I've made my mind up

**Transamws6** · 08-06-2009, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by SHines-IT

I like the Tahoe, personally I wish I had bought one and drove daily. I really have a soft spot for a lifted Z71 (Mild Lift). Then looked for an IROC-Z for the weekend, while looking/saving for an 98-02 WS6.

Yes there not bad trucks at all they don't go for too much at all if your still looking for one to daily drive

**JHayesLS1** · 08-06-2009, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by Transamws6

Thanks for the info man... And yea i'm gonna proabably see which one is cheaper between the toyos or the BFG's which ever one is cheaper i'll probably go with. It's really hard to find info on this truck.... so i have no clue what gear i have but i'll find out....

Thanks for your tips once again man.

Its a blast man I just don't want you to make the same mistake I did. Your best bet is find somewhere thats just a field right after its rained and mud through some small puddles and stuff. Its still just as fun. Watching youtube videos will get you in debt lol.

**SHines-IT** · 08-06-2009, 11:07 AM

I say stick with sand or light trails, no need to destroy a nice truck. Hell buy a $1,000 4x4 on the side of the road, ebay life, cheap wheels, used big ass tires. Good to go, to beat in the mud. Like I said, I would love the Tahoe, I can buy a boat, light trail riding, then get out and take the trail bike. But I am broke, bought the fast car and making it faster.

**Transamws6** · 08-06-2009, 12:00 PM

Originally Posted by JHayesLS1

Its a blast man I just don't want you to make the same mistake I did. Your best bet is find somewhere thats just a field right after its rained and mud through some small puddles and stuff. Its still just as fun. Watching youtube videos will get you in debt lol.

lol yea i'm gonna have to find some trails or something because i live in D.C. and thats all concrete lol.... im probably gonna have to end up riding out to maryland or virginia just to find a little mud lol....

You have an F150 i see do those have lockers??

**Transamws6** · 08-06-2009, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by SHines-IT

I say stick with sand or light trails, no need to destroy a nice truck. Hell buy a $1,000 4x4 on the side of the road, ebay life, cheap wheels, used big ass tires. Good to go, to beat in the mud. Like I said, I would love the Tahoe, I can buy a boat, light trail riding, then get out and take the trail bike. But I am broke, bought the fast car and making it faster.

Yea you have a point man. I don't wanna destroy the truck but i do wanna have fun with it so hopefully i can find some mild off roading spots lol....

Yea i wish i had a F-Body though you probably made a good decision just going ahead and getting the trans am instead of a tahoe.... i would have lol....

**JHayesLS1** · 08-06-2009, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by Transamws6

lol yea i'm gonna have to find some trails or something because i live in D.C. and thats all concrete lol.... im probably gonna have to end up riding out to maryland or virginia just to find a little mud lol....

You have an F150 i see do those have lockers??

Na no lockers. I don't go off road enough to do that. Like someone mentioned if I was gonna go for a straight mudder I'd buy a 1k POS and roll that bitch before I'd give my truck hell.

**foxman92** · 08-06-2009, 12:17 PM

man i wish i kept my off road truck. they are great to take the family fishing in, and use for just about anything.. lol.. i hope you like your truck

**wheeliE-maxx** · 08-06-2009, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by JHayesLS1

You will have clearance issues with anything larger than 306/70/17's. Also, if you get mud tires buy the BFG M/T's or Toyo M/T's. Stay away from the Mud Grapplers. They will wear out in a year and you'll be out some cash. About the gears, find out what you have now, my guess is a 3.23 or smaller so you can't run 35 or 37 inch tires until you re gear. Like I said before, mudding, while fun, is expensive. You will know what I'm talking about when you hit that puddle that didn't look that deep. Brush guard won't save you either.

I'm doubting his truck has 3.23's. My mom's '04 2wd had 3.73's and his is a z-71. From what i've seen, they more often put shorter gears in the 'Burbs than the average pickup. But 3.73's on a big tire suburban would still be pretty pokey and eat 4l60's. I would just stick with a/t tires, not m/ts if you're just cruising along on concrete all day.

**EnjoiJoe** · 08-06-2009, 01:09 PM

Nice I love burbs

**JHayesLS1** · 08-06-2009, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by wheeliE-maxx

I'm doubting his truck has 3.23's. My mom's '04 2wd had 3.73's and his is a z-71. From what i've seen, they more often put shorter gears in the 'Burbs than the average pickup. But 3.73's on a big tire suburban would still be pretty pokey and eat 4l60's. I would just stick with a/t tires, not m/ts if you're just cruising along on concrete all day.

3.73's is pushing it for 35's. I went with 33" tires on my truck and I have 3.73's. Turns em just fine but my fuel economy has suffered.

**Transamws6** · 08-06-2009, 01:17 PM

Originally Posted by JHayesLS1

Na no lockers. I don't go off road enough to do that. Like someone mentioned if I was gonna go for a straight mudder I'd buy a 1k POS and roll that bitch before I'd give my truck hell.

