newbie buys 03 & new tires

[jacal]

Hello all, happy St Patricks day.

I am the new owner of a 2003 v6 limited in galactic grey. So far I'm not sure what I have enjoyed more - the truck or this board!

I have purchased 265/70/r17 Nokian Vatiivas to replace rear revos and front dunlops that were on it when I purchased it. I can review the vatiivas & revos later, based on my experiences.

In addition, I purchased front WeatherTech "floorliner" mats. I don't have a picture of them yet, but when I do I will post a short review. There appears to be a couple of negatives that have surfaced. I am a repeat buyer, so I can compare these new mats to the 'classic' weathertech mats.

I have moved up from a 1999 (new) Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 due to family expansion. I mention this because I did a neat mod for those of us who use block heaters. I 'built-in' a plug normally used for marine applications. Again - more on this later!

That's all for now, looking forward to the mods!

J

 

[jacal]

nokian pics

The vatiivas up close.

 

[khaug]

Jacal, how many miles/km on your truck? Our '03 still has its original Michelin Cross-Terrains at 52K miles, and they are far from needing replacement.

I hope you have the same great luck with your '03 as we've had with ours. Great truck!!!

 

[alpha]

Nice, it looks great.. How are the Nokians? I've heard some rave reviews about them..

 

[jacal]

03 kms

Jacal, how many miles/km on your truck? Our '03 still has its original Michelin Cross-Terrains at 52K miles, and they are

Approximately 65,000km or ~40,000m.

When I got the truck the front was wearing the original dunlops. They were not completely worn, but judging by their performance on anything but dry pavement i was happy to let them go. The rear had brand new Revos in the factory size (265,65,17).

My previous truck had Michelin LTX ATs...these tires never seem to wear, but had shortcommings because of it.

Let me put my thoughts together on these new nokians given my experience (limited) with different tires and I'll create a new thread.

The short take on the nokians right now would be worse on-road performance (partially due to a larger sidewall) as compared to what the truck had previously, excellent ice, good or very good in deeper difficult/wet snow.

I find it difficult to adequately evaluate tires given the number of variables and lack of personal experience.


J

 

[mainer]

Tell me more about this biult in plug for your block heater. I dont run one on my runner, but have them on my diesels.

Coop

 

[jacal]

marinco block heater mod

Tell me more about this biult in plug for your block heater. I dont run one on my runner, but have them on my diesels.


In fact, diesel trucks are exactly where I saw the idea!

These guys do a great job of explaining:
http://www.thedieselstop.com/contents/getitems.php3?Marinco Block Heater Plug Mod

Enjoy!
J

 

[Kmvreter]

Re: marinco block heater mod

Tell me more about this biult in plug for your block heater. I dont run one on my runner, but have them on my diesels.


In fact, diesel trucks are exactly where I saw the idea!

These guys do a great job of explaining:
http://www.thedieselstop.com/contents/getitems.php3?Marinco Block Heater Plug Mod

Enjoy!
J

Thanks for the tip. I wish this had been posted a little earlier because I'm in the middle of installing a plug from a big rig. I've already bought the parts and have started some fabricating. I may have to reconsider...

 

[Kmvreter]

Block heater plug location

Took a look at this. I don't think there is a real good spot on the lower front of the 4th Gen (like a pickup truck bumper valance.) There is a plastic trim piece hanging below the bumper in front of the wheels but I don't think it is rigid enough for this type of application. I am sticking to my original plans (I'll post pics after the install.)