INTJ

I wish I had run my 2020 6.2 Max tow 4WD on the strip. I had the GM performance intake and exhaust. The truck had 3.42 gears. I have owned a lot of different pickups, and have had three tuned 2500 Duramaxes. I now have a 2022 2500 HD with the l5p Duramax. I think my 6.2 would beat all the DMaxes handily when they were stock.

I haven't towed with this 2500, but based on past experience and what others report, I would expect around 12 MPG when towing 7k.

I had a 2020 1500 6.2 Max Tow CC Std Bed 4WD with factory performance intake and exhaust for 21 months and 27,000 miles. I traded it two months ago for a 2022 2500 HD Duramax CC Std Bed Z-71. I have almost 3000 miles on the 2500. I thought I'd give my impressions between the two trucks while I still remember the 1500. I loved the 6.2 Max Tow. It had a little heavier payload than the standard 1500, and the 3.42 gears with the 10-speed made it very peppy. It was strong off the line and would give me 19-21 mpg empty on the freeway, depending on how I drove and where I was. The downside to the 6.2 Max Tow was ground clearance and payload. I even raised mine an inch front and rear, but would still drag the nerf bars on stuff. Late last year GM was giving insane trade in values on used trucks. I traded the 1500 in for $3k more than I paid for it. Twice in the last 20 years I have stepped out of 3/4 Ton Duramaxes for gas rigs and even though the 1/2 ton gassers fit what I do better, I just haven't been totally happy with them. I guess I just "identify" as a 3/4 ton diesel truck guy. The Duramax is much bigger truck. It's taller, wider, longer, and much heavier. The standard bed is even a couple inches longer. It doesn't turn as tight, though since it has the standard bed I have no problem parking close. It rides rougher than the 1500, but not excessively so. Surprisingly, the 2500 handles washboard logging roads as well as the 1500. It also handles hard corners as well. Where the 2500s heavy duty suspension is noticeable is on rough paved roads--the 1500 handles those much better. The Duramax is lazy off the line, as is the norm for a turboed engine. It needs a little boost before it moves well. Once the turbo is loaded it's power is seamless and accelerates well. Since my 2022 isn't even broken in yet and I am still getting winter fuel, I am not getting great mileage. Probably 2-3 MPG less than the 6.2. However, past experience with 2500 DMaxes leads me to think it will settle in to 18-20 MPG at highway cruising speeds of under 75. If I keep driving at the posted speed limit of 80 on my trip from Post Falls to Missoula, mileage will be less than that. While the Duramax has twice the payload of the 6.2 Max Tow, and will undoubtedly tow heavier loads much better; it would lose a drag race (empty) to the 6.2. The 6.2 with factory performance puts around 400 HP to the rear wheels and with me, my truck stuff, and a full tank of gas; it weighed 5900 lbs. The DMax also puts around 400 HP to the rear wheels but mine weighs 8500 lbs with a full tank and my accessories. Do the math. The DMax would need something like 575 RWHP to have a similar HP per pound as the 6.2. Now I know the turbo changes the acceleration profile a bit, and a DMax can be hopped up easily with a Banks Derringer or an Edge Pulsar. Still, I suspect the 6.2 Max Tow would hang with my 2011 Duramax that was tuned to 500 RWHP. The 6.2 would NOT run with my 2002 with 500 RWHP, 4.1 gears, and 33" tire. (My 2002 was also 1000 lbs lighter than my 2022). The 2500 HD is more comfortable to drive in bad weather as being a little higher gets you out of the spray and much a little better. I really like both trucks. I would say if you are going to tow frequently or haul heavy frequently, get the 2500 DMax. If you only tow or haul on occasion, get the 6.2 Max Tow.

