OK guys,
Wichita is under a major icestorm right now, I could not resist going out
and giving my '99 4X4 CC it's first real workout. Let me say up front, it
kicked A$$. I let it sleet/snow for a couple of hours this evening to get a
little built up on the roads and then took a little drive around the block.
I had a blast. My joyride went a little further than around the block. I am
very impressed with my Daks ability to handle the ice/slush, and the 4
wheel anti-lock is as impressive as the traction. I feel confident that
I'll be able to handle anything that old-man-winter can dish out. I've
never had a vehicle that inspired this much confidence under such adverse
conditions. What a hoot!
On a side note, I just installed my F&B TB this week. I have only good
things to say about this mod. What a difference! I already had a Jet Stage
II, K&N Gen II, 180 deg. thermo and Gibson Cat-Back. Let me say that the TB
made the most noticeable improvement in driveability of any of these mods.
The machining on this product is very good and the instructions very
complete, even with color pictures. Both Frank and Bruce have been very
friendly and knowledgeable, even going so far as to call me to answer my
questions before the sale! . Before the TB, I had pretty good top-end, but
when the trans shifted down, the truck really stumbled and kinda bogged at
lower RPM's. The TB has completely eliminated this. I have a big increase
in low RPM torque along with a willingness to build HP all the way to
redline. The Dak is a real pleasure to drive now. A nice flat HP/torque
curve from idle to redline. And it looks like I picked up 1.5 - 2 MPG
increase at the same time. None of the other mods have actually given me a
definite improvement in MPG except the F&B TB. Also, that damn whistling in
the intake is gone now. I even think my Gibson exhaust sounds more ballsy!
This mod is definitely worth the money and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone.
I just can't understand why the factory turns the Mag 318 out the door with
such a pi$$ poor TB with all those protrusions up into the airflow. Really,
all that whistling and hissing that it did before just tells me that it was
trying to bend the airflow in ways that just weren't natural.
The last mods I have planned are Accel Supercoil, Accel cap & rotor, MSD
wires and Autolite copper plugs (all on backorder from Summit). Maybe
someday, new shocks (Rancho? Edelbrock?) and stereo will be in the budget.
Overall, I am very happy with my Dak so far. With the mods I have, it's
really running good. I've had zero problems with it in the 6 months that
I've owned it.
I'll be out playing again in the snow and ice tomorrow morning.
Mike G
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Feb 06 2004 - 11:47:47 EST