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My First truck... 3.08 rear end question


ErikS

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I am new to this site and also to trucks. I have always had small import cars except for my last vehicle was an h3 hummer. I am supposed to be picking up my 2015 Silverado 1500 midnight edition tomorrow and I was just realized it has the 3.08 rear end. I do not intend on towing anything probably ever and the most weight id probably put in it is 30-40 bags of mulch in the summer and maybe throw my quad in the back once in awhile. All the posts I’ve seen about rear ends were in relation to towing. Can some ppl give me some feedback on how the 3.08 is compared to a 3.42 for daily commuting to and from work and around town? I am just concerned it may be sluggish when I get on it or having it searching for gears when on thruway but that may not be the case for daily regular driving. I am hoping I am just over thinking this. It took me a long time to decide on a truck and now I’m worried I won’t be happy with it because it’s a 3.08. I would appreciate some helpful feedback. Thank you. 

Also wondering, what is the tow capacity on a 1500 with 3.08?

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While not optimal, I've gotten used to the 3.08 gearing in my '15 DC.  Running a 275/65-18 Michelin Defender LTX (32 diameter).  You have a couple options, #1, you can live with it and there are ways around this.  If  you run the truck in M5, it will only shift to 5th gear which not only eliminates the 5-6 gear hunting at lower speeds but also overrides the V4 mode.  I ran mine like this for first 15,000 miles.  #2 You can drive it in Tow/Haul mode all the time. This allows it to run in/out of V4 AFM mode but runs the shifts points up.  I ran mine in both M5 and Tow-Haul.   #3, you can tune the V4 AFM out completely with a handheld tuner. This will also help with the sluggish response as the motor/trans search endlessly for  5th or 6th gear and V8/V4 mode.  #4 You can swap gears (about a $2,000 proposition).  

 

Point being, if you are running stock tires or one size larger, it's really not that bad, trans has deep enough gearing to compensate for daily driving.  

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After i found our my Silverado had 3.08, i was a bit disappointed. My truck is mostly used as a concrete queen and does very little work. I found some post where many said they drove two trucks back to back with different gear ratios and could not tell a difference. I believe this to be true and i would imagine it wont be noticeable until you start pulling something with some heft to it. If i were you and you could afford it, i would get a Blackbear tuner. Everything ive read on it, it seems it really does a great job of changing the driving characteristics of the truck in a good way.

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It sounds to me like you wouldn't even notice you had the 3.08 if you didn't read about it.

 

A higher ratio gives greater power, but lower top-end speed and fuel economy.
A lower ratio results in less pulling power, but improved top-end speed and fuel economy.

 

3.08 means the driveshaft turn 3.08 x for one axle revolution, and same for 3.42. 

That equates to a 10% difference.

 

So with the truck you are getting you gain 10% better economy and speed on the highway, and lost 10% pulling power. sounds like it will be fine for you.

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12 hours ago, aseibel said:

It sounds to me like you wouldn't even notice you had the 3.08 if you didn't read about it.

 

A higher ratio gives greater power, but lower top-end speed and fuel economy.
A lower ratio results in less pulling power, but improved top-end speed and fuel economy.

 

3.08 means the driveshaft turn 3.08 x for one axle revolution, and same for 3.42. 

That equates to a 10% difference.

 

So with the truck you are getting you gain 10% better economy and speed on the highway, and lost 10% pulling power. sounds like it will be fine for you.

Lol. My wife just said the exact same thing. She said u test drove the truck before and didn’t no even notice it but now you read about it and it’s going to bother you now. But ya you are probably right. For the most part the truck had plenty of power. But I did notice it shifting and searching for gear when I was at low speed low rpm. But if I hit the tow mode it just raised the rom slightly and it felt a little better at low speed. It’s not a big deal since I won’t be towing but it would be nice to have a tune done to change the shift points a little bit.  Is there a fairly cheap hand held tuner and do it myself? Diablosport maybe or is there a cheaper one? How do those things work? Never used one before. Like do you have to really know what your doing or does it explain what certain setting changes will give you? Does doing this effect warranty? ANd can it be changed back to stock if desired? Or would it be cheaper to take it somewhere and have them just do the tuning for me?

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I like my 3.08s... :uhoh: Holds gears longer and I can keep plenty speed with low RPMs... I know I'm in the minority but keep in mind with the 6 speed your first gear is lower than the 3.73s with the old 4L60E. Don't sweat gears unless you get into some serious performance mods.

 

A tune goes a long way for gear selection and drivability, I've been happy with the Blackbear tunes on several of my GM trucks and SUVs. I've never messed with a handheld tuner, I doubt I'd be impressed but to each their own. 

 

Reading forums is a double edged sword, you learn a lot but you can become pretty biased too... don't hate your new truck based on a few complaints.

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My Old 2013 had 3.08s and i will never have another one. when i first got it i didn't have an issue with it, but once i swapped the stock 17's up to 20s, it made the truck a dog. I ended up getting a diablo tuner and that helped, but its nothing like my 17 with the 3.42s in it now.

 

Also keep in mind if you ever do any towing later on down the road, the towing capacity is much lower with the 3.08s. i haven't checked it on the newer trucks, but my 13 had a max towing capacity of just under 5,000 lbs. vs over 7,000 with the 3.42s.

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1 hour ago, cheyenne383 said:

I like my 3.08s... :uhoh: Holds gears longer and I can keep plenty speed with low RPMs... I know I'm in the minority but keep in mind with the 6 speed your first gear is lower than the 3.73s with the old 4L60E. Don't sweat gears unless you get into some serious performance mods.

 

A tune goes a long way for gear selection and drivability, I've been happy with the Blackbear tunes on several of my GM trucks and SUVs. I've never messed with a handheld tuner, I doubt I'd be impressed but to each their own. 

 

Reading forums is a double edged sword, you learn a lot but you can become pretty biased too... don't hate your new truck based on a few complaints.

Oh I’m deff not hating it I love the truck. Just looking to improve it slightly. You’ll  have to excuse my ignorance when it comes to trucks but I think all I’m really needing is to alter the shift points so it drives at higher rpm at low speeds right ? The tow haul mode seemed perfect but is it ok to drive around in that mode all the time? I wouldnt see why not. But if I bought this handheld (see link I attached) it looks like it is for the 2015 Silverado and it lists the things it can do (alter shift points is one of them). Will altering the shift point do what I am trying to achieve? But this is the programmer I was looking at (either the diablosport i2 or i3). What do you think? Thanks for your help man. 
http://m.autoanything.com/performance-c ... gLcIvD_BwE

http://m.autoanything.com/performance-c ... e-i2-tuner

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