DISAPPOINTING 2019 Chevy Powertrain / Gearing options

June 16, 2018

8 hours ago, HondaHawkGT said:

13 hours ago, 3737 said:

Moving to taller gears on the 5.3L for 2019 is DISAPOINTING.

A 2019 Silverado/Sierra 1500 with the 8-speed and 3.23's will have better gearing than the best gearing you could get in a 2014-18 K2 GM half-ton. The best gearing you could get in a K2 half-ton is the exact same gearing you can get in a 2019 GM half-ton. I don't know if you think that a truck with the 6-speed and 3.73's has better gearing than a 2019 truck with the 8-speed and 3.42 (or 3.23's for that matter), but you're 100% wrong. Stop obsessing with axle ratios like an ignoramus. An 8-speed with 3.23's has more aggressive gearing an the 4L60 with 4.88's would have

Resorting to name-calling doesn’t change facts; it is entertaining to watch a fool though! So for the dealer confirmed facts:

2018 5.3L 8 Speed had 3.42 gears, you could not even order it with 3.23

2019 5.3L 8 Speed has 3.23 gears standard, you have to order max tow package to now get 3.42

THAT IS CALLED MOVING TO TALLER GEARS!!!!!! Hahaha

Also I was laughing out loud when your argument was based on comparing trucks to 30 year old technology. This just in, Chevys are more capable than a horse drawn wagon. Case closed. Stop all discussions.

It’s probably time for you to go drink some more GM Kool-Aid, after all you really deserve it!

HondaHawkGT · June 16, 2018

1 hour ago, 3737 said:

Resorting to name-calling doesn’t change facts; it is entertaining to watch a fool though! So for the dealer confirmed facts:

2018 5.3L 8 Speed had 3.42 gears, you could not even order it with 3.23

2019 5.3L 8 Speed has 3.23 gears standard, you have to order max tow package to now get 3.42

THAT IS CALLED MOVING TO TALLER GEARS!!!!!! Hahaha

Also I was laughing out loud when your argument was based on comparing trucks to 30 year old technology. This just in, Chevys are more capable than a horse drawn wagon. Case closed. Stop all discussions.

It’s probably time for you to go drink some more GM Kool-Aid, after all you really deserve it!

The "max trailering" package for a 2018 Silverado 1500 5.3 is the 6L80 and 3.73's.

http://media.chevrolet.com/content/media/us/en/chevrolet/vehicles/silverado/2018/_jcr_content/iconrow/textfile/file.res/2018-Chevrolet-Silverado-1500-Product-Guide.pdf

You've slowly been proven wrong and wrong again on every point. Your troll game is weak.

ExFordGuy77 · June 16, 2018

Wow 3737 is one clueless guy!

His head would explode if found out a lot of big 18-wheeler's out on the road today are running 2.26/2.47/2.64 gears.

2019 Silverado 5.3 "Max Towing" -vs- 2018 Silverado 5.3 "Max Towing"

8L90 + 3.42 6L80 + 3.73

1 15.60 15.03

2 10.16 8.80

3 7.11 5.71

4 5.78 4.29

5 4.34 3.17

6 3.42 2.50

7 2.91

8 2.22

R 13.06 11.41

2019 Silverado standard gears -vs- 2018 Silverado standard gears

8L90 + 3.23 6L80 + 3.42

1 14.73 13.78

2 9.59 8.07

3 6.72 5.23

4 5.46 3.93

5 4.10 2.91

6 3.23 2.29

7 2.75

8 2.10

R 12.34 10.47

Good luck finding an F-150 with 3.73's on the lot. Those are almost always on the cheap XL trims. You can special order one but you probably won't get the big rebates. And all the 2019 Ram's at my closest dealer are 3.21's. I almost thought they stopped offering 3.92's. With CAFE getting stricter every year, 3.92's and 3.73's are going to disappear, just like 4.10's did.

