Hello everyone, I'm not new to GM's (have built various applications from LT1 caprice classics, to a 01 Grand AM GT thats ran on 108 octane lol). However, I'm about to get rid of my baby, a custom, hand built by Scott Hoag (look him up lead project engineer for mustangs 2001-2004). My 01 MRT is my baby. However, due to certain circumstances ( my wife was in a terrible car accident leaving her leg crippled and sister living with us now also crippled), I've been hunting around for a more suitable vehicle.

I'm sure this part isnt new, but ever since I first saw them, I was IN LOVE with the looks of the Xtreme Blazers. Come Sunday, I may be having one. I'm trading my stang for it. Yes, I'm dumping the performance for looks and comfort for my wife (not to mention room for her wheelchair!). The ONLY vehicle I would let my stang go for, would be for an xtreme. My nephews best friend just so happens to be selling his to get something performance related, and well, 1+1= not the car of my dreams but (turck! lol) something I would deem a bit more versatile, hopefully better on gas, and more comfortable for my wife. And the fact it is what it is does not hurt matters. So I am semi- saddened to see my pony go, but for the sake of my wife and the fact it IS a bad A stang, im glad I atleast managed to find an extreme.

All that asside, I have a few general questions. Its an 01 white xtreme. I'm wondering, however, what are the ups and downs to these trucks before I solidify what seems like an awesome trade. How are they on gas? Obviouslly, it wont (without forced induction anyways) ever meet the performance standard of my pony.....but I want to be sure that I'm not getting myself into another Grand Am Lower intake manifold gasket nightmare.

So in that regards, mechanically, what are the most common problems? (big and small)?
What types of experience should I expect from handling in all weather? Snow, rain, etc as I live in Michigan.
What is the best oil/filter to use? The stang always ran royal purple with a K&n oil and cold air intake. (as well as other mods I wont delve too much into depth on but shes beast).
What type of gas mileage increase would I see from having custom exhaust work done with a cold air intake, and possibly a tune? (I get EVERYTHING I own dyno tuned eventually).
How do they sound with the exhaust work? (any applications welcome for imput i.e: headers, catback, mufflers or full blown? and did this increase/decrease gas capabilities?
I know the vortec fuel injection system is a nightmare (spider injectors)....how often do those go out or is it more rare/common?
Space wise it seems to have it for what we need. How reliable for towing are they? We have a 18 foot starcraft boat weighing in at 1200 pounds on a dual axle trailer. Do you think the Blazers have the power to pull one or would I be better of trading my boat in for a smaller boat or a pop up camper? I dont want to harm the drivetrain as when I get something I want it to last, and although the Mustang was my chioce at age 30 to have a nice old car one day, it looks like the Xtreme is now fitting the bill for that route.

Any imput is appreciated, and hello out there

 

Gas milage is normally between 15-20 MPG depending on the truck and luck (a member here gets 20+ MPG on his stocker, and no one knows why). Blazers handle well in the snow and rain (never had problems) but aren't good at high speed (though some people do well at 80MPH, Blazers are not meant for racing).

I can't speak for Xtremes but stock Blazers are pretty decent trucks. 4wheel drive is pretty beast.

Edit: I think it's awesome doing that for your wife

 

I recommend test driving it and letting your wife ride in it to make sure it is comfortable enough for her. I believe they have different suspension but im not sure if its stiffer or anything. But for SUV's the blazers are pretty quick and specially the extreme. But who knows you might get the mod bug after you get it and want to throw a nice LS2 in there to make it really move but that would probably be far in the future.

But after you test drive it im sure you will fall in love even more.

Edit: just read more of your post and to answer some more questions, 1200 pounds shouldn't be a problem for the blazer. If you plan on hauling it far tho i would recommend getting a secondary inline transmission cooler like a lot of people on here do. And the spider injectors really arent as bad as people say, if they go out they arent hard to replace if you know how to turn a wrench, i just replaced them on a friends blazer and it took me about 2 hours. And after i believe 2001 they went to the upgraded version which is less likely to fail.

Hope that helps some and if you have more questions feel free to ask.

