What didn't we like? The turning radius, the billet-blah hard-plastic dashboard, and seat heaters with switches and lights where you can't see them. To make matters worse, they automatically turn off after about 10 minutes. What's with that? We plan on fixing the other shortcomings (lack of height, departure angle, limited traction) in the coming months.
1,250 Miles
We drove the truck from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City to hit a couple of Ultimate Adventure product sponsors. This trip and some local miles were just starting to knock the knobbies off the tires when we pulled into the Les Schwab in Centerville, Utah. If you live in the Northwest, you know Les Schwab as the place to get tires, but it also carries the full line of Tuff Country suspension products. We were met in the parking lot with the typical Les Schwab greeting (young man running up to the window welcoming us and asking how he can help today), which frankly just scares a good-old boy from Los Angeles. Jeff Beba from Les Schwab and Shane Jones from Tuff Country knocked out the installation of a complete 6-inch Tuff Country lift in about five hours. That included a precision alignment and a testdrive after all the work was done. The Tuff Country lift for these trucks is simple and bulletproof. It comes with all the brackets and parts you'll need, and there are several options to ensure your truck will best meet your needs with the kit installed. We left the stock tires in place for now, but we'll be fitting this thing with beastly Michelin tires eventually.
1,340 Miles
Far from having the engine broken in, we pulled into Advanced Turbo Systems (ATS) to break the seal on the 7.3L. The crew at ATS knows how to squeak maximum power out of diesel burners of all types. They have a lot of experience with the Power Stroke and have a simple multistep program for improving the output of these engines. The first step is replacing the factory exhaust with a true 4-inch mandrel-bent stainless system and a high-performance muffler. Step two is a multistage computer module that gives you a stock setting, towing mode, and high-performance stage. The icing on the cake is a propane-injection system that works with the diesel fuel to improve power and fuel economy. What more could a tow-freak ask for? Even if you're not towing, these parts combine to make this Super Duty a 6,000-pound cruise missile. They also tossed on a trio of Auto Meter gauges for precise engine management, and an ATS compressor housing to overcome the common turbo stutter that becomes very noticeable when you start making killer power. We'll have to dyno and dragstrip this thing once the engine is fully broken in.
2,057 Miles
The final destination for this month was Avalanche Engineering where the Super Duty will be fitted with rock sliders to protect the acres of shiny sheetmetal. We'll bring you details on this stop next month, but for now it's time for us to hop a plane home.