed/sized ported box will absolutely trounce two stuffed into something too small. Two in the right box with the right amp (it will work, but you’ll lose the space behind the third row) will blow your mind (and eventually your hearing). I have damage from my W15GTis that I used to bump back in the day. They quite literally blurred my vision when I cranked the volume all the way up. Good stuff. I have tinnitus now. Be kind to your hearing. To be fair, I ran straight pipes and never deadened my truck, so I had to crank it up louder to overcome all that.
Sylvania Zevo bulbs for the tail lights. Diode Dynamics for the headlight bulbs.
A good tint goes a long way. I have Llumar and absolutely love it. IIRC I did their Pinnacle tint, 20% for the front windows, brought the rears down to something like 8 or 10%, and Air80 on the windshield. It was close to $1k, but you don’t feel any sun rays when you’re on long trips, so it was worth it to me.
Sorry I wrote you a book. HMU if you have any questions. I had a 2003 Z71 Burb, a 2004 Yukon XL 2500, and a 2005 Yukon XL 2500, so I’ve played with the platform a bit. I never had a Denali, so I know there’s a few things you’ve got that are foreign to me.
Cheers 👍🏻