The Chevy Silverado is one of the most popular trucks on the market. Heck, it’s one of the top-selling vehicles in America year-in and year-out. Its popularity makes it quite viable for a lot of modifications and customizations. Whether you recently picked up a new or used Chevy Silverado for sale from a dealer, online seller, or auction, or you’ve had a Silverado sitting around for a while, there are some cool customization options you can take advantage of if you have a fourth generation model and want to spruce it up.
From mud flaps to hood scoops and from dash kits to custom wheels, there are many neat ways to personalize and customize your Silverado. Some of the alterations you can make can be found from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), while others can involve bits and bobs you can find from third-party suppliers. Either way, you don’t need to take this as a definitive must-have list, but rather use it as inspiration for some of the ways you can alter the way your Silverado looks and performs both on the road and off the road. So check out the list of some cool things you can do to customize and personalize your Silverado.
No. 8: Retractable Roll-N-Lock Tonneau Cover
Simple, effective, and functional. Tonneau covers are a go-to option for a lot of truck owners when it comes to installing an upgrade that not only looks cool but actually serves a purpose. Retractable tonneau covers are a perfect way to protect the cargo bed area of your Silverado while also adding some visual spice to the cargo area of the truck. The good part here is that there are plenty of OEM tonneau covers available for any fourth-generation Silverado, from the light-duty 1500 series up to the heavy-duty 2500 HD and 3500 HD series. You can find some great options on retractable covers for both short and standard beds. The Roll-N-Lock Tonneau Cover looks great and lets you easily pull the cover over or retract it with ease, making it an excellent accessory for your Silverado.
No. 7: Duraflap Chevy Silverado Mud Flaps
Not every upgrade and alteration to your Silverado needs to be a costly venture. Sometimes, the best upgrade is a simple one, and in the case of the Duraflap mud flaps, they’re pretty cost-effective, too. These are popular for those who need something to keep the mud from caking up under the wheel well while also adding a bit of a rugged look to the Silverado. There’s nothing inherently fancy about the Duraflap pair of mud flaps, but if you already have a custom set of wheels and tire set, the mud flaps make for a practical upgrade with decent visual appeal.
No. 6: Aeroskin Silverado Hood Protector
Hood protectors don’t get brought up in conversations much when talking about customization and personalization of a pickup, but they can be extremely useful for those looking for a quality way to keep the hood from collecting weather damage or wear. A popular hood protector for the Silverado with pretty high ratings from those who have used them is the Aeroskin line of protectors that are available to mount on fourth-generation Silverado models. The impact-resistant acrylic makes for an excellent way to not only protect your hood but also give the front fascia a bit of a facelift, too.
No. 5: B&I 3D Molded Carbon Fiber Dash Kit
If interior accessories are more of your jam, there are a lot of ways to personalize your Silverado. Given that the more recent generations have larger center console touchscreens, it does mean that you have to find appropriate moldings and alterations that fit within the theme of Silverado’s cabin. However, there are some really cool modifications for the interior that are well worth checking out, such as the B&I line of 3D molded dashboard kits. These come in a variety of different flavors and designs, but if you wanted something that really speaks to the performance-oriented nature of your Silverado, the carbon fiber dash kit is probably the one that might be worth checking out. It gives you that sporty, high-performance look with a range of options and prices to fit your budget.
No. 4: RTX Off-Road Silverado ZR2 Wheels
Two of the more recent trims to join the Silverado’s light and heavy-duty offerings are the ZR2 and the ZR2 Bison. These hardcore, off-road-themed trims are designed to give off-road enthusiasts the kind of performance, stability, and durability that many dirt-trail racers, mud-runners, and rock-crawlers have been clamoring for. If you love the way your Silverado ZR2 performs, but you want to really add something extra to the exterior visage, there’s no better way to do that than with the RTX line of wheels for the Silverado 1500. The 17-inch black and red Zion wheels, in particular, have a simulated beadlock design with milled red accents and a glossy black finish. You get an awesome concave multi-spoke design with an “RTX Off-Road” logo on the center cap5. Cool, durable, and designed for rugged traversal. What’s not love about it?
No. 3: Silverado 1500 Ram Air Hood
You might be scratching your head on this one, but let me tell you that you didn’t read it wrong. There really is a Ram Air Hood for fourth-generation Chevy Silverado models. It’s a hood replacement kit that turns the front fascia of the Silverado into a mean-looking sports machine. The convex head scoop stacks up in the center with a mesh over the front vent. It gives you an easy in for ventilation while also making the Silverado look like quite the beast on the road. The best part about it is that the Ram Air Hood isn’t obnoxious or overdone. With the right color matching and on the right trim, you would think that the hood scoop was an OEM part. It’s not one of the cheapest upgrades available to customize your Silverado with, but it’s definitely one of the coolest.
No. 2: Borla Cat-Back Dual Exhaust With Carbon Fiber Tips
Performance, looks, style, and cool factor; what better way to get all those things in one package than with a cat-back dual exhaust kit with carbon fiber exhaust tips? It sounds like a mouthful, but it looks pure awesome. The cool part about it is that there are a lot of cat-back systems available for the different fourth-gen Silverado powertrains, available in multiple displacements. The cat-back dual-split rear-exit bumper exhaust upgrade system from Borla can be acquired directly through the Chevrolet accessories site. It’s a pricey upgrade, but you get a nice performance boost and an awesome-looking undercarriage if you opt for Borla’s chrome cat-back kit. If you’re really looking to spruce up the look of your exhaust, you can swap the quad black chrome tips with a quad set of carbon fiber outlets. These consist of a 2.4mm carbon fiber shell that is encased in a high-gloss clear coat over an intercooled stainless steel inner liner. Together, you have a gorgeous-looking cat-back undercarriage with carbon fiber exhaust tips to really make your Silverado stand out big time.
No. 1: Upgraded 2-inch Suspension Lift Kit
One of the most common, requested, and useful upgrades you can make for your Chevy Silverado is a suspension kit. Many truckers love to lift their trucks, either for work, play, off-roading, trailering, or just for the cool factor. Lift kits for the Silverado are trim-wide and model-wide for the fourth gen. You can find some nifty kits for both the light-duty and heavy-duty variants. The standard 2-inch lift kit from GM comes with all of the necessary equipment to make the truck higher than the standard production model, including the tools to reconfigure the front camera and electronic power steering calibration. So you have all of the bases covered. Combine that with some or all of the other upgrades and customization opportunities available, and you can turn your Silverado into a lifted monster with ease.
