Winter DD upgrade: JGC SRT8 vs TBSS AWD?

[rocket5979]

So I am pondering the sale of my 2005 Audi S4 in order to get into a quick SUV that will serve as my all around daily driver. I have really been looking at used JGC SRT8 and AWD TBSS. My budget would keep me around the 2006-2008 model years. I am somewhat stuck in the middle between these two and am hoping people here who have owned either can shed more light on reasons why/why not to buy one or the other.

So far what I have come up with are:

JGC SRT8:
Pro:

• Faster than TBSS
• Better looking exterior
• Better looking interior

Con:

• Terrible gas mileage (How much can this be improved with boltons/tune???)
• Cannot tune it myself

TBSS AWD:
Pro:

• I can tune it with my HPT Pro
• I am more familiar with GM powertrains
• Slightly better MPG then SRT8

Con:

• Not as fast as SRT8

-How is the reliability of either of these two vehicles?
-Do either of them pull the nickle and dime stuff on a regular basis?
-Any weaknesses or design flaws to watch for?
-How strong is the engine/trans/differentials/etc?
-Overall enjoyability?

I just want a reliable daily driver that can easily tackle winter duty, which is why I prefer AWD, that has more interior room than my S4 does, and that is enjoyable to drive while still being reliable. I plan to mod it lightly, but nothing insane (probably boltons, tune, and 100wetshot of nitrous I have laying around). I do care about gas mileage, but also realize that I daily drive my TT G8 during the summer which only gets 12MPG in the city, so I am used to a DD car that gets less than stellar MPG. I am looking at the possibility of other vehicles too, but am particularly interested in how these two stack up against each other from personal accounts.

Click to read more...

 

[EmersonHart13]

Towing a factor?

 

[rocket5979]

Towing a factor?

Not especially. It would be a nice convenience to have, but I sold my jetskiis last year, so I don't currently own anything that needs towing.

 

[Spivitz]

I'm partial to the tbss but can tell you they have an awful stock oiling system. Thus if you mod it you will want to spend the money for the oil pick up tube.

Those Jeep's are real slick too.

 

[sickmint79]

100 shot of nitrous for a winter daily ??

mom is selling me her wrx wagon. yaaay

 

[1quick]

working on the trailblazer can kind of suck like changing plugs, im sure headers would be a bitch also,

 

[IZZy]

I would say the TBSS will be more reliable, those GC's are known to have transmission problems, they are great looking SUV's but not as reliable

 

[Angus]

I think they both have transmission problems...

 

[IZZy]

Really? Is it the 4WD ones with the issues?

I bet the jeep will be more expensive to fix though lol

 

[Spivitz]

4L70E is fine. It gets a bad rap because people beat the living shit out of their trucks. Best thing is get a trans cooler and watch that temp.
Course converter, shift kit, servos etc go a long way too..

 

[boostedguy05]

GC SRT cannot tow due to the exhaust. Both are good trucks and each have their respected followings and faults. You really can't go wrong with either unless you want to tow. Find a clean one and have fun

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

TBSS

can be had for cheaper, parts are cheaper/more abundant whether aftermarket or stock junk, you can tune it yourself as stated.

 

[JBruno88]

I had an AWD TBSS... I'd never buy one again. Had nothing but problems with the truck. Oil pick-up is in the front half of the oil pan, when you go full throttle it starves the motor for oil. 4L70E was slipping bad when the trans fluid was cold. I only got 9.5mpg around town and that was babying it, 12 on the highway.

 

[rocket5979]

100 shot of nitrous for a winter daily ??

mom is selling me her wrx wagon. yaaay

If you met me you would understand. A 100 shot is no big deal at all in my book. Obviously nitrous would not be used during the winter.

 

[rocket5979]

I only got 9.5mpg around town and that was babying it, 12 on the highway.

