Just joined the Silverado Club - My observations

NomadicCPO · July 19, 2016

I have been wanting a Silverado for a while now, and finally picked mine up 2 weeks ago. I went with a LTZ Crew Cab, Short Bed, 5.3L 4X4 with the 8-speed and the max trailering package with the 3.42 rear. Build date was 2/16. Have already managed to put 1500 miles on it in mixed city/highway driving. I suppose after reading this forum for awhile, I was alert for problems that others have been experiencing, and might have been looking for them more closely. At any rate, here are my observations so far.

- The 8-speed is a really smooth transmission....95% of the time. The downshift from 2 to 1 is what really confuses this gearbox. The clunk is present, but is minor at this point, and hopefully stays this way. Upshifting from 1 through 8 is flawless though.

- The cylinder deactivation is completely imperceptible, but when it goes back into V8 mode, there is definitely a very slight shudder.

- Premium fuel does have a noticeable, yet very minor effect on performance and fuel economy. On two recent 200+ mile trips going the same direction with very similar weather conditions, I got 20.8 MPG with 87 octane and 23.0 on 93 octane. While it did not affect how long it held V4 mode on slight inclines, it did keep the transmission locked in 8th on some of the bigger hills. Acceleration seems peppier on the butt dyno. Definitely not worth the price differential between 87 and 93.

- I think the Bose speakers are nice...not great, but not terrible either. My last car was a Toyota with JBL premium sound, and it didn't sound as good as this system.

- The MyLink system is crap. The navigation system is so frustrating that I just use google maps now. So happy that Android Auto is now included.

- Build quality seems to be excellent. Have not noticed any weird fitting panels, creaks or squeaks yet.

I love this truck and plan to keep it as long as it keeps chugging along.

Waaazooo · July 19, 2016

Welcome.. How do you know if you have the max trailering package? I know I have the 3,42 rear and I have trailer hitch and trailer brake system factory installed. Just curious.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ChevyRoofer · July 19, 2016

Welcome.. How do you know if you have the max trailering package? I know I have the 3,42 rear and I have trailer hitch and trailer brake system factory installed. Just curious.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I thought the max tow included the 3.73 rear end?

Agreed with OP about 2nd to 1st gear downshift in the 8-speed.

jamesonjc · July 19, 2016

max trailering includes 3.75 gears and an additional leaf spring on each rear side

fbachman · July 19, 2016

my observation with the 8sp as well. On occasion, there is a "surprising"/unexpected shudder going from 2nd to 1st. Otherwise, smooth as crisco.

Not sure why everyone is bashing the nav system. At first, I will admit, it was a little cumbersome until I got familiar with everything. After a few weeks, I find it works good--- for my purposes anyhow. I am not a massive audiophile.

Disclaimer: I was coming from on '07 Sierra that had the (simple on today's standard) Am/FM/XM radio w CD/MP3 player adn I had a TomTom portable. I actually am enjoying the infotainment system. Are there a few eccentricities that I find odd/cumbersome? Sure. Then again, you'll never come up with system that will appeal to every last user... It is acres beyond what I had before. Maybe my perspective coming from the '07 has clouded me a bit (to be fair), but I actually like it... (??)

NomadicCPO · July 19, 2016

Welcome.. How do you know if you have the max trailering package? I know I have the 3,42 rear and I have trailer hitch and trailer brake system factory installed. Just curious.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Other than it being listed on the factory sticker, I'm not sure.

NomadicCPO · July 19, 2016

max trailering includes 3.75 gears and an additional leaf spring on each rear side

Hmmm....I am looking at the factory speaker as I type this and it definitely says "Max trailering pkg" and 3.42 gears.

Britt Lifsey · July 19, 2016

Welcome.. How do you know if you have the max trailering package? I know I have the 3,42 rear and I have trailer hitch and trailer brake system factory installed. Just curious.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you look at top of this website under Tools is an RPO Code Lookup feature. It shows NHT as the max trailering code. Inside your glove box should be a sticker with all of the RPO codes listed for your truck build. The RPO codes spec all of the features/options to include during assembly.

mookdoc6 · July 19, 2016

Sounds good glad you got a Chevy! Welcome aboard mate!

Silvern Sentry · July 19, 2016

So just a question here please do not chew my head off:

But why do people put premium gas in a EcoTech engine? I thought the whole idea was to save money. Just seems odd to me. But it may just be me as I have learned recently that Americans have very strong feelings and opinions about their octane ratings.

NomadicCPO · July 19, 2016

So just a question here please do not chew my head off:

But why do people put premium gas in a EcoTech engine? I thought the whole idea was to save money. Just seems odd to me. But it may just be me as I have learned recently that Americans have very strong feelings and opinions about their octane ratings.

Honestly, I stick with whatever the minimum octane rating is...unless the specs call for higher octane it is a waste of money IMHO to fill with premium. In this case, I filled it with premium for one tank out of curiousity. I am a big believer in using Top Tier gas, however.

Waaazooo · July 19, 2016

So just a question here please do not chew my head off:

But why do people put premium gas in a EcoTech engine? I thought the whole idea was to save money. Just seems odd to me. But it may just be me as I have learned recently that Americans have very strong feelings and opinions about their octane ratings.

I might be wrong but more stable the fuel. The more you can advance the timing... The more power it creates.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Silvern Sentry · July 19, 2016

Honestly, I stick with whatever the minimum octane rating is...unless the specs call for higher octane it is a waste of money IMHO to fill with premium. In this case, I filled it with premium for one tank out of curiousity. I am a big believer in using Top Tier gas, however.

Ah that makes sense to me. I agree I stick with what the manual recommends too. I have no empirical evidence to offer but have been told that running higher octanes can cause more wear on the engine and require more maintenance unless designed from the ground up to only run premium.

Silvern Sentry · July 19, 2016

I thought the max tow included the 3.73 rear end?

Agreed with OP about 2nd to 1st gear downshift in the 8-speed.

Max tow 5.3L is the 3.73 the 6.2 litler max gearing is 3.42 from factory. 3.73 is not an option on 6.2 L. You can confirm this by looking at the tow rating in your manual it will not have a listing.

The 6.2 with 3.42 can pull roughly 900lbs more. But hey 900lbs is 900lbs.

newdude · July 19, 2016

Sounds like it shall treat you well!

Welcome.. How do you know if you have the max trailering package? I know I have the 3,42 rear and I have trailer hitch and trailer brake system factory installed. Just curious.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I thought the max tow included the 3.73 rear end?

Agreed with OP about 2nd to 1st gear downshift in the 8-speed.

Partially correct see below.

max trailering includes 3.75 gears and an additional leaf spring on each rear side

No.

Max Trailer for 2016 model year:

Max Trailering Package, On Crew Cab and Double Cab models, includes 9.76" rear axle, (JL1) trailer brake controller, enhanced cooling radiator, revised shock tuning for increased control, heavier duty rear springs and increased RGAWR

LT trim level you can get NHT with the 5.3 only. NHT 5.3 gets the 3.73 gears and the 6L80 (which is standard anyway).

LTZ trim you can get NHT with the 5.3 and the 6.2. 5.3 again, is 3.73 gears and 6L80. NHT with the 6.2 gets you 3.42 gears with the 8L90.

If you have NHT, it will be optioned on the window sticker "MAX TRAILER PACKAGE" and the RPO label will have NHT on it. NHT trucks also automatically upgrade to tow mirrors from the factory as well.