6.2 W/ 3.73 Or 3.42?

[ajensen383]

For all you guys with the 6.2 and 3.42's. Does your truck seem to downshift alot when pulling a grade? Or goin up a slight hill in 6th gear? Or does the engine have enough torque down low to lug it along?? I am trying to decide between the 3.42 or 3.73 w/NHT. I know from a dead stop the 3.42s are more than adequate, but what about highway since in OD the truck will be geared higher. My 02 with the 3.73s and 5.3 seems to come out of lock up quite often when pulling a grade, its constantly in and out on a long hill... I was thinking maybe the 3.73 just because of that fact, but maybe the 6.2 has enough umph to keep it from shifting so much...THoughts....

[Matt_]

3.42s are absolutely no problem. I would not hesitate to buy a 6.2/6spd/3.42 truck if you find one that's a good deal.

 

With that said... if you're ordering a truck you might as well go with the 3.73s..... there's really no disadvantage. You'll get better tow rating and probably better resale since most truck buyers are oblivious to trans gears and how final drive ratios work so they only focus on the axle ratio.

[Baja 252]

I wanted AWD, so I couldn't get 3.73's. I wish I could have because I tow a lot. My truck does downshift on some of the short steep hills I travel on if I'm in 6th. When I get in a hilly section of road I just hit the - and drop down to 5th till the road levels out.

[RyanbabZ71]

I wanted the Z71 pkg (both suspension and appearance) so 3.42 was my only option. So far hauling (havent towed yet) and daily driving it has been sufficient. I honestly doubt I would tell a huge difference with the 3.73's.

[becker87]

I have the 3.73s and it is very snappy of the line and it tows very well. I had about 11,000 lbs, including trailer, behind me and i could easily pull it off idle, no throttle needed to get it moving.

[jasonh277]

rollin 3.42 no problem so far. I had 01 5.3 3.73 and this seems to hold highway gears longer. If you hit it it does get up and go. These 6.2 are sweet and get the same overall milage as the 5.3. good luck

[Stevens03]

I wanted the Z71 pkg (both suspension and appearance) so 3.42 was my only option. So far hauling (havent towed yet) and daily driving it has been sufficient. I honestly doubt I would tell a huge difference with the 3.73's.

 

I drove many and quite frankly, I wouldn't own the 3.42's The 3.73's are beyond awesome

 

I'll back that up by including.... The trucks I drove seem to lag and feel heavy when pulling out, and would down shift a lot. Having the 3.73's, the truck doesn't do that AT ALL. Hardly ever shifts out of 6th gear. Also when taking off, it's a beast out of the hole. No lag what so ever.

[becker87]

Unless you need the Z71 package for some reason i would highly recommend the NHT package

[RyanbabZ71]

I wanted the Z71 pkg (both suspension and appearance) so 3.42 was my only option. So far hauling (havent towed yet) and daily driving it has been sufficient. I honestly doubt I would tell a huge difference with the 3.73's.

 

I drove many and quite frankly, I wouldn't own the 3.42's The 3.73's are beyond awesome

 

I'll back that up by including.... The trucks I drove seem to lag and feel heavy when pulling out, and would down shift a lot. Having the 3.73's, the truck doesn't do that AT ALL. Hardly ever shifts out of 6th gear. Also when taking off, it's a beast out of the hole. No lag what so ever.

 

 

Mine has zero lag but it is also tuned unlike some

[L8er Brah]

6.2 w/3.42's here. I never towed anything yet, but I have hauled a few loads. It down shifted once on me and that was it. This was going up a good hill, I think I was going about 75 mph at the time.

