New guy from VA

[greenway53]

Hello to all, My name is Logan. I'm a college student who is finally starting my slow build of my '06 TrailBlazer LS EXT, which I love and have never had any regrets about getting it (Her name is Sheila). I have not done much modification to my TB other than a few cosmetic changes and installing a flow master. In the coming months I am finally getting some A/T tires followed up with either a suspension lift or a body lift. Can't wait to share the build with y'all!




Beginning Product


Take away the traditional family look




Start of the blackout


Continuance of the blackout


How she sits today

[ErikSS]

Welcome!

[greenway53]

Ah shucks I meant to put "New guy from VA" not "BA" ....

[TBYODA]

Ah shucks I meant to put "New guy from VA" not "BA" ....

You can edit the title, welcome.

[greenway53]

Ah shucks I meant to put "New guy from VA" not "BA" ....

You can edit the title, welcome.

Thank you, still trying piece everything together with the forums

[mikekey]

Welcome to the site !

[djthumper]

Welcome!

[Trail X]

You're from my stomping grounds! I'm over here in the Salem area.

Welcome to the site. What sort of thoughts do you have for your truck? Interested in hitting some trails sometime?

[jonbo2002]

Welcome, You're probably going to want to do a lift before you go with A/T tires otherwise you're gonna end up having to use tires that are barely over stock size.

[DirtyBacon04]

Suspension before body (lift wise)

Good lookin truck, btw. I like the yellow caliper/black rim combo. You got a good start having an EXT, meaning you already have the 8.6" rear axle. I'm guessing you dont have a g80 (which is also a bonus, in my eyes). Easier to drop in a stronger, more effective, aftermarket locker. Whats your gear ratio? V8 or I6?

[Cable810]

Welcome!!

[razorvan]

Welcome to the site.

[greenway53]

You're from my stomping grounds! I'm over here in the Salem area.

Welcome to the site. What sort of thoughts do you have for your truck? Interested in hitting some trails sometime?

I want to get it more rugged looking and able to handle some of the roads I go on to get to my hunting area with ease. With that said I want to get it lifted, bigger tires, skid plates, and some more exterior accessories such as the roof rack and such.

[greenway53]

Suspension before body (lift wise)

Good lookin truck, btw. I like the yellow caliper/black rim combo. You got a good start having an EXT, meaning you already have the 8.6" rear axle. I'm guessing you dont have a g80 (which is also a bonus, in my eyes). Easier to drop in a stronger, more effective, aftermarket locker. Whats your gear ratio? V8 or I6?

What kind of suspension lift would you recommend? As for the gear ratio its a I6.

[navigator]

Board member/vendor MarkMc sells both 2.5" and 3" kits that are well represented.
You can find his items at theliftmeister.com. You can also get your wheel spacers from him.

If you aren't in a hurry, you might find some front lifts hitting the classifieds soon as 10+ members just purchased Radflo coilovers and some of them are already getting installed. You would likely still have to figure out your options for lifting the rear.

[DirtyBacon04]

Suspension before body (lift wise)

Good lookin truck, btw. I like the yellow caliper/black rim combo. You got a good start having an EXT, meaning you already have the 8.6" rear axle. I'm guessing you dont have a g80 (which is also a bonus, in my eyes). Easier to drop in a stronger, more effective, aftermarket locker. Whats your gear ratio? V8 or I6?

What kind of suspension lift would you recommend? As for the gear ratio its a I6.

Theres a difference between what I recommend and whats plausable. Ideally, I'd recommend the radflo coilovers, but i'm guess you dont have a thousand bucks laying around. Aside from that, any suspension lift will need to be an inside-the-strut spacer. BDS, MarkMC, and I think rough country have all 2-3" spacers. BDS's reputation has been on a decline with this community due to the failing bushings and bullshit warranty. MarkMC is a member here and has done alot for us and makes a real good product. I have no info/opinion on rough country.

Also, I was asking two seperate questions
1)Gear ratio
2)Engine size

To find you gear ratio, check the RPO codes in your glove box. GU6 = 3.42, GT4 = 3.73, GT5 = 4.10
If you also see G80, then you have the GM standard "locker". It's effective, but prone to explode with any form of aggressive wheeling. Thats why I said, i think it's better if you have the 8.6" rear axle w/o a g80, because its easy too drop in a real locker.

[Trail X]

Be careful focusing too much on the looks. Form driven by function is a lot of what we are all about here. Where do you hunt? Is it public land around here?

I agree with what Bacon said about lifts, except I wouldn't discount BDS if you're looking for a 3" lift. It seems the bushing issue is helped a lot by not getting springs that are too stiff, and partly due to the recent production change at BDS to larger bushing washers.

[Diacom]

What ever you chose, I'm sure it will turn out. Welcome

[DirtyBacon04]

Be careful focusing too much on the looks. Form driven by function is a lot of what we are all about here. Where do you hunt? Is it public land around here?

I agree with what Bacon said about lifts, except I wouldn't discount BDS if you're looking for a 3" lift. It seems the bushing issue is helped a lot by not getting springs that are too stiff, and partly due to the recent production change at BDS to larger bushing washers.

Is BDS making a 3" kit for us now?

[v7guy]

The comments on gear ratio stem largely from transmission heat, you'll find that generally we discourage going above 32" tires with 3.42 gearing due to transmission temps getting out of control. With 3.73s and bigger it's not as big of a deal to do 33s or bigger.

I think that 33s are probably the best compromise on our platform without getting too crazy, assuming you have proper gearing for them. We seem to start breaking things pretty regularly with 35s and lockers. With that said, a lot of guys have had plenty of success with 35s and leaving the front diff open. Although wheel bearings have been occasionally mentioned as a frequent wear item (think every year or two).

We've had success using a trans cooler with a thermostat inline to keep temps on the transmission reasonable during wheeling. My buddy Moots was seeing excessive trans temps with 3.73s and 33s on occasion (and then overcooling during cool days without the thermostat).