The Raven

Bought a BAK Revolver X4s September 2023 and the experience was flawless. The tonneau started showing signs of delamination in July, and got much worse in August, so I put in a warranty claim. Within a week I had a replacement in my garage. So yeah, great experience thus far.

This is neat - back in 2008 when everyone had (incandescent) amber DRLs and Audi showed up with bright white LEDs, everyone wanted white DRLs. Now everyone HAS white DRLs and wants amber. LOL. This DRL mod will only work on the refresh trucks because their DRLs are capable of both white and amber color. The pre-refresh trucks are only capable of white...the turn signal was separate so there's no amber in the DRL at all. There are aftermarket options to fix this, but as mentioned, you do need to open up the headlamps.

Literally everything besides the dash. I originally went shopping for a 2023 but after finding all the de-contenting they did, combined with the complete un-mod-ability of the new electrical architecture, I can't see how the new dashboard can remotely make up for that. Smaller complaints - I absolutely hate the console shifter, and the new front end makes adding a winch very difficult and unsightly. In 4-ish years when I might be ready to start looking for a replacement for my 21, if someone has found a way to calibrate the refresh trucks for bigger tires and turn off DFM for a reasonable cost, then I might be willing to revisit the question. But at this time I have zero interest in the refresh trucks.

I'd take the 2021. Secondly because it has the 5.3l but primarily because it's a pre-refresh truck.

It's dumb to have an HD if you aren't towing at least 7k lbs on a somewhat regular basis. HDs have higher operating costs, take up more space, and waste more of everything...so you really need a good reason to own one.

It's the 0W-20!!! It's a conspiracy by GM to make your engine implode right after the warranty!! I'm kidding...I just know this is going to turn into one of those oil weight threads. As long as the engine is running fine and you aren't hearing any out-of-the-ordinary noises, run it for a bit and see if the CEL goes away. Or make an appointment at the dealer - that'll always make that CEL go away, right before you take it in.

This is a major misunderstanding of what a decibel is. Yes, for every 3 decibels, the noise level doubles...but that doesn't mean that you hear twice as much sound. A db is kina like the audio equivalent of a lux (in lighting). Lux tells you lighting intensity at a point. It doesn't really tell you anything about how bright a light is. Same with a decibel - it's a measurement of sound at a point in space...not in any way representative of what the sound level around that point may be. Also, decibels are measured in a frequency range, so anything that falls outside of that range is not accounted for. I've been in a Denali Ultimate - it's dead quiet. You'd be hard pressed to discern the difference between it and any of the other brands' lux trucks. Furthermore, you aren't going to improve the situation without a complete interior rip-out and pretty involved sound testing, to find out where the leaks are. Also keep in mind - it's a truck. Truck interiors even on base models at this point are far nicer than they need to be. Remember what's important - you're now driving a much higher quality truck from a much better automaker...that's far more important than how pretty or quiet the interior is.

YES!! It's tire WEIGHT, not SIZE that matters most. On my former truck, a 2010 Tahoe, I went from the stock "on-road ATs" (Duelers I think) to E-load Duratracs (GY didn't make the D-load ones at that time)...same size, just heavier, and lost 2.5mpg. 3 years later the D-load Duratracs were launched so I went with those at replacement time, and I got 1.5mpg back. On my Silverado, I went from the stock 32" Duratracs to C-load 35" Territory MTs which weigh a nearly unbelievable 50lbs (weighed on my calibrated hanging scale) and I lost ZERO MPGs. WEIGHT IS KEY. That's a major part of my point - E-load tires affect fuel mileage, offer poorer ride quality, and give you nothing in return on a 1/2-ton truck. On the HDs E-range tires get you the load rating you need to tow the big sh1t you bought an HD to tow. But on 1/2-ton trucks there's really no advantage.

Look, I don't want to continue this argument any further because I know it's not going anywhere...you are asking for proof that can't be provided in this context. But I have to point out that you're doing the exact same thing you accuse me of. Above is the second example - "The funny wear is from that". Where's your proof?

OP - before this thread descends into more pointless bickering, i'm bowing out. My very strong recommendation to you is to stick with C-range tires. If you feel that beefier tires will give you increased piece of mind, then by all means go with D. But there's no reason to go to E-range. Regardless of the pressure required, they are unnecessarily heavy which adversely affects fuel mileage, power, and handling...it puts more stress on your suspension, CVs, and hubs, and E's will be louder and harsher-riding than C's at any pressure...even if just by a little. For all those compromises, you don't really gain anything on a 1/2-ton truck - D's are more than enough for towing even if you are at the extreme limit, and sidewall toughness does not increase linearly (or in some cases, at all) with load rating (search the Jeep forums if you want proof of that).

