Chevy V8 - 4.8L & 5.3L Owners

[BoaterX]

1. Please tell me which engine you have and what you're towing (i.e. 23' Cobra, 24' Deck etc.)
2. Does your tow rig have any performance mods (i.e. Programmer, Exhaust, Air Filter)
3. Do you have stock or aftermarket wheels? If aftermarket, please tell me the size wheels.
Obviously there's better towing power out there (Diesel, etc), but I am trying to find out what everyone is towing with these size engines.

[Cole Trickle]

1. Please tell me which engine you have and what you're towing (i.e. 23' Cobra, 24' Deck etc.)
2. Does your tow rig have any performance mods (i.e. Programmer, Exhaust, Air Filter)
3. Do you have stock or aftermarket wheels? If aftermarket, please tell me the size wheels.
Obviously there's better towing power out there (Diesel, etc), but I am trying to find out what everyone is towing with these size engines.
I have owned 2 5.3 Powered Silverados (03 Regular Cab 2x4/05 Crewcab 2x4)
If your towing at all I would upgrade to the 5.3L over the 4.8.I ordered both of my trucks with the optional 3:73 gars and they run hard.
The regular cab didn't tow but was ran at the track.With intake,exhaust and a Diablo programmer it made 285HP/315TO at the rear wheels and ran a 14.5 at 98 in the 1/4 mile on 20" wheels.(It hauled the mail pretty good)
The 2005 is a work horse and we use it regularly to tow my 20' Carson Trailer/Rhino. (It laughs at this load and will pull in 3rd gear without downshifting up any hill)
We also use it to tow our 28' Sleek Enforcer (7,000lbs) around havasu.It does a good job but needs 2nd for big grades.The motor is strong but I think ultimately the tranny would be the weak link when you tow steep grades with heavy loads.
The 2005 only has a Magnaflow Cat-Back and made 270/310 to the wheels.
Gas mileage is also fairly decent.It gets a tad over 21 MPG on the freeway and I can tow from OC to Glamis on a little over a half tank pulling the Carson.
The 4.8L is OK and likes toi rev but do yourself a favor and spend the extra $$ for the 5.3.(Photogulu can get you the truck for an unbeatable deal)

[sigepmock]

I agree with Cole Trickle, if you plan to tow at all get the 5.3L with a minimum of 3.73 gears. I had the 5.3L in a 99 1500 and now in my wife's Tahoe. The 1500 was a 4x Z71 with 4.11 gears, it towed really well until I lifted it and put 35's on it. Even then it did OK. The Tahoe has 20" wheels, 3.73's, and is 2x. It towed our 21 Ultra very well. got 15 mpg towing at 65 -70. Not towing it's near 20 on the highway and 17 around town. It has the Diablo Sport Predator set on the 87 Octane tune, the programmer really helped the drivabilty on the Tahoe, it goes when you give it gas and doesn't search for gears. Also a good seat of the pants power increase.
I've been in a 4.8L short bed reg cab Chevy and it was slower than the 3.8L V6 I had in my first Chevy truck.
Call Jay Photoglou and he can set you up in 5.3L Silverado at such a good price the 4.8L won't even be a thought anymore,
Chris

[Cole Trickle]

I've been in a 4.8L short bed reg cab Chevy and it was slower than the 3.8L V6 I had in my first Chevy truck.
Chris
The 4.8 is by no means a weak motor they actually only dyno about 20-30HP less than the 5.3 but they don't feel that great because they are missing 40-50 Ft Lbs of Tq.
Chris is smoking crack if he thinks his 3.8 V6 ran better than a 4.8 V8 but the LSX engines are a little deceptive the way they make power.The old chevy stuff made god TQ immediately yet fell on it's face at 4K Rpm's.The newer motors still make decent HP/TQ down low but they pull all the way to the 6K redline without dropping off.
Plus my first truck with the 4.3 Vortec V6 would have smoked his first truck!!! :crossx:

[sigepmock]

Plus my first truck with the 4.3 Vortec V6 would have smoked his first truck!!! :crossx:
No way F@G!!! My 5 speed 3.8L V6 with the K&N and UPS Truck sounding 2 chamber Flowmaster was fast as hell.....well not really but with the loud exhaust and easy burnouts with the 5 speed it sure sounded fast.... :crossx:
Yeah you are probably right about the V6 it did make a lot of low end grunt....Whenever we towed to Glamis I was always right with my buddies with the 4.8's. That low end TQ really made that V6 a decent little motor.
So enough of the past.....wanna race truck angainst truck today... :crossx: I'll even race you with that sissy little Vette in tow behind mine

