MThompsonjr115 - 2014 GMC Sierra CCRB 4x4 5.3 SLT A

MThompsonjr115 · September 20, 2014

I think it's about time I started a thread to keep track of my trucks progress. I don't have many pictures of it(it's sad, I know).

I bought it on July 9th, 2014, Certified Pre-owned, with 17k miles on it and in pretty good shape. It was a lease turn-in, woman owned, etc. It has definitely been used as a truck, I know that much. Only problem with it, which I didn't notice until the day I went to pick it up, the power sliding rear window was replaced by a standard, tinted, defrost window. It appears the the PO had something that slid forward in the bed and broke the window, This was indicated by the dents in the front of the bed.

Since I bought it, I've put on the following:

1. BedRug

2. Fold-A-Cover G4 Elite tonneau cover

3. AVS Vent Visors(removed due to sagging)

4. WeatherTech No-Drill Mud Flaps

I ordered the following on Friday:

Corsa Sport Cat-back, single side exit w/ dual 4" Tips(arrived this afternoon)

Airaid MXP Cold Air Intake(should be here toward the end of next week)

I've been happy with the truck so far for the most part, but there's small things that bug me. The fuel mileage has been pretty good. I usually average around 17.5mpg to and from work, no highway. My trip to Pittsburgh yielded 20.5MPG combined highway and city driving with 4 people in the truck.

I'll get more pictures and video of the truck when I can, time is limited.

Here it is, in the lot:

Finally home, tucked in for the night, next to the rally car:

At work:

Ready to start the day:

I'd like to level/lift the truck(RC 2.5"), but do not want to have reliability issues down the road. I put a lot of miles on.

Truck needs tires as well, the OE SRA's are about shot, and the truck only has 23k miles on it. I've been looking into the Cooper AT3's , but not sure what size to go with, I guess it depends on if I get it lifted or not.

I'll follow up with sound clips and pictures after the exhaust and intake install.

MThompsonjr115 · September 24, 2014

Installed an Airaid MXP CAI last night.

Still on the fence whether I like the added "noise" or not. Going to give it a week or so I think before I decide to keep it or ditch it for an Airaid JR. kit.

I'll get a video of the interior sound today, if I remember to.

xranger90 · September 26, 2014

How's the sound of Airaid? I heard Volant has a full tube with a sealed box for the 2014 sierra.

MThompsonjr115 · September 27, 2014

How's the sound of Airaid? I heard Volant has a full tube with a sealed box for the 2014 sierra.

I'll get a video up soon... I forgot to shoot one.

To explain the sound/noise, it kind of like a hollow vibration/resonance at first, when hard on the throttle, then it settles down to a nice V8, throaty, intake sound.

It makes some annoying noises under heavy load in V4. I think that's the most annoying thing. I know I could drive in M5, but I like the V4 for the added MPG.

I think the problem could be solved with some Dynamat or another sound absorbing material, when stuck to the outside of the shield/box to help keep it from vibrating. At least that's what I think makes that initial loud noise. Although it might just make it worse if it's not the box vibrating.

MThompsonjr115 · September 27, 2014

Here's a video of the Airaid MXP Cold Air Intake in-cab sound and me rambling as always. Video taken with iPhone 6.

https://vimeo.com/107354455

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MThompsonjr115 · September 27, 2014

Cleaned up after the car wash today.

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Mike1220 · October 4, 2014

Looking good man. if you want some mean looking tires, look into the Toyo R/Ts, thats what I'm getting soon. They have great reviews (what few reviews there are on them so far since they just started being sold last month)

MThompsonjr115 · October 5, 2014

Looking good man. if you want some mean looking tires, look into the Toyo R/Ts, thats what I'm getting soon. They have great reviews (what few reviews there are on them so far since they just started being sold last month)

I was looking into some Cooper AT3's, but I'm liking the looks of the Toyo AT2's. The passenger version is warrantied to 65k miles, 10k more than the Coopers. I put a lot of miles on in a year, around 25k.

The RT's look pretty cool, would be pretty aggressive. Only have a 40k mile warranty and the sizes are a bit wider than I'd like to go. Smallest 20" wheel size is 33x12.50.

One day I may consider going to a 18" Method wheel. If my sponsor(BRAID Wheels USA) made a wheel to fit my truck, I'd run some of their wheels.

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Daly · October 5, 2014

I had the Cooper AT3's on my last truck they were a great tire, spring summer and fall, but they fell short in the winter. They had trouble dealing with the packed snow…

MThompsonjr115 · October 5, 2014

I had the Cooper AT3's on my last truck they were a great tire, spring summer and fall, but they fell short in the winter. They had trouble dealing with the packed snow…

That's interesting, I had heard that they were great in snow.

Snow traction is a big deal to me, but I do not want to run a dedicated snow tire on my truck.

I guess that makes my decision a bit tougher now.

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Daly · October 5, 2014

Yeah, they were good on fresh snow, but as soon as it got packed down or icy, they lost their traction… There were a couple times last winter where they were a little more then just sketchy… This year I'm going to try the Duratracs in the winter to see how they are, if they don't live up to what people are saying, then I'll be doing a dedicated winter tire next year…

MThompsonjr115 · October 6, 2014

Yeah, they were good on fresh snow, but as soon as it got packed down or icy, they lost their traction… There were a couple times last winter where they were a little more then just sketchy… This year I'm going to try the Duratracs in the winter to see how they are, if they don't live up to what people are saying, then I'll be doing a dedicated winter tire next year…

A friend of mine rallycrosses his SVT Raptor on Duratracs, and he did pretty well in the snowy field this past February. The snow never really packed all that much, but the tires dug through to get down to the hard ground.

I would think that the big tread blocks on the Duratracs would tend to make them worse on packed snow and ice.

On the rally cars, we run tires that are extremely siped and cut in order to get traction on packed snow and ice. The more edges the better. All the sipes and cuts also help make the tread blocks more flexible.

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MThompsonjr115 · October 16, 2014

::UPDATE::

Truck was at the dealer Monday for service and a host of small/minor complaints I had(vibrations, coolant smell, steering wheel clunk, etc) and nothing was fixed/corrected. They also drove the truck HARD(MPG's were about 2MPG lower over the tank average than when I dropped it off, they only drove it 15 miles) and left it a mess and wet inside. Door panels and seats were quite wet. Needless to say I was pissed off, too pissed to speak with someone.

Today I installed the Corsa Sport exhaust system I bought a few weeks ago. I'm very impressed with the quality and fitment of the system.

It sounds great, not too aggressive or intrusive. At idle it got a nice rumble, but isn't very loud. Light/mild acceleration sounds good, not too loud, but enough to tell you there's 8 cylinders under the hood. Hard acceleration isn't screaming loud, but is just right, great tone and sound level. Cruising in low RPM and on the highway it's very quiet... It's almost unbelievable how quiet it is. The only time it's a bit annoying is in V4 under load... then quiets down if you let the truck kick into V8.

Overall I'm very happy with this system. I'll get a video up as soon as I can.

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MThompsonjr115 · November 2, 2014

Installed some new Goodyear Duratrac tires yesterday. I put on some 275/60R20(33x10.8") which are 1" taller, but the same width as the OE tires.

Much more compliant than the SR-A's. There's obviously more noise, but not bad under 55mph. At 70-75mph, they are noticeably louder, but not as bad as my Jeep Wrangler with MT/R's.

Can't wait for snow to hit!

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