The Trailblazer SS

[TheRookie]

Ok, this is a massive update. The 84 BMW 745i turbo got sold as I didn't have much time to work on it. Then I' got promoted at work such that I need to take out clients. So, the 05 Saab 9-2x (AKA the Saaburu WRX) with cloth and hatchback had to go and has been replaced as of yesterday.

Now introduce the new addition to the family. It's a 2007 Traiblazer SS. For those that don't know this model, it starts with an 395HP LS2 motor under the hood. It also has a tuned sports suspension, bigger brakes, and AWD rather than 4WD. I got an insane GMS deal and ended up with the nice 3SS package (leather, bose, memory/heated seats, etc). The motor and exhaust sound so good, I'm in heaven! Even the wife loves it. Did I tell you I am a lucky guy

And now for the pictures...





I've got a couple mods in mind that I'll be looking into. First of all, there is a $100 heat soak reduction kit for the MAF. The current MAF setup gets too hot and retards the timing like crazy. With that, I'll also get a cold air intake setup (about $250). About the only other thing I may look at is an ECM tune that will maximize the ECM/TCM for those mods and some other tweaks.

I am debating on which route to go with the tuning. It's about $300-$400 to send it out to a shop w/ experience and knowledge. Or, I could get a tuner package w/ black box for about $650 that would let me tune it myself as well as my Envoy XUV and Paul's truck based on the licensing. The geek in me wants to have that control, but one bad setting could be real ugly. I'm not doing anything yet as she only has about 60 miles on her now.

Out of the box, I should be good for low to mid 14's. The mods above would put me in the mid to high 13's. It's a lease, so I don't expect I'd sink anything more into it. BTW, that sports suspension is pretty amazing. This thing handles corners like crazy. I haven't pushed it hard yet, but everything is much tighter than I could have imagined. And yet it still has the rear load-level suspension w/ air bladders that gives it a very smooth ride too. Seems to have got all the engineering attention that the other LS2 recipients have gotten.

[TireSmoker]

Out of the box, I should be good for low to mid 14's. The mods above would put me in the mid to high 13's. It's a lease, so I don't expect I'd sink anything more into it. BTW, that sports suspension is pretty amazing. This thing handles corners like crazy. I haven't pushed it hard yet, but everything is much tighter than I could have imagined. And yet it still has the rear load-level suspension w/ air bladders that gives it a very smooth ride too. Seems to have got all the engineering attention that the other LS2 recipients have gotten.

That's killer Matt! I saw one of those out at Thompson this year. I don't remember actually seeing it run, but I remember a 13.75 or 13.80 dial-in on the window. Looked pretty stock.

-Dave

[Basement Paul]

Awesome!

You don't have to worry about tuning incorrectly on the ECU, they make you save your stock settings so you always can revert back for emissions, dealer repairs, or incorrect settings.

Rock on.

-BP

[ttamrettus]

Nice SUV. I am so jealous. Actually that is why I was asking Paul about invoices and such. My company car is almost up and I was considering taking the car allowance and using my GM supplier discount. Congrats. I love your bridge too.

[ttamrettus]

Matt, now that you have been driving it for about a week. How BAD is it really? Is it everything you thought?

[TheRookie]

Well, the only truly BAD part of this car is the mileage. I'd say I am averaging about 15 mpg, though it's barely broken in. Otherwise, it's a helluva a lot of fun. I've only had one real bit of fun and that was pretty much a draw against a mid 90's Z28 manual. I can't emphasize how good a job they did with the suspension. Almost as impressive as the pure power of the motor, which sounds great. I'd head down and give one a spin

[ttamrettus]

a test drive would be a BAD thing.
I'd want one even more.
I'll wait until I am truly ready to buy one.
(my wife is looking at some investment property so everything's on hold (again)).

[TheRookie]

Who said anything about BUYing. It's a company car, just lease it Actually, I got a heck of a lease deal on it. About $300/mo cheaper than a buy

[ttamrettus]

I actually put way too many miles on it.
I'd have to buy it at the end of the lease.
My 05 Impala has 65,000 miles (in 2 years and 3 months).

Maybe that's an option.
As I'd likely buy it out anway

[TheRookie]

Well, I decided to go with the ADM Permformance basic kit for the TBSS. That includes a high flow 4" cold air intake setup, upgrade MAF, and a retune of the TCM and ECM.

http://www.admperformance.com/images/pr ... oldair.jpg

I just pulled the ECM and TCM from the TBSS and I am sending it out tomorrow to Texas. It'll get overnighted back. Should be on the road by the end of the week.

I have high expectations for this upgrade. Dyno results are 30 RWHP and a drop of .4 in the 1/8 mile. I figure that's at least 40HP at the motor. That'll put me in the 440HP / 440 ft-lb at the motor range. My goal for the spring is run the 1/4 under 13.5 @ over 100MPH and under 2.0 60ft.

P.S. This guy's website is worth checking out http://www.trailblazerbuildup.com . Pretty cool roadmap of what you can do with these things.

[Basement Paul]

Between a bunch of break in miles, and your new found power gains, I'd say that's more than realistic for the SS. If Karder wouldn't have let up, it would have been in the 13.8s already.

-BP

[TheRookie]

Maybe I need to drop MY spare tire besides just the SS spare tire so I can go as fast as Karder

[TheRookie]

Well, the new CAI plus ECM/TCM upgrade is in. Only took a few days to get it turned around. With the CAI, it definitely growls much better. I took a quick spin and the throttle response is much better. I had the guy raise the rev limit another 200 RPM. So far, so good. I'll know a little better once I get a chance to spin around a little more over the weekend. I'd take a picture of the CAI, but the wife has the camera. It's huge

[ttamrettus]

Matt,

I am still seriously considering one of these. I am curious why you picked the AWD over the 2WD. I read some articles testing the 2WD and it appears it handles well without AWD.

[TheRookie]

Well, for two reasons. For one, I am a wimp and call me a suburbanite, but I feel comfortable with AWD living in the snowbelt in Chesterland. I know plenty of people that will say all you need is a good set of snows. To some degree, there are some traction issues too when having fun. I don't want the traction control kicking in and spoiling the party or having to control a powerslide. The AWD is really cool as it pulls you through every corner. In fact, I can't even get tire spin on this thing. You stand a much better chance of triggering the stabilitrak than traction control in the AWD. I know the AWD has a performance cost though.

The traction control on today's cars is great, and should be plenty for you given you don't see a lot of snow but happen might encounter some. For you in ATL, I'd go 2WD. Besides, then you can go hang out with the ricer crown doing some sweet drifting in an SUV How cool is that??

FYI, I think some of this may depend on how much you plan on building this thing up. The guy doing the big buildup ran into traction problems at the 13.1 point just before he tried to put in the turbo. That was stock tires, rims, etc though. Just an FYI. Then again, no idea how much power the transfer case can handle. He's doing a bunch of tranny cooling at ~600HP (that's where he stands with the turbo).