O okay thats cool those are nice trucks i know a kid at school that i talk to with a 06 king ranch f150. They are definently nice trucks.

What are your mods?

**Transamws6** · 08-06-2009, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by foxman92

man i wish i kept my off road truck. they are great to take the family fishing in, and use for just about anything.. lol.. i hope you like your truck

Thanks man thats a real nice maro you got in your avatar. I'd much rather have that than this truck lol....

**Transamws6** · 08-06-2009, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by wheeliE-maxx

I'm doubting his truck has 3.23's. My mom's '04 2wd had 3.73's and his is a z-71. From what i've seen, they more often put shorter gears in the 'Burbs than the average pickup. But 3.73's on a big tire suburban would still be pretty pokey and eat 4l60's. I would just stick with a/t tires, not m/ts if you're just cruising along on concrete all day.

O really. Well my guess now is that it has 3.73's. Because i believe all they did was to change it was a few apperance mods and put 265 size tires on there and put 17" rims, and do some sort of suspension mods... I believe they put some bilstein components on there and thats it (that i know of). I don't think they changed anything with the motor. So you may have just helped me with choosing a tire. Thanks dude.

But i'm getting mudding tires man lol.. it already has all terrain tires.... lol

**JHayesLS1** · 08-06-2009, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by Transamws6

O okay thats cool those are nice trucks i know a kid at school that i talk to with a 06 king ranch f150. They are definently nice trucks.

What are your mods?

2" leveling kit, add a leaf kit, side exit exhaust, FX4 cluster(waiting to be flashed), bull bar(also waiting to be installed) and 305/70/17 Nitto Terra Grapplers on Eagle Alloy off road rims

**Transamws6** · 08-06-2009, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by JHayesLS1

2" leveling kit, add a leaf kit, side exit exhaust, FX4 cluster(waiting to be flashed), bull bar(also waiting to be installed) and 305/70/17 Nitto Terra Grapplers on Eagle Alloy off road rims

Wow that thing seems to be sweet. What are your future plans for it?

**wheeliE-maxx** · 08-06-2009, 04:16 PM

If you're trying to figure out your gear ratio still use this. just enter your tire size and either 3.73, 3.42, or 3.23. You can figure out what you have if one matches your rpm. And the 700r4 numbers are what you'll look at. It has the same gear ratios as your 4l60e
http://700r4.com/speedoCalc/rpmcalc.shtml

**cuervo25_1** · 08-06-2009, 04:35 PM

There is an easier way , crawl under the back there should be a tag on the diff cover that will tell you or a sticker on the axel.

Sand is actually alot harder on a truck than mud. bfg would be the best way to go if your not going to do alot of mudding.

**wheeliE-maxx** · 08-06-2009, 04:43 PM

And I believe there's a sticker in the glove box that shows it aswell. Performancetrucks.net would have these codes. If you still have the window sticker it'll have it. And yeah, sand is bad news. It ruins everything. And once you "mud" a truck, you'll never get it all off except of course on the body panels

**cuervo25_1** · 08-06-2009, 04:48 PM

usually a day in mud = a week in cleaning. I cheated,I used the lift at the excavating company dad works at to clean under it with a steam jenny

**StuntmanMike** · 08-08-2009, 08:33 AM

I run Cooper Discoverer STT's (mud tires) on my DD '97 Grand Cherokee. I LOVE them. They handle GREAT in the rain and snow, and are actually pretty quiet for a MT.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to do much wheeling lately, but they were great when I did wheel.

They are wearing very well, you just have to remember to keep them rotated!

Here's a pic when I first got them (excuse the dirtiness, it was winter):

After playing in a snowbank, haha:

Also look into the Maxxis Bighorn, those are supposed to be very good. 4 Wheel and Offroad just did a 33" mud tire comparo, they were impressed with it.

Results of the test were:

1) Interco Swamper Trxus
2) ProComp Xtreme MT
3) Maxxis Bighorn
4)BFG MT KM
5)Goodyear Wrangler MTR (new style..old style is supposed to suck in mud too)

I would say if you get the BFG's, get the new style, KM 2.

Nitto's are supposed to be good, but they'd better be for that price!!

Just be warned that MT's are louder than AT's, generally will hurt your gas mileage (my Jeep went from 19mpg to 16mpg), might not roll as smoothly as AT's, and will not be as good on packed snow or ice. With MT's, the deeper the snow, the better

As far as gearing, I'm pretty sure the Z71's came with 3.73's. I'm sure if you look you'll find plenty of Chevy sites for info. One good offroading site that I like is www.pavementsucks.com. They have info on all 4x4's and good general info forums.

And I'd skip the non-functional brushguard and the tinted lights.

Spend the money on things like a toolkit to keep in the truck, a matching spare, and a tow strap and some recovery equipment. And not a cheap 12 dollar wal mart strap either. A good, 30k rated strap (with LOOPS on each end) will cost you 30-60 bucks usually.

And if it has running boards or side steps on it, TAKE THEM OFF!