My 2010 Silverado With 4.8 Is A Dog

tanked_darren · September 1, 2010

You bought turd engine. No matter how you squeeze it, you will still have crap. Trade it in on a 6.2L.

You sir, are an idoit.

ManLuvChevy · July 18, 2012

I just bought a used 2007 Crew Cab z71 4x4, have 4" lift and 295/70-17 Nitto Terra Grapplers on it, it feels extremely underpowered on the bottom end. Took it out to play a little last Friday and one of my buddys just bought a 2WD Quad Cab with Hemi, wanted to see what he could do with it. He decided to drive down a pretty steep sand/clay hill on a power line and got stuck 75 yards at the bottom, was no other way out than the way he went down. So i backed up to him, strapped up, put it in 4L and i didn't have the power to turn a wheel in the sand. I ended up having to snatch him a few times and finally broke him out and up the hill we went. The 4.8 seems to pull itself out and up things just fine but not so much with loads. Still , I love my truck and I plan on keeping it atleast 7-10 years.. then I'll get me another Silverado :-)

zach1990 · July 19, 2012

i 2nd the exhaust also... ive got a 4.8 with 3.73 gears and it was plenty of torque for my needs untill i put 2 1/2 inch wide true dual straights on it. love the sound but it ruined my bottom end.

well just noticed this was an old thread so nm....

ManLuvChevy · July 19, 2012

It rained on the way home from the grocery store so i thought it would be a good opportunity to try and turn the wheels ... stopped in the road, turned off the Traction control, floored it... nothing just took off.. very slow from the start to 20mph, but 20mph - 60mph was pretty quick. No spinning out though, and the road was soaked.

jdelrizzle · July 19, 2012

I have 4.8 and I love it! Of course I don't tow, it's not 4x4, and I don't try to spin tires or race. It's a reliable vehicle it's just not a power house. Your tires and that lift are killing what ever "little" power that truck had, not to mention your mpg's. You have a very beautiful truck, but that's just it with those mods thats all it is, a good looking trucking. Just my 2 cents.

ManLuvChevy · July 19, 2012

Thanks jdelrizzle, I love the way my truck looks and even though I'm barely getting 315 Miles from a 26 gallon tank (12 mpg) I don't want to drop it down to stock. I just got the truck last tuesday (7-10-2012) and the dealership installed the lift and put the tires on. I found out i actually have a 4" lift not 3". IT does pull itself just fine up steep hills so no complaints in that department. Thanks again for the reply.

KMGZ400 · July 19, 2012

the biggest complaint about my 4.8 is that when im driving on the highway above 75 and come to a hill, it has to downshift to 3rd. it could be a 10% grade and it will still go into 3rd. the newer 4.8s might be different becasue they have more power. i even have 3.73's, in it but i do have 285's on it.

jdelrizzle · July 19, 2012

Correct me if I'm wrong, shouldn't an 07 with the z71 4x4 package have a 5.3, I don't believe 4.8 has ever been an option in the z71, I know now you can get the 6.2/z71 package.

ManLuvChevy · July 19, 2012

Just checked on my break, 2007 4.8L Z71 4x4. I'm curious as to what gears i have now though. I'm a hair under a 1/4 tank and 261 miles on odometer. Is it possible my odo is off? and maybe i'm actually getting better mileage than i think...

GMCustomerService · July 20, 2012

Just checked on my break, 2007 4.8L Z71 4x4. I'm curious as to what gears i have now though. I'm a hair under a 1/4 tank and 261 miles on odometer. Is it possible my odo is off? and maybe i'm actually getting better mileage than i think...

If you would like, provide the last 8-digits of your VIN (PM if you prefer), and I will look into this for you.

I look forward to your reply.

Louis (assisting Tricia)

GM Customer Service

Doug_Scott · July 22, 2012

Just checked on my break, 2007 4.8L Z71 4x4. I'm curious as to what gears i have now though. I'm a hair under a 1/4 tank and 261 miles on odometer. Is it possible my odo is off? and maybe i'm actually getting better mileage than i think...

I have a 2wd ECSB with the 4.8. Mine came with the 3.23 gears, swapped them for 4.10 not long after getting the truck, added magnaflow exhaust and a BlackBear tune prior to gear swap. No issues with off line performance, have to watch it on wet roads though, not uncommon to spin tires on the 1-2 shift under medium throttle. Biggest change to performance came with the gears. Truck went from painfully slow on takeoff from light change to very respectable under same condition. Was a 180 degree difference. Hwy mileage is about the same if you keep it under 70mph. City mileage is better with the new gears. BB tune really cleaned up the transmission shifts and attitude.

Truck is still not fast, but, it is far more enjoyable with the 4.10 gears.

NEFisher11 · July 23, 2012

I have a 2011 Silverado EC 4x4 with the tow package and 3.42 gears and i wouldn't call it a dog. I don't get you 5.3 guys your truck has what 10 more HP and torque. I tow with mine also and have no complaints, I realize what i got when i bought the truck i know it isn't going to pull like a duramax. Also my buddy's 2007 5.3 doesn't feel anymore powerful then mine. Thats just my thoughts

jdelrizzle · July 23, 2012

^5.3 has only 10 more hp over the 4.8, true, but at what rpm's?

00Silverado4x4 · July 23, 2012

I have a 2011 Silverado EC 4x4 with the tow package and 3.42 gears and i wouldn't call it a dog. I don't get you 5.3 guys your truck has what 10 more HP and torque. I tow with mine also and have no complaints, I realize what i got when i bought the truck i know it isn't going to pull like a duramax. Also my buddy's 2007 5.3 doesn't feel anymore powerful then mine. Thats just my thoughts

Yeah about 10 HP, but you get 30 more FT LBS of torque in the 5.3.

http://archives.medi...ra/10index.html

Even more of a difference in torque back in my generation of truck (40 FT LBS of torque difference).

http://archives.medi...a/index LD.html

That difference in torque equates out to a pretty significant amount of take off power for towing/hauling IMO.

Also as jderizzle pointed out, the 4.8's HP is based on 5600rpm, where as the 5.3 is at 5200rpm.

Again no insult to anyone just thought I'd put some facts into the situation.

KMGZ400 · July 24, 2012

I have a 2011 Silverado EC 4x4 with the tow package and 3.42 gears and i wouldn't call it a dog. I don't get you 5.3 guys your truck has what 10 more HP and torque. I tow with mine also and have no complaints, I realize what i got when i bought the truck i know it isn't going to pull like a duramax. Also my buddy's 2007 5.3 doesn't feel anymore powerful then mine. Thats just my thoughts

the GMT900's have different HP numbers but i have a GMT800 4.8 and 5.3 both with 3.73's and the 5.3 feels more powerful and its faster.