I went with Les Schwab Open Range LT275/70R18. Speedo is very close. I think they fill the wheel wells fine

For me it's a Catch-22. I like the look of larger tires but like the performance of the OEM size. I am on my 4th DMax. My new one is a 2022 that I will get in a couple days after they add the sealants. I did get to see it today and test drive it. Mine has 275/70R18 tires on it. That is a 33" tire and the truck drives great. It is very peppy off the line and accelerates very well. It's very close to the 2020 6.2 Max Tow--with factory performance intake and performance exhaust--I just traded. I think the 6.2 Max Tow would beat a 2500 DMax at sea level. After all, it weighs 2000 lbs less and only has 10 less HP. As the elevation increases the DMax would win. That said, a 35" tire--which many guys run with no clearance issues--will likely hurt the acceleration and fuel mileage some. My first DMax was a 2002 that I lifted and tuned. I went though several tuners and programs in fact. When I had it to the 450 RWHP level I was initially running a 33.4" (295/75R16) tire. It was great. Then I went to a 34.6" (315/75R16). That 315 killed acceleration and fuel mileage. So I went from 3.73 gears to 4.10 gears and I got the acceleration and most of the mileage back. I then added an 500 RWHP EFI live tune. Then fuel became very expensive and I went to a 32.8" tire (285/75R16) and made a monster. It could now break the tires loose at 50 MPH. Then a taxi cab rear ended me at 50 MPH while I was completely stopped at an intersection. The new trucks make around 400 RWHP stock. I am sure the new 10 speed tranny will handle a bigger tire than the old six-speeds. After all, the 275/65/20 is an OEM offering and it is nominally 34" tall. However, a larger tire will affect acceleration some and perhaps mileage as well. That said, the bigger tires do look better......

I don't know if the OEM tires are different from the aftermarket versions or not. I do know that the Michelin LTX AT2 OEMs that come on many of the HDs are a joke as an all terrain tire. They are absolutely terrible in the snow. I just about slid off a snow covered logging road with them. This was new snow on a sideways sloped logging road with a big drop off on the low side. I was slowly driving through when the rear wheels started slipping. I put in in 4WD and wound up with four tires slipping and I started sliding off the road. I managed to get through that spot, then stopped hunting and went immediately to Les Schwab for some real AT tires. Two days later, after it had warmed up and frozen again--making that spot icy and even worse--I drove thought it in 2WD with no issues. Now this is puzzling to me because the reviews on the Michelin LTX AT2 aftermarket tires say they are one of the best out there. Michelin is a good company, and the OEM Michelins on my wife's 2019 Acadia work very well in the snow and on ice. This leads me to believe that the OEM Michelin LTX AT2s are not the same as the aftermarket ones. Regardless, when I pick up my new HD next week my first trip will be to Les Schwab for new tires, and they won't be LTX AT2s. The tire companies may be doing themselves a disservice if they are putting lesser quality tires on new vehicles, but are keeping the same name as the aftermarket.

Robideaux Motors is in Coeur d' Alene, ID; which is close to Spokane. When I have driven by they have almost no new HDs in the lot. I bought my 2022 Chevy HD from Knudtsen Chevy in Post Falls, ID, which is a few miles closer to Spokane. They might have one or two in the lot that aren't already sold. My truck was supposed to be here Dec 28th, but it got to the dealership yesterday Feb 4th. It was stuck at the origin railyard due to cargo congestion. I didn't order this truck but I bought in while it was enroute. I was very lucky as the only item that was credited and to be done later is the heated rear seats. Trucks arriving now don't have heated steering or heated and/or ventilated seats activated. This is due to the chip shortage I am told. I traded a 2020 6.2 Max Tow with 27,000ish miles on it. They gave me $3k more for my 2020 that I paid for it almost two years ago. They charged me full invoice minus my veteran discount. They are not taking GM Family discount on HDs. However, other locations dealers are adding $5-$10 over sticker on the HDs. I didn't ask if they would allow the GM Family discount on an order, since this truck was 99% of what I would have ordered. It was even the right color. Regardless, getting an HD at sticker price is a good deal around here.