magnum74 · June 16, 2018

I'm not in the 1500 crowd at the moment but before I bought the big L96 lug I had a 2015 Denali 1500 6.2/8-speed 3.23. Even though I'm a middle aged guy who drives for economy nearly all the time I can confirm that this combination will smoke the tires without fail from a dead stop before GM's over protective nannies cut it off. I agree GM is still behind the curve in a lot of ways with the new model but performance probably won't be one of them despite the lack of no new power. A Ford 5.0/10-speed 3.73 would be a blast but it's either melting the tires off the line or being sandbagged by the on board computer. It's an option that will be on very few dealer lots. I'm not disagreeing with the notion that GM should have more option flexibility in this regard but the real life usefulness would be lost on most buyers.

Full disclosure, I am one of the few that would order a 6.2 -10/speed with short gears or a 5.0/10-speed 3.73 but there's no significant advantage in real life other than being able to launch the truck sideways from a dead stop which I don't do anyways. I just like to buy the truck to be as aggressive as it can be even if I'm not using it aggressively and for this GM's lack of flexibility isn't great.

I'm more puzzled about GM not matching high end options for the personal use buyer. If they're looking to increase market share with the new models I don't think they'll get it. If their goal is profits, maybe. The 2019 Denali is arguably the nicest pickup on the market and they'll sell every one they can make a at premium.

MaverickZ71 · June 16, 2018

21 hours ago, HondaHawkGT said:

The Trailboss is meant to match up with the Ram Rebel . . .

The ugly 2019 Failboss doesn’t even match up with the 2015 Rebel.

Maybe the 2023 next-generation GM 1500 (rushed into production a year early in 2022, in a desperate effort to halt the collapse in market share) will prove to be a better match for the new, improved 2019 Ram Rebel.

The Rams have better transmission logic, more power, lower gearing, rear lockers, better suspensions, more ground clearance, bigger tires, better interiors with bigger touchscreens, more options available across trim lines such as Ramboxes, and MUCH better styling.

MaverickZ71 · June 16, 2018

3 hours ago, ExFordGuy77 said:

With CAFE getting stricter every year . . .

GM has always been too slow to react to the truck market, and now in their typical knee-jerk ‘we have to do something to catch up!’ response, they have overreacted to the CAFE requirements enacted by Obama’s EPA.

Case in point, a 4-banger with a big hairdryer hung on it, to power a full-size pickup.

Trump’s administration is already backing off the CAFE numbers. So GM, always a step behind the truck market, is going to look very stupid 4-6 years from now.

crowsfoot · June 16, 2018

So the Rebel comes standard with the 3.6L that puts out a whopping 305hp 269ftlbs........scary!

...the 2.7L turbo puts out 310hp and 348ftlbs.

Edited June 17, 2018 by crowsfoot

HondaHawkGT · June 17, 2018

5 hours ago, MaverickZ71 said:

The ugly 2019 Failboss doesn’t even match up with the 2015 Rebel.

Maybe the 2023 next-generation GM 1500 (rushed into production a year early in 2022, in a desperate effort to halt the collapse in market share) will prove to be a better match for the new, improved 2019 Ram Rebel.

The Rams have better transmission logic, more power, lower gearing, rear lockers, better suspensions, more ground clearance, bigger tires, better interiors with bigger touchscreens, more options available across trim lines such as Ramboxes, and MUCH better styling.

LOL oh yeah? Did you get ahold of the final specs of the Trailboss before anyone else? I haven't been able to find any information on ground clearance yet....