Holy crap that seems like uncommonly low gas mileage! I know my G8 has a different trans, weighs less, etc, but it has all manner of shit done to it and still gets 12 city and 26 highway. Hell, even JGC SRT8's get better than that. What did you have done? Wild N/A cam open tc and towed your boat wherever you went?

 

[JBruno88]

Nope. The car was bone stock. Most people experience 9-10mpg bone stock. When you do e fans cai and tune you pickup 1-2 miles per gallon, but it was my winter car so I had no desire to mod it.

You gotta look at the fact that you have a 6.0L V8 putting out over 400 hp, AWD, 4.10 rear gears, and a 4 speed transmission... The car will always suck gas.

 

[rocket5979]

You gotta look at the fact that you have a 6.0L V8 putting out over 400 hp, AWD, 4.10 rear gears, and a 4 speed transmission... The car will always suck gas.

Though I won't debate the TBSS gas mileage in particular, because I have never owned one; but I don't agree that a vehicle similar to that will always suck gas.

 

[JBruno88]

It also weighs 5500 lbs lol

 

[utryd2]

In my 08 tbss awd, Stock I was getting 14-16mpg ave. I did a tune, cai, efans, and exhaust and it got 16-18 mpg ave. If I was hard on it the lesser if I was nice to it the greater. It was a good truck. I put over 65k miles on it and it was my dd. Never had any issues with it either. Just regular maintenance and you're good.

 

[rocket5979]

It also weighs 5500 lbs lol

Is that Curb weight or GVW? I figured they would weigh somewhere around 4,700-ish lbs, give or take a hundred or two. Seems pretty heavy.

 

[rocket5979]

In my 08 tbss awd, Stock I was getting 14-16mpg ave. I did a tune, cai, efans, and exhaust and it got 16-18 mpg ave. If I was hard on it the lesser if I was nice to it the greater. It was a good truck. I put over 65k miles on it and it was my dd. Never had any issues with it either. Just regular maintenance and you're good.

Thank you. I usually tend to naturally eek out better than advertised gas mileage in most vehicles I drive. I don't drive like a grandma, but I guess I do accelerate in a smooth manner when just cruising around town or on the highway. Hopefully that would come into play here. If I could get high teens to almost 20MPG on the highway I would not be unsatisfied with that.

Also, before any goons start coming in here saying shit like, "If you are buying a car like this then you shouldn't give a shit about gas mileage". I firmly believe that comments such as this are plain idiocy. If you approach things intelligently enough then there is usually a way to have a some speed without completely sacrificing fuel mileage.

 

[1quick]

its heavy, you could pick one up with the 5.3 and save alittle money the mpg will jump and you have the option of push button 4wd rather than awd or rwd, all the ss bolt on's fit, my 5.3 tb would get 18.5 mixed and 23 highway with just efans tune intake and exhaust, it was about as fast as a stock tbss at that level

 

[Mike K]

Have you sat in the TBSS? The cabin is a pretty horrible space to spend time. It's more a less a showcase of how bad GM interiors actually got.

 

[bikrboy128]

pretty sure the 06 SRT8s had problems with the transfer case/differentials. 07+ are rock solid though in terms of driveline reliability.

they are both solid trucks. i've been wanting a GC srt8 for a while, so i'd probably drive home in one of those before a TBSS.

 

[rocket5979]

Have you sat in the TBSS? The cabin is a pretty horrible space to spend time. It's more a less a showcase of how bad GM interiors actually got.

Admittedly, I have not. However, while looking at photos of the TBSS interior I did get the impression that it was quite lackluster.

pretty sure the 06 SRT8s had problems with the transfer case/differentials. 07+ are rock solid though in terms of driveline reliability.

they are both solid trucks. i've been wanting a GC srt8 for a while, so i'd probably drive home in one of those before a TBSS.

I always make it a point to refrain from buying a first model year vehicle. Give it a year or two for the manufacturer to get things sorted out. That is why I am looking more at the 2008 model year timeframe now, as long as it stays within budget. I hear the JGC's got a little better in that MY.