Phil Gamboa makes harness for mirror swaps. He is on this forum

Not in CA and I will never live there. Many states now follow CARB emissions standards, but there are federal emissions standards that all vehicles have to meet and as if a couple of months ago, none of the CAIs for the 2020 6.2 were legal. No doubt the muffler is the big issue, but when buying the GMPP/Borla, you are also paying for the testing and engineering that went into eliminating the drone and minimizing the helicopter sound. That makes it worth the cost to many of us. For those wanting to spend as little as possible, they will have to do their own research and testing. Neither choice is wrong, but people do need to be aware.......

As of a couple months ago, the only emissions legal CAI was the GMPP. Also, the GMPP exhaust does not cause any drone. If you just get a muffler you'll may well get a drone. You'll just have to research and try things. All the reflash does is turn off the air filter minder. If you wind up with any rewards or discounts, you can beat $2k installed. Even if you can't, the difference between $300 and $2000 over a 100,000 miles isn't significant. At all in how much time and desire you have to fuss with stuff.

The Borla is less expensive than the GMPP exhaust, but unless they have added it recently they don't have one for a crew cab with the 6.5' bed. It is easy to install the Borla yourself and it doesn't affect warranty or emissions. The CAI does need to be emissions legal. So for many, the GMPP is the only option and if you buy and install yourself it's price isn't terrible. The dealer told me the only thing the flash did was delete the air filter minder alert.

I went through all this recently. My dealership was also confused. My truck had the 8" display but no Navigation. As part of my purchase I bought the Nav upgrade for $500 (this was in April). It was very hard to get the upgrade kit. There were only a few in the system and the dealers who had them didn't want to sell them. They wanted to keep them for their own customers. My dealership did not find one but I did. An out-of-state dealership had a kit on hand they had ordered for a Tahoe. The Tahoe was wrecked in transit so the sold the Nav Kit to me. My dealership had to first install the Nav software. To do that they needed the authorization number that came with the upgrade kit, and and they had to use the Tech II or whatever tool they use now to install the software. When the Nav software was first installed, the software couldn't read the Nav SD card. So my dealer ordered a new card as a warranty replacement. It got lost in shipping so they ordered another. Unlike the complete upgrade kits, the SD cards were readily available. When the replacement card finally arrived the Nav still didn't work. So they did more testing and discovered the card reader was bad. After the card reader was replaced the Nav system started working with the original SD card that came with the kit I bought. It is a very good Nav System. It just took a while to find the kit, troubleshoot, and get it working.

That's really good mileage. I just have over 1000 miles on my 6.2 Max Tow. Today and yesterday was the first time I had any reasonable amount of miles on the freeway. At 72 mph I am 20-21 mpg when I can find a few miles of the freeway without too many hills. At 64 I am 21.5 - 22.5. I have also found the that the DIC reported mpg is spot on with hand calculated. I have one size larger tires than factory (LT 275-65R18)

Yes. That is how mine was installed. IIRC, it's $100-$150 less than with the fancy tips.

2020 6.2 Max Tow with GM performance intake and exhaust. No flappers, no drone. I can hear the exhaust when accelerating, but when cruising the exhaust noise is lost in the road noise.

I sincerely hope the is a 98 MPG speed limiter. In my state a speed in excess of 100 mph is an automatic 3 month license suspension.

Just had mine put on a couple days ago. GM Performance intake and exhaust. There was a noticeable increase in acceleration to me. The exhaust is a little louder when accelerating but when cruising the exhaust sound is lost in the road noise.

I was able to find an SD card with an authorization code. There are not many left in the system. The dealer was able to get the NAV software installed but it says there is no SD card when there is. Also, the USB the center console no longer works. My dealer is working to figure all this out. They are attempting to warranty the Nav with GM. I hope to find out something on Monday. I have seen my issue repeated a lot, and that is my guess as to why GM quit offering the SD card upgrade. If I were doing it again I would use the gm-navigation.com option.

Here is a pic. Any idea on the aluminum steering knuckles?

I have put the BAK Revolver on my last three trucks. They are leak free unlike most of the folding tonneau covers I have had. They are easy to install and use. They roll up reasonably tight to the back window and you can still see out the back, unlike with the folding covers. And if you need to take it out to use that last 6" of bed length, you remove four bolts and it's out.