The 2015-18 Rebel was a tubby joke. The Rebel trim forces you to have that fugly mustache grill (no it doesn't look good, not at all). The Rebel was a portly 5850 lbs, DIDN'T offer a rear locker (limited slip only), and the ground clearance wasn't all that impressive. You had to use the air bags to lift the truck up (the air bags take FOREVER to lift the truck up and the system is really unreliable in frigid cold environments. My neighbor's Ram had the air bag system fail this last winter when we had a 4 day run of sub-zero temps. The front of the truck was completely bottomed out and the rear was jacked up as high as it could go and it wouldn't change height. The Ram dealer ended up replacing the entire systems and the compressor was on backorder due to the number of air ride systems taken out by the cold snap. The Ram's IFS isn't great. The upper control arm and upper ball joints in particular are vulnerable to failure. Especially when the truck is 'lifted' by the air bags. The lower control arms aren't a great design either due to the way they dip way down and are vulnerable to rock strikes at speed.

The 2019 Rebel only has 9.1" of ground clearance unless you shell out $1800 for the air ride upgrade (according to off-road.com's review). Ram doesn't allow you to choose the 12" touchscreen in the Rebel and the 8" touchscreen is a $2000 upgrade. The standard touchscreen is 5". The IFS was weakened for 2019, with the metal upper control arms replaced with overmolded stamped steel control arms (the plastic helps reinforce the thinned out steel sheetmetal). The angles don't look much improved. The 2019 Rebel will probably weigh in at 5600 lbs if the 200 lb weight reduction is accurate. That means the Trailboss should have a 400 lb weight advantage, which will be pretty noticeable. The Rebel's Bilsteins are better than the throwaway Rancho shocks the Trailboss will have. The 2019 Rebel's E-locker is nice since it's selectable but I've never been a fan of its reliability (not much better than a G80, especially if Fiat is wiring it up). TBoth trucks are going to have 33's and since they're junk Duratracs on both, it doesn't matter anyways. Sell them as take-offs and put whatever you want on.

If the Ram has a power and gearing advantage, the tests don't show it:

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2016/01/texas-truck-showdown-2016-acceleration.html

The Ram had 3.92's, supposedly has "better transmission logic", and 40 more HP and 27 lb-ft more torque, yet it it was slower than the 5.3 Silverado with its 8-speed and "tall" 3.42 gears in the 1/4-mile both empty and with 1,750 lbs of payload (the Ram nearly bust a nut trying to haul that much, gotta love that multilink rear suspension when you actually try to use a Ram like a real truck). So much for that power and gearing advantage... and these results are only going to widen since the 2019 GM truck is going to gain even more of a weight advantage.

Edited June 17, 2018 by HondaHawkGT

HondaHawkGT · June 17, 2018

"...better suspensions..."

shift_grind · June 17, 2018

20 hours ago, HondaHawkGT said:

The "max trailering" package for a 2018 Silverado 1500 5.3 is the 6L80 and 3.73's.

http://media.chevrolet.com/content/media/us/en/chevrolet/vehicles/silverado/2018/_jcr_content/iconrow/textfile/file.res/2018-Chevrolet-Silverado-1500-Product-Guide.pdf

You've slowly been proven wrong and wrong again on every point. Your troll game is weak.

Sorry guy but you're mistaken. With the 2016-2018 you could get the 8 speed with the 5.3. At first it was all SLT/LTZ trucks but they pulled it back to only higher optioned SLT and LTZs.

5.3 w/ 8 speed, max tow or regular had 3.42. And that was with a 32" tire

You should check your facts before you start your name calling.

Edited June 17, 2018 by shift_grind

June 17, 2018

Buy the hd like i did and get 373 gears on the dmax.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

cr250Silverado · June 18, 2018

On 6/16/2018 at 1:17 PM, ExFordGuy77 said:

Wow 3737 is one clueless guy!

His head would explode if found out a lot of big 18-wheeler's out on the road today are running 2.26/2.47/2.64 gears.

