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View Full Version : 5.3 "vs" 5.7 towing?



MOP
09-23-2007, 09:09 PM
Thinking about getting a newer tow rig, I am wondering how the smaller 8 does towing a 22? My old GMC Sub has no idea it is towing anything, will the 5.3 do as well?

Phil

mrfixxall
09-23-2007, 10:47 PM
Thinking about getting a newer tow rig, I am wondering how the smaller 8 does towing a 22? My old GMC Sub has no idea it is towing anything, will the 5.3 do as well?
Phil

i kinda miss the old 5.7, the 5.3 doesnt have the torque the old 5.7 has..
the 5.3 is alot better on fuel tho, around 16 towing on the highway vs 13 on the 5.7. all i can say is test drive them and you will see what i mean..stay away from the 6.0 you may as well have a 8.1..one friend of mine has a 6.0 in his truck and he gets 10 mpg i have another friend that has a 8.1 that gets 9 mpg with 3.73 gears and i get 13 mpg with my 8.1 with 4.10 gears:bonk:

kilo_2
09-24-2007, 01:16 AM
I tow a 22 classic with a 2007 silverado 5.3 lifter 4 door on 35 inch tires and manage 12.5 mph. It does great

kilo_2
09-24-2007, 01:31 AM
Where can I find a sun pad for the girlfriend to lay on for the engine cover

vonkamp
09-24-2007, 07:29 AM
My Z71 with a 5.3 does not pull my Aquasport 225 nearly as well as my old 5.7 did. Just did a road trip with it and got 10 mpg and it was struggling on the hills (I'm in Florida so the hills here dont count, I think the highest point in FL is 345 feet!). I think the Aqua is at least 2k heavier than a 22C though.

chappy
09-24-2007, 08:00 AM
I've got the 5.3 and it does fine towing the 18. But with two horses on a trailer behind me at 4600# total, it has to work hard on hills.

Rich

handfulz28
09-24-2007, 10:45 AM
I think the 5.3 puts out more tq/hp than the 5.7, it just does it at higher revs. So that makes axle ratio a little more important. And since it doesn't have the same low-end grunt, it wants to get a lower gear when climbing hills (or highway overpasses here in FL :cool:).
I had a '99 ext cab with the 5.3 and 3.73 gears. I pulled a 3600lb race car on a 2k lb trailer, plus at least 500lbs of stuff to go with it. I wasn't winning drag races, but it never had a problem. If I put the trans in OD, it would want 3rd a lot. But put it in 3rd with Tow/Haul mode and it'll pull anything...and get better gas mileage than the 5.7.

MOP
09-24-2007, 11:57 AM
Thanks guys I appreciate the input, kind of what I hauled my 22 down from New Hampshire with mt V6 Dakota with no problems just dropped it out of OD on the steep stuff.

Phil

VetteLT193
09-24-2007, 12:26 PM
I towed my Minx with my Father in-law's Avalanche. It had zero problem. Made me want to dump my Dakota (5.2 V8).

mrfixxall
09-24-2007, 07:57 PM
I tow a 22 classic with a 2007 silverado 5.3 lifter 4 door on 35 inch tires and manage 12.5 mph. It does great

and i soppose you changed the gears and had the pcm reflashed to to get those numbers:confused:

Barry Eller
09-24-2007, 08:54 PM
Just a note, for what it is worth...I'm a 30+years automobile salesperson, body shop manager, finance manager, service manager...19 years at the same dealership...GMC Trucks, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac and Saab Dealer.

NEVER tow anything over 3000 lbs without trailer brakes, and DO NOT TOW IN OVERDRIVE. Read your owners manual, NEVER use overdrive when towing.

My tow truck is a 1998 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 X Cab. 5.7 with factory tow package. Locking differential is important if you don't have 4WD.The newer GMC and Chevy trucks have a tow/haul switch that changes shift pressure to keep the transmission from "sliding" into gears. Gives the transmission a more positive and harder shift.

mrfixxall
09-24-2007, 10:02 PM
DO NOT TOW IN OVERDRIVE. Read your owners manual, NEVER use overdrive when towing.

barry, theirs certain model transmissions you can tow in o/d..the eariler model 700r4 & the 4l60e ( GM ) thats true and the aod & aeod (ford) is also true..the newer 92 and up 4l80e gm i tow all the time in od,my first trans lasted 300,000k the only reason it broke was my error ( up late snow plowing and threw it into reverse whyle still moving forward and broke the reverse band) most of the newer electronic transmissions have a governer pressure sensor and it regulates the transmission pressures, the electronic transmissions will learn your driving habbits. so if your hauling a heavy load the pcm will raise the transmission pressures to keep it from slipping..:wink:

osur866
09-24-2007, 10:05 PM
For what it's worth I've got a 2002 2500hd with the 8.1 3.73 gears and get 14 mpg not pulling and 12.75mpg pulling an 18.. I really like the 8.1 when pulling up hills it really dosen't labor much and something to consider with the 8.1 you get the allison transmission which is great for towing, put in tow/haul mode combined with brakes on the trailer and I don't really use the truck brakes very much. I tap on the brake pedal to let the slack run in to set the trailer brakes and the trailer brakes and brakeing of the transmission pretty much do the rest. But this is also not my daily driver. Steve

mrfixxall
09-24-2007, 10:12 PM
For what it's worth I've got a 2002 2500hd with the 8.1 3.73 gears and get 14 mpg not pulling and 12.75mpg pulling an 18.. I really like the 8.1 when pulling up hills it really dosen't labor much and something to consider with the 8.1 you get the allison transmission which is great for towing, put in tow/haul mode combined with brakes on the trailer and I don't really use the truck brakes very much. I tap on the brake pedal to let the slack run in to set the trailer brakes and the trailer brakes and brakeing of the transmission pretty much do the rest. But this is also not my daily driver. Steve

yeppers:biggrin:i get 14 with mine too 4.10 gears tho and 285 75 16 tires to:biggrin:

osur866
09-24-2007, 10:40 PM
yeppers:biggrin:i get 14 with mine too 4.10 gears tho and 285 75 16 tires to:biggrin:
That's both will running the air, not too bad, a buddy has got the 5.3 and pulls a boat that is about the same weight and gets around 9 while pulling, and it works much, much harder!!