So does anyone know how durable the aluminum steering knuckles are and if the cast iron torque specs of "torque setting plus 1/4 turn" still apply?

The kit came with 1", 1.5", and 2" front blocks. I installed the 1". It was very straightforward. The only thing that bothers me is the 2020 knuckles are aluminum. The instructions are almost the same as what I had for my 2018 with iron knuckles. I REALLY don't like the idea of 37 ft lbs on the upper ball joint then 1/4 turn more with aluminum. The tire rod end is 26 ft lbs and 1/4 turn more. When I loosened the upper ball joint and tire rod end nuts they came loose very easily and the knuckle released right away. I didn't have to hit it with a hammer and I am not sure if that would be a good idea. I went ahead and tightened the ball joint and tire rod end per the instructions. It got to bothering my so I loosened an upper balljoint, and it loosened as easily as it did when it was torqued at the factory, so I again set 37 ft lbs plus 1/4 turn. I guess I am okay. Still don't like it and wonder how durable these aluminum steering knuckles are? Can they take the 37 ft lbs plus 1/4 turn? The sway bar is a new style. The instructions say to torque to 17 ft lbs. They need more like 30. Also, that "pass through" Craftsman socket set I bought a few years ago made the sway bar ends easy. There is crap on top of the strut towers now. easy to move on the drivers side, not so easy on the passenger side--I didn't even try to loosen the back bolt but i didn't need to. After putting the truck on jack stands the first side took me about 90 minutes, going slow and figuring out how to do it. The second side took 20 minutes. The Roadmaster Active Suspension took me a couple hours going slow. I had also installed this on my 2018. It DRAMATICALLY improves the handling of these trucks and increases load capacity. It also raises the back about an inch, so both the front and back are now lifted 1". I have about a 1" rake and I like anywhere from a 1-2" rake. I don't like the nose high look of some leveled trucks. However, I didn't do this for looks, I did it because I have a steep driveway and coming out of the garage one of the nerf bar brackets was hitting the concrete. Now there is an inch clearance and even if I have a heavy load it shouldn't drag.

I have a 2020 with IOS and want Nav. The dealer couldn't find the SD card since GM quit supporting the upgrade. I called a big dealer with an online parts store and they happened to have a card that came out of a vehicle wrecked in transport. It's on its way to me. Will this card work or is the card only a one-time use deal? I also assume the dealer has to do the install?

I am puzzled why this hasn't been broadcast everywhere. 50 HP for a cat back, meaning emissions and warranty aren't affected. They only show one for a short bed but I'll bet they'd make one for a standard bed.....

I just brought home a 6.2 max tow (3.42 gears), 10-speed, crew cab with the 6.5' bed. The truck I traded was a 2108 5.3 max tow (3.73 gears), 6-speed, double cab with an AFE intake, Borla cat-back, and Superchips tune. I loved my 5.3 truck and when I added the cat-back, intake, and tune; it made a noticeable difference in acceleration and throttle response. When I first drove the 6.2 I IMMEDIATELY noticed a dramatic difference in acceleration and throttle response between the tuned 2018 5.3/3.73 and the 2020 6.2/3.42. In fact, the 6.2/3.42 feels a lot like the two 500 RWHP tuned 2500 HD Duramaxes I have owned. That isn't exactly the same as comparing a 2019-2020 5.3 but ought to be close. With the 2019-2020 trucks, drivers will have different impressions depending on how they are driven and exactly which 5.3 (body style and gears) vs exactly which 6.2 (body style and gears). Also, higher HP is more noticeable at higher speeds. Gearing is more noticeable at lower speeds. That said, there is no wrong answer. If you do not notice the difference between the 5.3 and 6.2 then you shouldn't get the 6.2. You will never likely use the extra 65 HP. If you do notice the difference then you probably will make use of the extra HP on occasion. For me, I did regret not getting the 6.2 in 2018 and that is why I have one now.