I never asked you for "proof" for something that's not provable on the internet. Your pictures are pointless, I have no way of knowing that those pics of tires that certainly don't look like 40k mile tires are even yours. So you're doing the very thing you accuse me of - accusations and claims without proof. Oh and I guess you failed to notice the scalloping on your inner tread? That entire tread is indeed making contact, and the inside in particular is getting hammered. You need more pressure and probably new shocks...but again, that's assuming those are even your tires. We can drop this argument, "bud", cause although I know you'll come back with more posturing and tough talk, neither of us can make any objective progress in this debate. To everyone else in this thread we're just two guys on the internet who might or might not know what we're talking about.

Every shop I ever left with load-E tires had them at 45-50psi.

The proof is in the resulting condition of the tire, and I find it extremely hard to believe that you have run those low pressures for 40k miles and the tires are "wearing great". I've never been able to run a Load-E tire below 42psi without getting excessive edge wear. 42psi isn't "high pressure" for a load-E tire that maxes out at 80psi. 42psi is low. Yet another example of the long list of things that i've only ever heard about on the internet. I've never heard anyone in person make a claim like you have.

What E-range tires are you running at 35 psi? Unless theres something new out there that i'm unaware of that can be run at that low pressure, you are going to be looking at severely torn up tires by the 20k mark. Barring some new tire that I don't know about, pretty much all E-range tires are designed to be run at 40-45psi. That's part of what makes the ride harsh, but most of it is the heavyweight sidewall and lack of vehicle weight (E's are designed for trucks that weight 7-9k lbs). And what constitutes a "harsh ride" is highly subjective. There are lots of guys here using Bilstein 5100s on their 1/2-tons and saying "oh they're fine".

DO NOT BUY E-RANGE TIRES!!! Load range E is designed for 3/4 and 1-ton trucks that tow regularly. They are not for 1/2-tons. If you tow a lot, go ahead and go D if you want, but C is more than sufficient. All you get from E-range tires on a half-ton truck is a rough ride and loss of fuel mileage.

Soap is really just lubrication for washes. You don't have to get real fancy - some have wax additives that claim to protect better - but that's not going to work real well because the water will interfere with proper distribution so you'll end up with really weak protection in spots and no protection at all in other spots.

YES Autogeek. Also don't scrutinize too much over the claims (and fanboys) of competing brands. Just get good stuff...any of the quality products will give you great results. Basic necessities: Clay bar kit medium polish fine polish wax or coating (don't spend a ton on a fancy coating they aren't worth it) microfiber towels terry cloth towels wax applicators (or old socks) I highly recommend a dual-action orbital polisher but that's just to make your life a whole lot easier. I use the Porter Cable PC7424XP...but it's like 15 years old now so there may be some new hotness out there i'm not up-to-date on. Everyone will tell you that what they use is the best. But i've been through most of the stuff out there and really all the quality brand products are solid as long as your process is solid.

You definitely CAN go with extended oil change intervals on good full synthetics. It's very unlikely that those intervals will make any measurable difference in engine longevity. Yes engines do have a lot more going on these days, but the materials they are built from and the processes that build them have improved at a rate much faster than that. Despite all this, I sleep better at night sticking with 7500 mile intervals (as I imagine you do with your intervals) and i'm not afraid to admit that that's probably all it is - comfort. I knew a girl in college that went 45k once without an oil change - on basic Wal-Mart juice no less. She only did that once, as that next oil change cost her almost $5k.

Ah that makes more sense...and yeah 12k+ is too much for me too. But I don't have an "argument" because i'm not doing "extended" intervals. I'm at 7500 miles which is just average now...the 90's were 30 years ago..

If you have fuel dilution happening to the point where it significantly changes the viscosity-related properties of your oil, you are going to have a lot of other issues before you have lifter issues. But you aren't wrong per se.

Well you don't know what happens with higher-than-5k-mile oil changes if you don't go higher than 5k miles between changes.

I had a 2010 Tahoe Z71 (5.3l w/AFM) that I put 210k miles on. I changed the oil every 7500 miles with Mobil 1 5w-30. The new owner is a friend of mine so I can see the trucks future. It's at 225k now, still no issues. Before I got rid of it, it was experiencing what appeared to be a low oil pressure issue that (after two months of troubleshooting) turned out to be two bad sensors in a row - but during those two months the dealer opened up the engine because they thought it was the oil pump - and they were absolutely blown away by how perfect that thing was...they said the internals are like new. One tech and one service writer both asked what I would want for it - unfortunately I had already promised it to a friend. Based on the extensive data i've collected on the lifter issue, it has nothing to do with oil change intervals (obviously excluding negligently-long intervals). It's an oil-starvation problem, not an oil-quality problem.

That fits. It seems like 20-30k miles for the "bad batch" trucks and 60-80k for the rest. The AFM trucks all seemed to go at 130-150k. Anyone think we should start a data collection sticky thread where we all post our mileage-at-failure and drivetrain info to start logging this?