Dave's 2006 Escalade AWD Build Thread

[Onebadsss]

Okay, so one of the key factors that made it possible for me to pay cash for this gem of a truck was that the dealership was selling it as a "Mechanic's Special" because it wouldn't pass MD state inspection due to a few issues:



So, being that the truck was 6 hours away from me and my work schedule was hectic, I hired a 3rd party prepurchase vehicle inspection company to look it over top to bottom, confirm that the only issues were the ones the dealership had disclosed, and give me the peace of mind I needed before I booked a one-way flight down to MD to buy her and drive her home (obviously the results came back positive, lol). So the first thing I ordered, while also booking my flight down to DCA, was a new set of foglights:

 

[W8TVI]

Thanks for the feedback! And you read my mind about doing the full LED conversion inside and out. I love the JDM AStar switchbacks and defintely want to go that route and I've even been thinking of downgrading the headlights from the factory HID setup to a set of halogen compatible headlights so I can run LED HID kits for both low's and high's in addition to fogs and switchbacks (want to do the Fleece Performance mod as well)...

From what I have read, LEDs have worse throw than halogens and HIDs.
Personally I'd upgrade the HIDs to better HIDs (like a proper projector) if that is possible.

I'd do some research to see how well LEDs work on those.
Now what I would upgrade to LEDs would be the fog lights (as in put LEDs in the factory housings), as you don't need tons of throw for fogs.

The JDM Astar reverse lights I linked to are SUPER bright. I was going to add some fog lights to the rear to make up for the lack of light from the stock bulbs, but now with those LEDs in there, I don't need them at all.
I've also been using these JDM Astars LEDs for my DRLs on my 2000 Yukon XL since the beginning of March without any trouble.

 

[Onebadsss]

The 6 hour drive home was smooth and uneventful but gave me a good opportunity to get a good feel for the truck and start surveying all of it's little nit picky issues (I'm super **** so I go over vehicles with a fine toothed comb and feel compelled to fix everything, lol). Some of the things I noticed were all the burnt out interior lights and buttons with paint rubbed off, all common issues to the NBS trucks so I wasn't surprised:

 

[W8TVI]

Okay, so one of the key factors that made it possible for me to pay cash for this gem of a truck was that the dealership was selling it as a "Mechanic's Special" because it wouldn't pass MD state inspection due to a few issues:



So, being that the truck was 6 hours away from me and my work schedule was hectic, I hired a 3rd party prepurchase vehicle inspection company to look it over top to bottom, confirm that the only issues were the ones the dealership had disclosed, and give me the peace of mind I needed before I booked a one-way flight down to MD to buy her and drive her home (obviously the results came back positive, lol). So the first thing I ordered, while also booking my flight down to DCA, was a new set of foglights:

The fog lights aren't too hard to change, and I've been told that the way these fog lights are designed, you could even put some HID lamps in them and you wouldn't have to worry about blinding someone with them (you could even use yellow HIDs).

Something I forgot to mention about the LED turn signal up grades: make sure you get some side markers that say they are polarity insensitive, or non-polarized, if you want the LEDs to work like factory. You could instead get the turn signals that say they are polarity insensitive or non-polarized, as I've been told they will still work.
For me, it was easier to find the side markers (and I was able to use JDM Astar switchbacks).
(If you are curious how the side markers work and why you would need special LEDs, I have this thread about it.)

 

[kwOH]

Platinum edition?


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[adventurenali92]

Platinum edition?


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Platinum edition would have heated and ventilated front seats so there wouldn't be a seat heater switch above the drivers door master switch where memory and pedal adjustments are. The controls would be below his climate control where our trucks have that little rectangular pocket. Also his steering wheel would have little chrome pieces surrounding his wood trim on the steering wheel where it meets the leather and his gauge cluster would be different. Also his grille piece would either be chrome or color matched and the door badges would be chrome instead of gold.

 

[95escahoe]

You've got a clean Escalade to work with, love the Caddy white that's the color I wanted but just couldn't do the light interior


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[05Single]

Beautiful esky bro.
That white is so damn clean.
In for progress.

 

[95escahoe]

Ever throw the engine covers on?


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[Onebadsss]

Platinum edition would have heated and ventilated front seats so there wouldn't be a seat heater switch above the drivers door master switch where memory and pedal adjustments are. The controls would be below his climate control where our trucks have that little rectangular pocket. Also his steering wheel would have little chrome pieces surrounding his wood trim on the steering wheel where it meets the leather and his gauge cluster would be different. Also his grille piece would either be chrome or color matched and the door badges would be chrome instead of gold.

I wish I had the ventilated seats of the Platinum! Although I'm not crazy about the weird "custom" seat controls GM made for them that are mounted on the center console. I do want to do the Platinum cupholder mod though and I'm currently keeping my eye out for a good condition one on eBay...