S-10 Ext Cab performance ?????

[mac3897]

My sister in law is about to buy a 2002 S-10 ext cab 2wd 6cyl truck . How is this truck in the snow?   or rain for that matter?

She cant afford the 4x4 and needs to cart around some rather large dogs so she will be added a Cap to the bed.

 

Any comments are appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Greg]

My son bought a 2WD 4.3L regular cab S-10 with positraction this winter.  He keeps a few bags of water softener salt in the back under the cover and a light foot on the go pedal.  So far, so good.

 

Depending on the size and # of dogs, she might consider the regular cab Silverado WT.  She can get an 8' bed, V6, automatic, and air for about the same as an extended cab V6 S-10 LS.

[Blue Bowtie]

I will tell you that the truck is not that good in the snow or the rain.  Part of it is the stock tires, the Uniroyal Tiger Paws that come with these things are just no good, they are "B" traction tires, but with the light bed, I always found it hard to get good traction even in the rain.  I just changed my tires to Michelin LTX M/S and moved the size up from the stock 205/75/R15 to 225/70/R15...and I am MUCH more happy with them.  Overall, the ext. cab 4.3 S10 is a GREAT truck, I am extremely happy with it, and it is even better now that I changed out the stock tires!  So my suggestion, if she wants this truck, get rid of the stock (car) tires and get some real truck tires on it, she will be much more happy, I have learned from experience!  Hope this helps, if you have any other questions, I'd be more than happy to help you  

 

Brandon

[mac3897]

Thanks for the replys.

 

Greg - Is positraction the same as the locking rear diff. that has to be ordered as an option ??????  How much weight do you put in the bed? Is 100 lbs enough or 50 or 500 ?????? I suggested to her about the reg cab silverado but she said she thinks it is just too big for her. Plus she likes the higher mileage of the s-10

 

Blue Bowtie - Thanks for the advice on the tires. I have already mentioned to her about changing them. Any other recommendations for me...actually her.

[Blue Bowtie]

mac3897,

Yep, positraction = Locking Rear Diff.

I put about 300 pounds in the bed of mine in the winter, it helps some    I don't have the Locking Rear Diff on mine, but like Greg said, as long as you keep your foot out of the gas, you should be alright...I have already made it through two Indiana winters with mine, but this year was mild at least!

 

Brandon

[bluelab]

I had a 99 S-10 ext. cab 2wd with 4.3 and did not have any problems with traction at all.  Handled the snow, rain even used it to haul a 16' boat around in and out of ramps did not get stuck once.  I was not impressed with the stock tires it came with they were basically a car tire.   When the stock tires wore down I replaced them with Goodyear tires and loved the difference it made the truck look.  The aggressive looking Goodyear Tires changed the entire look of the truck.  If you are buying the S-10 for better fuel economy there really is not much difference with the Silverado 1500 2wd with small 8 cyl.

[mnstrmdnss]

the stock uniroyal tigar paws gotta go to get aroung in snow! i just put a set of bridgestone duelar AT's on my 98 sonoma 2wd and besides mondo better traction, the truck rides so much smoother. the s10/sonoma's are great trucks.

 

hey, blue bowtie, where at in indiana do you live? i live in south bend.

[Greg]

I will tell you that the truck is not that good in the snow or the rain.  Part of it is the stock tires, the Uniroyal Tiger Paws that come with these things are just no good, they are "B" traction tires, but with the light bed, I always found it hard to get good traction even in the rain.  I just changed my tires to Michelin LTX M/S and moved the size up from the stock 205/75/R15 to 225/70/R15...and I am MUCH more happy with them.  

I hope my son doesn't read this or he'll add new tires to the list of things for me to do to his truck while he's in boot camp.  As for weight, I think he's running about 200 lbs. of KCl salt substitute that will go into my water softener this spring.

 

As for the S-10 v Silverado, I drove by a Silverado today and thought the jump up into the bed on the Silverado may be pretty tall for a dog.

[mac3897]

Thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions.

She picked it up last night. She got the S-10 ext cab 2 wd 4.3v6 in dark cherry red. I must say it looks very sharp.

 

Now i just have to talk her into letting my "take it for a spin"