2019 Silverado 5.3 "Max Towing" -vs- 2018 Silverado 5.3 "Max Towing"

               8L90 + 3.42                                                 6L80 + 3.73

1              15.60   15.03

2           10.16    8.80

3         7.11 5.71

4                 5.78 4.29

5             4.34    3.17

6           3.42 2.50

7             2.91

8           2.22

R           13.06 11.41

2019 Silverado standard gears -vs- 2018 Silverado standard gears

            8L90 + 3.23                       6L80 + 3.42

1               14.73                                            13.78

2              9.59                                                     8.07

3                6.72                                                    5.23

4                5.46             3.93

5                4.10                                               2.91

6                3.23                                                   2.29

7                2.75

8                2.10

R               12.34                                                  10.47

Good luck finding an F-150 with 3.73's on the lot. Those are almost always on the cheap XL trims. You can special order one but you probably won't get the big rebates. And all the 2019 Ram's at my closest dealer are 3.21's. I almost thought they stopped offering 3.92's. With CAFE getting stricter every year, 3.92's and 3.73's are going to disappear, just like 4.10's did.

FYI the 2018 Silverado 1500 5.3 has a STANDARD gear ratio of 3.08, and a (free) OPTION of 3.42. So if the 2019 Silverado’s new STANDARD ratio is 3.23 that’s a clear “step up” as far as lower gearing at the rear axle is concerned, and (without running exact numbers) an even BIGGER “step up” in lower final drive gearing than you have outlined above.

Edited June 18, 2018 by cr250Silverado

cr250Silverado · June 18, 2018

At the end of the day I think people are upset GM offered substantially higher gearing than the CURRENT competition (dodge/ford) in the K2 series, especially when combined with a weaker semi-standard motor (5.3 eco) than say D**ge with their 5.7 Hemi.

For example, I recently bought a 18’ 1500 5.3 6sp with 3.08. I assumed (YES bad of me) GM would be giving me a more capable Powertrain by “upgrading” ($) to a V8 (5.3) when in reality the standard V6 tows MORE than my V8 (3.08) AND the V6 get BETTER mpg. I mean what is the point of the 5.3 “upgrade” package? Just to be able to say I have a V8? I get it I SHOULD HAVE done my homework, lessons learned, but as a consumer I think it should be safe for buyers to assume a V8 “upgrade” package on a TRUCK equipped with a heavy duty towing package, trans cooler, 7 pin line, etc. could at least out tow the basic/standard V6... then we 5.3/3.08 buyers got double slapped with lower MPGs on top of the lower towing capacity. I mean this just isn’t something you should be doing as one of the top 3 producers of pickup trucks, it just breeds mistrust with consumers.

Edited June 18, 2018 by cr250Silverado

crowsfoot · June 18, 2018

Blame the company for not knowing what you are buying? The other companies will be happy to sell you what they have on the lots too!

HondaHawkGT · June 18, 2018

The 3.08's are not standard gears for a K2 truck. 3.42's were and many trucks on dealer lots were "upgraded" with the "All-Star Package" that (in fine print) replaced the 3.42's with 3.08's. There were a LOT of guys that bought a basic LT Silverado 1500 without realizing that the all-star package meant 3.08's replaced the standard gearset.

10 hours ago, shift_grind said:

Sorry guy but you're mistaken. With the 2016-2018 you could get the 8 speed with the 5.3. At first it was all SLT/LTZ trucks but they pulled it back to only higher optioned SLT and LTZs.

5.3 w/ 8 speed, max tow or regular had 3.42. And that was with a 32" tire

You should check your facts before you start your name calling.

Provide a link if you want to claim that the 5.3 with the 8L90 and 3.42's was the max towing package. I provided a link directly from GM's website that stated CLEARLY that the 2018 Silverado 1500's max tow package was the 6L80 with 3.73's. The 8L90+3.42's "max trailering" only exists if you buy a CC LTZ with the 5.3, pay to upgrade to the 8L90, then pay for the 8L90 version of the max trailering package, which then gives you 3.42's. You can't get that combination in any extended cab regardless of trim and you can't get it in an LT trim. Any of those configurations only let you chose the 6L90+3.73's as the "max trailering" package. Even if you build a CC Silverado 1500 LTZ with the 5.3, there's a 6L80+3.73 "max tow" package.