[tonygxp]

my YD is a few hundre pounds heavier than the pickups and with it loaded for gear for four people for a 2 week vacation it hardly shifted out of 6th going up hills on I95 from NJ through VA. here in NJ (on the Garden State Parkway, Ocean County), we have alot of hills and unless you're travleing at 55mph it doesn't think about shifting out of 6th and the hills are steep. If i had a choice i would get the 3.73's but with the 6speed ratios being as short as they are first and second gear are probably a tad "too short". I can't imagine how these need more gear in the first two at least? i made that mistake setting up a camaro back in the day, had 3.73's from the factory and i thought if 3.73 was good 4.10 would be better. it felt like a rocket ship in 1st and 2nd...WRONG. it was misleading because i starting getting beat by slower cars i always beatup (5.7 GTA's, mustang GT's, etc.).. went to the track and sure enough i lost 2 tenths and 2 mph in the quarter and sold the car i was so disgusted. who knows.

[Egghaus]

I never drove a 6.2/3.73 truck, but I can't imagine the difference being so significant, especially in the first few gears. My theory is the NHT trucks feel quicker due to the lighter 17" wheels, compared to Denalis or other trucks with 3.42s and 20" wheels.

[ajensen383]

THanks guys... THe problem is, I really dont need the NHT as for what I will be towing the 6.2 w/ 3.42 will be sufficient...But I kind of like having the 3.73 in case I go with a bigger tire, I dont want to dog it too much and be constantly shifting out of 6th. But I really wanted the Z71 appearance package as well, plus I really hate the standard 17" wheels that come with the NHT...So thats why I am wondering if the guys with the 3.42 seemed like it would downshift often with a grade when the truck is unloaded...

 

Ryan... Did you get a blackbear tune for yours?? If so , did it help alot with holding 6th longer???

[uh6tdrvr]

I wanted the Z71 pkg (both suspension and appearance) so 3.42 was my only option. So far hauling (havent towed yet) and daily driving it has been sufficient. I honestly doubt I would tell a huge difference with the 3.73's.

 

I drove many and quite frankly, I wouldn't own the 3.42's The 3.73's are beyond awesome

 

I'll back that up by including.... The trucks I drove seem to lag and feel heavy when pulling out, and would down shift a lot. Having the 3.73's, the truck doesn't do that AT ALL. Hardly ever shifts out of 6th gear. Also when taking off, it's a beast out of the hole. No lag what so ever.

 

 

 

By many trucks do you mean many with the 6 speed and 3.42's cause the 6 speed with 3.42's is a completely different animal than the 4 speed with 3.42's. The 5.3 with 6/3.42 combo out accelerates a 6.0 Vmax with 4/3.73 combo.

[Stevens03]

I wanted the Z71 pkg (both suspension and appearance) so 3.42 was my only option. So far hauling (havent towed yet) and daily driving it has been sufficient. I honestly doubt I would tell a huge difference with the 3.73's.

 

I drove many and quite frankly, I wouldn't own the 3.42's The 3.73's are beyond awesome

 

I'll back that up by including.... The trucks I drove seem to lag and feel heavy when pulling out, and would down shift a lot. Having the 3.73's, the truck doesn't do that AT ALL. Hardly ever shifts out of 6th gear. Also when taking off, it's a beast out of the hole. No lag what so ever.

 

 

 

By many trucks do you mean many with the 6 speed and 3.42's cause the 6 speed with 3.42's is a completely different animal than the 4 speed with 3.42's. The 5.3 with 6/3.42 combo out accelerates a 6.0 Vmax with 4/3.73 combo.

 

 

Yes, the trucks I drove were the 6.2L 6-speed with 3.42' gears and I felt my BB tuned Vmax (4-speed with 4.10 gears) would have ran circles around them... using my butt dyno of coarse... Driving the 2 trucks back to back, there just wasn't much difference. Quite frankly, my wife and brother-in-law both felt my Vmax was quicker and stronger than the trucks I test drove with 3.42's. I suppose the numbers don't lie, but no 5.3 with a 6-speed and 3.42 gears would coming close to the feeling of power the Vmax had with 4.10 gears.

 

Comparing the 3.42's to the 3.73's are a big difference in my book. JMO