smokediver
09-25-2007, 07:09 AM
I towed an 18 from Brewer Maine to Naples Fl ... long tow ... In a silverado crew cab with the 5.3 .... I got about 15 mpg ... did a good job in the hilly stuff ... i don't think a 22 would be a problem ... well , i towed to tampa and then hooked the boat up to my mini van , dodge ... heck , that did a good job too but i dont think it would have done well in the hills !

Barry Eller
09-25-2007, 08:05 AM
DO NOT TOW IN OVERDRIVE. Read your owners manual, NEVER use overdrive when towing.
barry, theirs certain model transmissions you can tow in o/d..the eariler model 700r4 & the 4l60e ( GM ) thats true and the aod & aeod (ford) is also true..the newer 92 and up 4l80e gm i tow all the time in od,my first trans lasted 300,000k the only reason it broke was my error ( up late snow plowing and threw it into reverse whyle still moving forward and broke the reverse band) most of the newer electronic transmissions have a governer pressure sensor and it regulates the transmission pressures, the electronic transmissions will learn your driving habbits. so if your hauling a heavy load the pcm will raise the transmission pressures to keep it from slipping..:wink:
Yes, there are certain transmissions you can tow in O/D. My concern is for those towing with 1/2 tons and smaller SUV's, like my buddy Dan, towing with a V6 Nissan Pathfinder.
Dan, you are welcome to use my truck to pick up the 28' Pantera, just don't use overdrive when towing it back from Miami!:wink:
Don't worry about gas mileage, you won't get much!:bonk:

handfulz28
09-25-2007, 11:41 AM
Barry, I specifically read my manual looking for the instruction Not to tow in overdrive. Never found it. Of course I've heard all the horry storys and "you'll be sorry"...but I can't say that I was. I've yet to hear a good explanation of the reason towing in OD is bad. The biggest thing that kills the transmissions is heat...and heat is increased when the trans is hunting in/out of OD. Tow/Haul is supposed to stop that, but I found that once I was up & running, taking out of T/H actually reduced the kickdowns.
Proper maintenance, fluid changes, inspection...will take you a long way.

Barry Eller
09-25-2007, 12:10 PM
Barry, I specifically read my manual looking for the instruction Not to tow in overdrive. Never found it. Of course I've heard all the horry storys and "you'll be sorry"...but I can't say that I was. I've yet to hear a good explanation of the reason towing in OD is bad. The biggest thing that kills the transmissions is heat...and heat is increased when the trans is hunting in/out of OD. Tow/Haul is supposed to stop that, but I found that once I was up & running, taking out of T/H actually reduced the kickdowns.
Proper maintenance, fluid changes, inspection...will take you a long way.


The "Sun Gear" and its bands are what usually fail when towing in overdrive, due to overheating. Newer trucks with the tow/haul feature won't have the problem. 3/4 ton, 1 tons, no problems. I've just seen a lot of transmission problems through the years with customers towing campers and boats that were attributed with towing in overdrive.

Again, I was addressing people that tow with light duty vehicles, not the HD's.

Tank
09-25-2007, 01:59 PM
HI all
If you are use to 5.7 than you will be somewhat disappointed!:mad:
I know I am, BUT I forget it when I fill up !!:yes:
I have gotten 18/20 MPG 2004 suburban 2wd 5.3
And with posyyyy I get up the ramps just fine.
No big dif just expect to notes it.
One more thing I have had 4 2wd ½ ton suburbans and GM ruined it with coil springs in the rear and here center of gravity it lost the handling not that it was a sports car but now it slides out in the corners and the rear now drops with a lode! Bake to air bags. 1970 tec
I think 2004 was the last year for 3.73 gears to?
I miss my 45413/15 mpg but 0 to 60 in 6.2sec ,1/4 14s,the 5.7 15/17was a good base.
I think they all really 2mpg dif?
Tank

MOP
09-25-2007, 04:21 PM
I have had my last 4X4 I now a 5.7 GMC sub with two wheel/posi, laugh as some do I have on two occasions pulled buddies boats up a slime ramp that the 4X4 could not. I had 4X4's for well over 30 years, road conditions are a lot different then a gooey ramp! Not talking all wheel but standard transfer case trucks, as the front wheels come off the slime they can chirp the tires some bad. Anyway 90+% of my towing is short, I do one 1,100 mile round trip going up to 1K. I am still not sold either way, but if I end up with a 5.3 I will not flog it.

Phil

Tank
09-26-2007, 09:26 AM
Mop don’t get me wrong the 5.3 will get the job done but on hills passing and so on you will notices the smaller cubs.
My 5.3 is very snappy and empty you think its 5.7 thay work wonders with fuel injection and electronic ignition!
Under lode you can tell its smaller.
But it get’s the job don most of the time I am empty and the add MPG is GOOD.:wink:
Tank