Mike GMC

I wonder if a 4" diff drop setup with a 2" or 2.5" coilover spacer would work or if it would just make a mess of things? That way you get the small lift with out loosing down travel. Plus, you could always increase the spacer later if you wanted more lift.

I've been researching many of the same things you are. My conclusions so far are that a level is a cheap band-aid approach to fit bigger tires. A real lift is the only proper way to do it, particularly if you intend to use the truck off road. If you are interested in looks and tire size only, a level can do that. But the real costs are hidden in premature wear of ball joints, CV joints and even the steering rack.

Cycle the key to ON without starting and listen for the pump to run. It will only run for a few seconds without the engine running.

Yes, there is an oil pressure lockout for the fuel pump. If there is no pressure, the pump won't run. Also, the sensor is right next to the can position sensor, you didn't accidentally disconnect get did you?

Yep, diffs and t-case are easy, I also use Amsoil products in everything.

They are not that good and if you plan to make the truck last as long as possible, you will not try to run them that long. I can't tell you what the "right" interval is, but I can tell you I have already changed all the fluids in mine and it only has 39k on it. The t-case fluid looked particularly nasty. The diffs weren't too bad, but looked like they were ready. The coolant was definitely ready. The trans fluid is still clean looking and slightly sweet smelling so it has not been changed yet. Go figure.

I don't know how odd that size is. I was thinking of that size as well. It gives just a bit more tire size without needing a level. I agree though that not many would pull off usable tires to change to this size. I will be waiting until my oe tires are worn out. The 285/65 option does sound interesting as well, but I would think the 265 width might be better in rain and slushy snow.

The old ones don't look bad. However, a plug doesn't have to look bad to be bad. I've had brand new ones that ran like crap, put the old ones back and it was just fine. I've also plulled some out that looked so bad I couldn't believe it still ran, but it did. You just never know unless you have a real problem and it's missing.

The only Hoosier I know makes race tires. Good ones too. That hitch is very cool. If I end up getting a TT, I'll have to try to remember this one.

Ooh, I know this one! Vacuum pump.

Seems a little high too me. Check book value for trade in and see what they likely have in it. Of course they need to make some money ey to stay in business, but you should be able to get it 2-3k over trade in.

True, but without it there will always be the people with more questions. Such as mantenance practices fuel quality, driving conditions etc etc. I don't need a study of any kind to convince me of their worth, but some do. To me it's common sense. Keeping contaminants out of the intake is a good thing. Even if the contaminants don't really do much harm or it turned out that the catch can doesn't really keep much out, the can certainly can't hurt.

Weather has a lot to do with how much you loose, but here in Denver correction factors at the dyno range from about 1.25 down to 1.18. At 10000 ft, it's more like a 40-50% loss. Honestly, at least with this truck, it doesn't seem that bad. It may just be a real world example of just how invasive the torque management is at lower elevations. You get up high and the computer progressively unleashes more of the potential. I would assume a truck with a good tune would "feel" the elevation more.

Unfortunately, unless the 2 trucks in the test above literally followed each other around for 100k miles and encountered all the same conditions, fuel etc, a much larger sample size of each would really be needed to account for engine manufacturing differences and tolerances. Either way, this is VERY expensive testing so unless you're ready to start spending orders of magnitude higher prices for catch cans it's not likely to happen.

I've had mine over 11,000 ft in the mountains of Colorado and it did very well. Obviously it a bit down on power at that elevation, but it did better than I expected it to. It held the speed limit all the way without having keep the pedal on the floor. The automatic grade braking was interesting, but I prefer to use manual mode going down hill.