Ok, after putting 1,523.7 miles on this truck in the last 6 days, I have a few things that I want to get off of my chest, so here goes...
1. I used to think that Porterbuilt suspension was only for trucks that wanted to “lay frame.” I have been proven wrong. This suspension is amazing! Uneven lanes, patches in half of your lane, rough railroad crossings… All things that will unsettle the suspension in a new car even, don’t seem to faze this suspension. It is firm, yet compliant and completely predictable in every situation that was thrown at it. I can’t speak of the true “sport” performance of it, since it isn’t my truck, I didn’t want to push it too hard in curves. But I can tell you that it feels like it would be very agile on twisty mountain roads or even an autocross course. Are there other suspension companies that build stuff that can outperform it in corners? I’m sure, but they probably wouldn’t give as good of an “all around” feel, and would probably be much harsher on an interstate run. If I had to complain about one thing, it would have to be the decreased turn radius, but otherwise my hat is off to you, Nathan Porter! BTW, I’m pretty sure I sold at least 10 more setups just like Gringo’s at the show this weekend, so get your welder out.
2. I was once again proven wrong in thinking that 4.11 rear gears had no place in a vehicle that was destined to take extended road trips at higher speeds. I always thought gear sets numerically higher than 3.73’s were only for Street/Strip cars or dedicated drag cars. I know the 0.64:1 overdrive in the TKO transmission helped a lot, but 2,200 RPM @ 70 MPH is pretty damn good for a vehicle that feels this peppy off the line.
3. This one isn’t just from this weekend, but I used to believe that if you didn’t have a natural patina on your vehicle you shouldn’t fake it because everybody can tell. I think Gringo has perfected the faux-tina process. I can’t tell you how many car guys have asked me if this was original paint, hell it even fooled my wife when it first showed up at my house even though she is used to looking at my original paint Blazer. Gringo, you did a great job of resisting the urge to go too far like most people do.
4. LS engines are boring. You start it up, temp goes to 193 and stays there all day, oil pressure goes to 40 and stays there all day, you never have to ask “What is that noise?” or wonder if you have leaked too much oil. Where is the fun in that?
There are new problems though, like why is it not returning to idle when I let off the gas, yet a blip of the throttle brings it back down to 700 RPM like it is supposed to do. I’ll look into that, but I figure it’ll be simple to fix.
5. Gringo is too good at building trucks. He should probably stop while he is ahead. Everything is solid feeling, and operates smoothly. Sometimes too smoothly, like the passenger window regulator. You hit a bump and the window rolls down, not slack in the regulator and it just falls down a little, it actually unwinds the handle. When you are traveling by yourself and can’t reach over to roll it back up to keep the cold air in or the rain out, you have to improvise with what you have on hand. Yep, that is rubber bands keeping the window crank from rolling down.
6. For those of you that wondered how the truck sounds with a x-pipe installed the wrong way and the Borla Pro XS mufflers. A buddy captured a video of the truck driving off after I picked up some parts from him. It’s quiet at idle and comes alive when you get into it, just like I think an exhaust should be.
Gringo's truck - YouTube
As a side note, I enjoy taking these trips and seeing the enthusiasm of the younger generation when they see a B!tchin’ truck or Hot Rod. While eating breakfast at a Waffle House yesterday, a woman and her 10 or 11 year old son came up to us to ask if her son could pose NEAR the trucks for a picture. We told her that she was more than welcome to. As I watched them go near the trucks in the parking lot and the boy stood there waiting for his mom to get the phone out with little to no expression on his face, I wondered if the boy even wanted to do that. When his mom had the camera ready, it all changed, he gave 2 thumbs up and his smile looked like it extended off of the side of his face it was so big. That picture may be one that he cherishes until the time that he can blow all of his money on a cool truck or car while disregarding his other financial obligations, and it brings a happy tear to my eye because I like to think that Gringo, Kevin, and I had a small part to play in that!