Tahoe/5.3 Power

[ebod]

Does the 5.3L Vortech have enough power to pull hills with a light/medium load. More specifically, I'm talking about a 4x4 Tahoe with the 4.10 axles and bigger-than-stock, but not huge, tires (that is, the truck would probably have 285/75 tires). The load I'm talking about would be a couple of dirt bikes, plus assorted gear/equipment, plus some fat-azzed people (i.e., me and my friends) (call it 1500-2000 lbs. total)

 

When I drove a buddy's Tahoe (5.3L, 4x2, stock tires, and 3.73 (maybe even higher) axels) with just me and one bike in it (with tow/haul activated), it seemed to shift gears alot on hills. Would this still happen with the 4.10 ratio (but with heavier truck + bigger tires)?

 

Also, would the bigger tires noticeably affect acceleration when driving unloaded around town?

 

I've posted this question on other truck-related forums. I apologize if you've seen it in other places and I'm bugging you with redundent posts.

 

Thanks!

[Shaners]

The larger tires would make the rear gear feel like it went from a 4.10 down to a 3.80... If your buddies tahoe had 3.73's then the 3.80's would tow only marginally better. If he had 3.42's (which is very likely in a 2wd truck), then it would tow much better than his...

 

If the truck is too busy shifting, then the best thing is to pull the tranny into "3".

[Xenous]

I have a 01 Hoe, 5.3, 4x4, 4.10, 33 x12.5 x R17. I tow a Malibu Sunsetter LXI which weighs about 3000lbs. When I am towing, I have the boat loaded with camping gear, and my truck with people. I have not had a problem towing uphill at all. I find that the Tow/Haul mode is great, it will lock the trans in a gear while towing uphill. (Whichever gear is best while going uphill) I have not had the shifting/hunting problem. I don’t think you should have a problem while towing.

[Bish]

I tow an enclosed motorcycle trailer with anywhere from 2-5 off-road bikes and gear in it and a few people. It tows just fine as long as you keep it out of OD and use tow/haul. I've even hauled 5 bikes into the mountains of Colorado with no problems. I have 3.73 read end and am running LT265/75R16C Michelin LTX M/S.

 

Good Luck

[siskiyou]

I tow a travel trailer (5500 lbs.) and I have towed up 6% grades that were several miles long at highway speeds without any problems. Get it out of overdrive when you see the hills though and you may even need to bring it down into second. I have 3.73 gears and 245/75R16 tires which gives me a pretty good effective gear ratio.