 

First off i want to say thanks for the replies and responsces. Second Im at work on my phone so i appologize if this responsce is sloppym. Lol yesterday i was so excited for today i thought i was lookimg at the blazer a day early. As for towingnthats awesome to know :-D. Might trade my boat for a popup to avoid modding wanna keep it as stock as i get it. Went mod crazy every car ive ever owned all race applications and to me its just gotten too expensive. That or at ripe age of 30 im just thinking stock looks fine amd if the truck runs fine whybspend more money in it lol. Just cant wait to have her sit in it go for a ride see how she likes it :-D i know i will from the looks and ability for her wheelchair, extra storage. Anything over 12mpg gunna rock the stang runs 108 and its expensive enough to fill up, and open loop fuel on a race application daily driver sucks....literally. Lol so saving gas be nice on its own itll prolly be like night and day. As for mods it apparently comes withsubs and a radio in it already, so thatll be a nice little touch i bet those things sound epic with decent bass make my ted nugent mettallica hed pe sound amazing i bet! Idk i just love how the extreme blazers look not sure on rarity but always wanted one so trading performance for looks will be an added touch. Im not looking for pickup like the stangs 355 horsies and dont expect that lol. Not to hate but a truck that goes fast is scary too top heavy, ive rolled my yj a few times offroading so def dont wanna risk it with the blazer. How rare are they? I see quite a few in michigan but mostly the s10s only 4 tota i know of blazer wise in my area.....anyways, nice meeting you all thanks for the advice/imput! Any more advice is welcome :-D. Wanna know as much as i can before trade dont wanna get something that has an engine that bombs out after so many miles, and the fact they dont like speed is better for the wife as she has ptsd from her auto accident.

 

You might want to read these threads:


Official MPG Poll


A list of common annoying S-10 Blazer quirks

That happened late in the 2002 model year.

 

Thank RRidle, cuz im not keen on the blazers. my best friend has a chevy pick up same engine si a chevy family and hes a master mechanic told me what to look for and most of it was on the quirks thred . I inspected the truck up and down and decided to go with it. (as a native american I can say im now down one rez rocket and up a rez rat mobile lol!) Its def WAY different then the stang, but I'm content. About to try getting the wife into the truck here in the next few minutes for her first appointment. I'll get pics and what not up later of the xtreme. I really miss the mustang, ALOT, but im content for the wifes comfort, space, gas saving and the fact that, atleast in the end, I got something somewhat compairable as in looks and sound. So we STILL got us a nice toy that we can hopefully make last another 20 years and have us a classic whip that im sure in around 2020's will be a rare ride . Only issues the blazer has is minor rust/bubbling on both sides by the rocker panels, and what appears to be a VERY small leak on trans pan, most likely, in my assumptions, due to the gasket. so trans flush is in line come weds when i get paid, along with oil change. Got me an sct tuner already, so gotta figure out where the hell i reset the mustang tunes out of it and then i can retune the blazer, but i need a detailed specs sheet ( last name is goodyear, i wont disclose first but I WILL say we are a very race oriented family, and no no relation to the tire company lol).

either way, thanks for the heads up guys, and yes, I'm def a blazer owner now. Xtremes for the win!

 

Glad to see your happy with your new ride.
I believe theses little trucks have what it takes to go the distance..with a little tlc.
I hope you have many happy years with it.
And i agree with above...your wife has a good man on her side.

 

So today I decided to upgrade her slightly( prolly an all too common sentece LOL) after the wifes appointment. She is now sitting with 2 pioneer premier 12's running off a 1500 watt amp. This little beast mobile pounds the air out of your chest lol. Also put remote start with alarm system on it no system thieves for us. This truck is amazing. even at 80mph (was late for her appt, but didnt take it over) she had a very smooth ride. I cant wait to get paid on Weds. and turn around and get a shorty antenna for her and since she has a sunroof, no backseat light, so im thinking of figuring out wiring specs, and running a neon above the backseat, and hooking it up to a toggle. I know that my amp is halfway up, but only because any higher then it was and my amps drop below 12 each time bass hits good and lights dim. Is there any p[art numbers out there for a good aftermarket alternator? Thinking of putting one of those gel cell batteries in it too. Hell, the wife loved riding in it tho, she thinks it was a good trade, im thinking so as well.

 

As a young female with serious physical issues from a spine disease that affects the lower half of my body, me AND my husband each have a blazer. (I technically bought them both but gave him the 1st one because it was manual and hard for me to shift for longer periods.) And before chosing a vehicle, I test drove several specifically looking for one I could sit in comfortably and well....now we have two! So props to u for giving up ur pony for the sake of ur wife being able to enjoy a drive/ride with u and glad to hear she loved riding in it!! Job well done all around!

 

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