I guess you should check your facts?

It's not as though the troll above didn't earn the names he was called. It's pretty obvious that he registered here only to stir crap up. GM-trucks is one of the few web forums that actively seems to invite trolls to register and spam these forums just stir stuff up. If he had registered at Tacomaworld or Ford-trucks.com, he would have been permanently banned and this thread would have been locked instantly.

13 minutes ago, cr250Silverado said:

At the end of the day I think people are upset GM offered substantially higher gearing than the CURRENT competition (dodge/ford) in the K2 series, especially when combined with a weaker semi-standard motor (5.3 eco) than say D**ge with their 5.7 Hemi.

But is the 5.3 weaker? Look at the link I posted above. Somehow a 2016 Silverado 1500 with the 5.3, 8L90, and 3.42's was faster in the quarter mile, both when empty and when loaded with 1750 lbs in the bed, than a "more powerful" Ram 1500 with a "better" 8-speed and "better" 3.92 gears. The 2019 Silverado and 2019 Ram both have the same power as they did in 2016, but the Silverado/Sierra lost twice as much weight as the 2019 Ram did, and now gets the 8-speed standard, plus you can still get the 3.42's if you plan on using your truck to tow. So the Silverado/Sierra will only be faster than before, regardless of what the power numbers would suggest. The real disappointment is that the Ram barely lost any weight and the engine is the exact same ancient 5.7 that they were using in the Ram back in 2010. The fuel economy is the exact same as it was in 2014 but now the Ram has an air dam that's class leading in how low to the ground it is.

26 minutes ago, cr250Silverado said:

For example, I recently bought a 18’ 1500 5.3 6sp with 3.08. I assumed (YES bad a me, but still...) GM would be giving me a more capable Powertrain by “upgrading” ($) to a V8 (5.3) when in reality the standard V6 tows MORE than my V8 (3.08) AND the V6 get BETTER mpg. I mean what is the point of the 5.3 “upgrade” package? Just to be able to say I have a V8? I get it I SHOULD HAVE done my homework, lessons learned, but as a consumer I think it should be safe for buyers to assume a V8 “upgrade” package on a TRUCK equipped with a heavy duty towing package, trans cooler, 7 pin line, etc. could at least out tow the basic/standard V6... then we 5.3/3.08 buyers got double slapped with lower MPGs on top of the lower towing capacity. I mean this just isn’t something you should be doing as one of the top 3 producers of pickup trucks, it just breeds mistrust with consumers.

Did you have the all-star package? Because if you look at the window sticker it probably said 3.42's were standard, but then somewhere further down in the specs, a package that was added to the truck deleted the standard 3.42's and replaced them with 3.08's. There were a LOT of guys that saw 3.42's in the standard equipment list and didn't notice that they were replaced by some other package included with the truck. And at least most of the gear ratios are available in trucks on the lot. I checked and I can't find a single 2019 Ram with 3.92's on the dealer lots. All the 5.7 trucks have 3.21's standard. Ford is beginning to sneak 3.15's and 3.31's in new F-150's. Ford actually lists 3.15's, 3.31's and 3.55's all as the "standard" gearsets. 3.73's are extremely rare in an F-150 today. Most are in F-150 XL trims meant for fleets, not for consumers. You would have to special order that combo in an F-150 to have a truck with a decent interior and features. And anybody that has been in a 2018 F-150 with the 10-speed and 3.73's can tell you that while it's awesome that you can roast the tires from a stop on command, the gears are just ignorant for most real world truck usage. Unless you like burning up $800-1000 in tires every other year and like having the traction control constantly going off in rainy or winter conditions... From a practicality stand point, with 32 or 33" tires, the 8-speed or 10-speed matched up to 3.42's or 3.55's is more than enough gearing. I'm just glad that it looks like the 3.08's are going away for now.