[Cole Trickle]

No way F@G!!! My 5 speed 3.8L V6 with the K&N and UPS Truck sounding 2 chamber Flowmaster was fast as hell.....well not really but with the loud exhaust and easy burnouts with the 5 speed it sure sounded fast.... :crossx:
Yeah you are probably right about the V6 it did make a lot of low end grunt....Whenever we towed to Glamis I was always right with my buddies with the 4.8's. That low end TQ really made that V6 a decent little motor.
So enough of the past.....wanna race truck angainst truck today... :crossx: I'll even race you with that sissy little Vette in tow behind mine
Don't nap on my 4.3L with the Gibson exhaust,Airraid intake and the Hypertech programmer.I forgot to mention it was also a 5sp manual reg cab that slaid alot of 5.7L extra cabs back in the day. :crossx: :220v:
You would probably be surprised by the power of the 5.3L Crew cab.My buddy Jeremy has a new Lifted D-MAx with the Edge w/attitude/Magnaflow that wouldn't stand a chance(Of course the truck weighs 2K ounds more and is pushing 37'shttp://www.***boat.com/forums/customavatars/avatar13368_1.gif
Diesels are for towing.......
Racing one is like playing basketball with a 1 armed midget....Fun/entertaining for a while but kind of a waste of time if you think about it
Now vettes on the otherhand are for racing :crossx:

[BoaterX]

Good feedback, but I should have been more specific....
I currenlty have an 04 Tahoe 4.8L, with 22" Wheels, Magnaflow Exhaust, Hypertech Programmer and K&N Air Filter. I tow a 23' boat with a 496 (just sold) and it tows just fine. I need to get on it a little when I see a hill coming up, but I want to know what's the biggest boats getting towed with either the 4.8L and the 5.3L engine.
I love my Tahoe, but I worry about how much more boat can I tow than the old 23' I had.

[sigepmock]

Good feedback, but I should have been more specific....
I currenlty have an 04 Tahoe 4.8L, with 22" Wheels, Magnaflow Exhaust, Hypertech Programmer and K&N Air Filter. I tow a 23' boat with a 496 (just sold) and it tows just fine. I need to get on it a little when I see a hill coming up, but I want to know what's the biggest boats getting towed with either the 4.8L and the 5.3L engine.
I love my Tahoe, but I worry about how much more boat can I tow than the old 23' I had.
That's a tough one...and probably more of an opinion type answer up until you hit the vehicle's max towing capacity or get close to it. I for one would not tow anything much bigger than the 23 you had....when I towed our 21 Stealth with the Tahoe I really didn't like it, but then again I'm used to towing with the diesel now. Having to rev the motor to 4000 rpm's on the big hills wasn't something I want to do that ofen.
Now for towing around town in Havasu, to the ramp and back I think the Tahoe can handle a lot bigger boat :crossx: but I wouldn't want to use it to tow back and forth from SoCal on a regular basis. Now I'm sure there are lots of other people that tow 28 foot boats all the time with their 4.8L or 5.3L and don't mind it at all, so you see what I mean about it being opinion based up until you get close to the vehicles actual tow ratings.
I guess the only way for you to find out is to volunteer to tow a few bigger boats out and see how you like it.
Chris
Oh yeah and one more thing Cole Trickle blows goats :yuk:

[cc322]

I am not a GM guy but I tow with a V10 and If GM offers a upgrade on the gearing GET IT, like 4:10 OR 4:30'S that will be your biggest mod you can make no exhaust, filter or chip will do as much for towing as the correct gears for the load.

[BoaterX]

I heard something today that was interesting. This is what I was told....
I was told....Longer wheelbase makes a difference when towing. If you take two trucks, with identical power, except one was a shortbed and other was a longbed then longbead has a longer wheelbase and would handle the load much easier, because the weight is distributed much better. Anyone ever hear this?
Also talked to L & G Enterprises (http://www.landgenterprises.com/) who said he'd be happy to take my money, but re-gearing would not get me very much because my 22's overall height is only around 31 inches.