Help

[birddogn]

I sold my dream truck today. 2007 GMC Duramax/6 inch lift and many, many extras. I was trying to improve my mileage and get cheaper fuel. I'm looking at a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500 and I have some questions.

 

The truck I am looking at has a 5.3 litre active fuel management system. How does that compare to the 6.2? I only tow a 6 dog trailer and a flat bed ATV trailer with 2 ATV's. The truck I am looking at is a 3:42 gear ratio. It has the Z71 package and 18" ON-OFF ROAD WOL TIRES (what does that mean?), 18" CHROME CLAD ALUMINUM WHLS (which wheels are these?), Z85 HANDLING/TRAILERING SUSP (again what does that mean?).

 

Anyway this stuff is pretty confusing. Ordering a truck on the internet is cool, but it sucks to not look at the truck and know exactly what you are getting. If I get this truck do I have to put premium gas in it?

 

Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

 

Jon

[PiraticaL]

I know I'm very new to the site but I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and what I have read.

 

As far as fuel mileage I think there will be a noticeable difference between your 6.2 and the 5.3 From what I have read the active fuel management is the system that allows the engine to "turn off" half its cylinders if its been driven under light load conditions to help with the fuel economy. I've never driven one myself but it sounds pretty neat to me.

 

the 5.3 should also be plenty of towing power for the dog trailer and the atvs you mentioned.

 

I think that the Z85 suspension is simply a shock package that is more in line for towing and ride comfort while towing. I'm a little fuzzy on this one too but i think it rides a little higher than a stock suspension would.

 

WOL tires are white outline lettered tires as opposed to the plain black sidewall tires. On/off road means they are fine on pavement and on some off road terrain but I don't think they are suited for heavy thick mud/sand. Hope I could be of some help and that I'm not too far off on these.

[birddogn]

Thanks for the help. That clears things up a little.

 

 

 

I know I'm very new to the site but I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and what I have read.

 

As far as fuel mileage I think there will be a noticeable difference between your 6.2 and the 5.3 From what I have read the active fuel management is the system that allows the engine to "turn off" half its cylinders if its been driven under light load conditions to help with the fuel economy. I've never driven one myself but it sounds pretty neat to me.

 

the 5.3 should also be plenty of towing power for the dog trailer and the atvs you mentioned.

 

I think that the Z85 suspension is simply a shock package that is more in line for towing and ride comfort while towing. I'm a little fuzzy on this one too but i think it rides a little higher than a stock suspension would.

 

WOL tires are white outline lettered tires as opposed to the plain black sidewall tires. On/off road means they are fine on pavement and on some off road terrain but I don't think they are suited for heavy thick mud/sand. Hope I could be of some help and that I'm not too far off on these.

[silveradoprime]

Thanks for the help. That clears things up a little.

 

 

 

I know I'm very new to the site but I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and what I have read.

 

As far as fuel mileage I think there will be a noticeable difference between your 6.2 and the 5.3 From what I have read the active fuel management is the system that allows the engine to "turn off" half its cylinders if its been driven under light load conditions to help with the fuel economy. I've never driven one myself but it sounds pretty neat to me.

 

the 5.3 should also be plenty of towing power for the dog trailer and the atvs you mentioned.

 

I think that the Z85 suspension is simply a shock package that is more in line for towing and ride comfort while towing. I'm a little fuzzy on this one too but i think it rides a little higher than a stock suspension would.

 

WOL tires are white outline lettered tires as opposed to the plain black sidewall tires. On/off road means they are fine on pavement and on some off road terrain but I don't think they are suited for heavy thick mud/sand. Hope I could be of some help and that I'm not too far off on these.

 

 

ok to add some more info on this, the Z85 suspension is a smoother riding suspension (and usually only on a 2 wheel drive), more for street driving and handling, 2nd the 6.2 L doe NOT require premium fuel, and does not have the active fuel management on it. I agree the 5.3L has plenty of power for the type of towing you describe here, I would recommend getting the lower gear ratio to increase the towing ability (numerically higher)

[birddogn]

What gear ratio? 3:73 or 3:42? I haven't been finding any 5.3's with the 3:73. Will the 3:42 be a pain to tow my smaller trailers with?

[birddogn]

By the way that is a sweet truck. This is the truck I sold yesterday. I'm already missing it.

 

 

What gear ratio? 3:73 or 3:42? I haven't been finding any 5.3's with the 3:73. Will the 3:42 be a pain to tow my smaller trailers with?

[RyanbabZ71]

I think there will be a noticeable difference between your 6.2 and the 5.3

 

I think you would be quite surprised, my 2010 6.2 gets the same milage (with E85) as my 2000 5.3 did.

 

2nd the 6.2 L doe NOT require premium fuel

 

It is recommended. A few people have run 87 and had some minor problems and were told to switch to premium. I run 95% E85 and the rest of the time premium.

[Stevens03]

The 5.3 doesn't get all that much better mileage. I'm getting 13-14 mpg mixed and 16-17mpg highway. You look around you'll see MANY owners getting similar if not the same mileage and I've got the 3.73's in my 6.2L

 

But.. with that said, the 5.3L will get a little better mileage on average and has plenty of power to tow what your talking about. But But... will you be happy going from the Dmax to the 5.3L The 6.2L has 420tq Just something to think about.

 

I've made the progression from 5.3L to 6.0L to 6.2L and I absolutely love the 6.2L and the mileage for all has been about the same. But the power is QUITE different.

[MikeNH]

I sold my dream truck today. 2007 GMC Duramax/6 inch lift and many, many extras. I was trying to improve my mileage and get cheaper fuel. I'm looking at a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500 and I have some questions.

 

The truck I am looking at has a 5.3 litre active fuel management system. How does that compare to the 6.2? I only tow a 6 dog trailer and a flat bed ATV trailer with 2 ATV's. The truck I am looking at is a 3:42 gear ratio. It has the Z71 package and 18" ON-OFF ROAD WOL TIRES (what does that mean?), 18" CHROME CLAD ALUMINUM WHLS (which wheels are these?), Z85 HANDLING/TRAILERING SUSP (again what does that mean?).

 

Anyway this stuff is pretty confusing. Ordering a truck on the internet is cool, but it sucks to not look at the truck and know exactly what you are getting. If I get this truck do I have to put premium gas in it?

 

Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

 

Jon

 

WOL is white outlined letter. Basically your tires will have the white lettering on them. 3.42s are the lowest gear ratio you can get with the 5.3. I haven't done any towing myself yet but the truck moves along very well with this setup, so the 6.2 with either gear ratio is probably a beast. The wheels might be the All Terrain wheels if your truck has that package. If not, they're probably the ones that show up on the black 1500 when you visit GMC.com.

[birddogn]

I looked at some of these truck today. I have a couple of more questions. When folks say the mileage is about the same, are they comparing the 6.2/6 speed tranny to the 5.3/6 speed tranny that goes down to 4 clynders or the older 5.3/4 speed tranny? Just curious. I'm looking at a new truck or possibily a 2009 Denali. Are there any mechanical difference between a 2009 Denali and a 2011 Denali? Thanks for the help.

[dpolk]

I have a 2011 2wd with the 5.3 and the active fuel management. I am getting 17 mpg. I have not towed anything with it. I run 87 octane fuel and most of my driving is back and forth to work (20 miles each way) mostly on the highway running 80 mph. Hope this helps hit me up if you have any questions.

[leg7228]

Hello & welcome!