BourbonNcigars
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- Dec 1, 2018
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First, a little anecdote regarding the difference between men and some woman when it comes to all things automotive.
About 7 weeks ago I bought a 2010 SSV Tahoe. Previous park ranger vehicle, then civilianized by a second party. I'm the third owner. 113K miles after today's short 250 mile road trip. The previous owner put factory 20" wheels on it, a center console, and carpet and padding. The interior has some dash cracks (which ones don't?), but the vinyl in the front and rear seats looks new. All in all, not a lot to separate it from a lower range "normal Tahoe" other than the typical creature comforts.
So during my short ownership so far, I'm telling my wife that I wish I had another Tahoe to compare it to. An LT or LTZ..something like that. Just so I could see what I needed to add or change in order to make it a real Tahoe. Did it ride the same? Was it as quiet? I expressed a few times it'd be nice to know these things without having to go to a dealership to find a used one and drive it. Needed one I could really dig into so to speak.
Last week we're going out to dinner and she tells me she needs to stop by her best friends house (5 minutes away from our house) to drop something off. Of course I agree and happily head that way after we finish eating. We pull into her BF's neighborhood, down her street, and I see a familiar looking set of taillights in the driveway. You already know where I'm going with this, don't you?
Not only does her best friend have a Tahoe, but's it's a GMT900. Same as mine. It's white. Same as mine. Other than the side molding and luggage rack, it's externally identical to mine. Are you ******* kidding me.
All this time I've been telling her how bad I wish I could drive one and compare various things to my SSV and her damn BFF has had one for the last two years. Jesus. Skip forward to tonight...
I drove it, after being in mine from 8am to 5pm. 2011 Texas Edition LT. 139K miles. As a reminder mine is a 2010 SSV with 113K miles. During my ownership and especially today's road trip, I've noticed that mine is WAY too loud on the road. Enough to aggravate my tinnitus. Driving the LT version showed me that I was right. Her's had much, much less road noise than mine. Wind noise was the same. Actually seemed louder in hers because of the reduced road noise.
While the previous owner of mine put carpet and padding down, he (or she) did nothing in the way of a mass loaded vinyl that comes on many factory carpets. I didn't get a chance to inspect her's to see if it had anything in the way of a sound barrier. Regardless, that's an easy fix. Perhaps one of you knows if the factory carpet has an extra sound dampening layer...
Other than the reduced road noise (which is by far the most important thing for me to figure out right now because it's hurting my ears), mine actually drove better. Tighter steering, much less roll (though hers was a softer ride), and far better brakes on mine. Granted, it's not an apples to apples because they're both over 100K miles with variously worn parts. Still, I'd much rather have hers than mine because of the road noise. And even though her's had leather, I've really come to like the durability of vinyl, even if it's not heated (which sucks). At a glance, it'd be a toss up with whose interior was nicer. Close inspection would reveal the winner to be hers. I'll be over there next week and will snap a pic of her RPO's and see everything her Tahoe has.
Anyway, just a bit of a comparison between two seemingly similar vehicles. Crazy how much of a difference the road noise can make in the enjoyment of driving. I've put butyl backed material over the cargo area and will soon put closed cell foam and MLV down over the entire floor, followed by new factory fit carpet.
One variable that I can't account for with noise is my tires. The rear are Goodyear LS2's that are quite worn, and some Ironman's up front (never even heard of them). At 78mph I get a noticeable vibration, though I'm not sure if that would add any noise at lower speeds. Either way new tires all around will happen soon.
Damn I got long winded. So there you have it. If I had it to do over again, I'd have simply spent a little extra on the initial vehicle purchase, rather than spending less and telling myself I'd fix what I needed to. Live and learn.
About 7 weeks ago I bought a 2010 SSV Tahoe. Previous park ranger vehicle, then civilianized by a second party. I'm the third owner. 113K miles after today's short 250 mile road trip. The previous owner put factory 20" wheels on it, a center console, and carpet and padding. The interior has some dash cracks (which ones don't?), but the vinyl in the front and rear seats looks new. All in all, not a lot to separate it from a lower range "normal Tahoe" other than the typical creature comforts.
So during my short ownership so far, I'm telling my wife that I wish I had another Tahoe to compare it to. An LT or LTZ..something like that. Just so I could see what I needed to add or change in order to make it a real Tahoe. Did it ride the same? Was it as quiet? I expressed a few times it'd be nice to know these things without having to go to a dealership to find a used one and drive it. Needed one I could really dig into so to speak.
Last week we're going out to dinner and she tells me she needs to stop by her best friends house (5 minutes away from our house) to drop something off. Of course I agree and happily head that way after we finish eating. We pull into her BF's neighborhood, down her street, and I see a familiar looking set of taillights in the driveway. You already know where I'm going with this, don't you?
Not only does her best friend have a Tahoe, but's it's a GMT900. Same as mine. It's white. Same as mine. Other than the side molding and luggage rack, it's externally identical to mine. Are you ******* kidding me.
All this time I've been telling her how bad I wish I could drive one and compare various things to my SSV and her damn BFF has had one for the last two years. Jesus. Skip forward to tonight...
I drove it, after being in mine from 8am to 5pm. 2011 Texas Edition LT. 139K miles. As a reminder mine is a 2010 SSV with 113K miles. During my ownership and especially today's road trip, I've noticed that mine is WAY too loud on the road. Enough to aggravate my tinnitus. Driving the LT version showed me that I was right. Her's had much, much less road noise than mine. Wind noise was the same. Actually seemed louder in hers because of the reduced road noise.
While the previous owner of mine put carpet and padding down, he (or she) did nothing in the way of a mass loaded vinyl that comes on many factory carpets. I didn't get a chance to inspect her's to see if it had anything in the way of a sound barrier. Regardless, that's an easy fix. Perhaps one of you knows if the factory carpet has an extra sound dampening layer...
Other than the reduced road noise (which is by far the most important thing for me to figure out right now because it's hurting my ears), mine actually drove better. Tighter steering, much less roll (though hers was a softer ride), and far better brakes on mine. Granted, it's not an apples to apples because they're both over 100K miles with variously worn parts. Still, I'd much rather have hers than mine because of the road noise. And even though her's had leather, I've really come to like the durability of vinyl, even if it's not heated (which sucks). At a glance, it'd be a toss up with whose interior was nicer. Close inspection would reveal the winner to be hers. I'll be over there next week and will snap a pic of her RPO's and see everything her Tahoe has.
Anyway, just a bit of a comparison between two seemingly similar vehicles. Crazy how much of a difference the road noise can make in the enjoyment of driving. I've put butyl backed material over the cargo area and will soon put closed cell foam and MLV down over the entire floor, followed by new factory fit carpet.
One variable that I can't account for with noise is my tires. The rear are Goodyear LS2's that are quite worn, and some Ironman's up front (never even heard of them). At 78mph I get a noticeable vibration, though I'm not sure if that would add any noise at lower speeds. Either way new tires all around will happen soon.
Damn I got long winded. So there you have it. If I had it to do over again, I'd have simply spent a little extra on the initial vehicle purchase, rather than spending less and telling myself I'd fix what I needed to. Live and learn.
