2019 5.3/8speed vs 6.2/10speed worth it?

BringTheRain403 · June 2, 2019

BTW premium fuel costs me an extra $5 per fill-up. It's not there end of the world. Just sayin...

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Wiggums · June 2, 2019

I'm deeply regretting the 5.3 8-speed.. the transmission is by far the clunkiest of all the cars I've owned. Starting it up, leaning my foot on the brake, shifting it to D and waiting for the clunk that happens within 2 seconds after shifting then it's mostly smooth afterwards.

KARNUT · June 2, 2019

In the 2000s we gave ourselves a truck allowance rather than our business purchasing trucks. It made me be more diligent in my truck purchases. I started buying leftovers and packages such as Texas Editions. My wife went from driving an Elantra to a Genesis. We both have performance vehicles as toys with the savings. It adds up when you drive a lot of miles and buy every 2-3 years. I saved 12-15K this way with each truck. It helps when the wife likes to keep them a long time. We have her last three.

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Snuff · June 2, 2019

FYI - I went with option #1 and ordered a 2019 RST Crew z71 Satin Steel with standard bed, 20” argent wheels and 5.3/8 speed. I saved $13,200 below MSRP.

Imcrazy · June 3, 2019

12 hours ago, Donstar said:

I believe the "need" for a 6.2 is measured in terms of fun factors. You will not lack in functionality with the 5.3. If you need the extra horsepower of the 6.2 over the 5.3 to pull a load then you should be in a heavier truck. The initial cost of the larger engine and the ongoing higher cost at the pump needs to be weighed against your other financial priorities. If the personal enjoyment derived from the extra costs is a top priority then go for it but don't justify it as a "need".

That is a good point, if you need the HP for towing / hauling you better get a 2500 HD instead of a 6.2... But, some of us just have the NEED FOR SPEED!!!! LOL

ndking1126 · June 3, 2019

I agree with don star. 6.2 is for the fun of it, I dont see a situation where its needed. I bought a 5.3 with 8 speed. I've had a few hard 2-1 downshifts and a very rare hard upshift but overall it shifts really well. I just passed 500 miles so maybe they will smooth out a little with time? It's a great driving experience and dont regret it even if it doesnt get any better. I would have much preferred the 6.2, but there was no way the budget would allow that.

Edited June 3, 2019 by ndking1126

TripleBGM · June 3, 2019

On 5/22/2019 at 10:18 AM, TripleBGM said:

I recently test drove both (6.2/10 & 5.3/8) and this was my impression. I was very impressed with the 5.3/8 combo, maybe liked it more than the 6.2/10. Much better than my current 2018 SLT PPP 5.3/8. I thought for sure I was going to a 2019 6.2/10 Denali but now I'm think 2019 5.3/8 SLT PPP. No premium fuel and 10K less money, mostly all of the same features.

Well, I ended up with the 6.2/10 AT4. I mostly got it for the 10 speed (& liked the AT4) but I'm loving the extra power the more I drive it. More fun than anything else. The 5.3/8 in the T1s do seem better but I figured why not go for the sure thing.

If you are worried about towing I'm not sure why you wouldn't choose a 2500 HD diesel.

Edited June 3, 2019 by TripleBGM

Roddy8 · June 3, 2019

Similar boat here. Looking at a Trailboss Custom and I'm between a 2019 5.3 Speed auto with discounts or waiting for the 2020 Trailboss Custom with the 6.2L 10 speed.

I have to say I drove the 5.3 6 Speed (Trailboss) back to back with the 6.2L 10-speed (LTZ) and the 5.3 is very snappy and torquey down low. The 6.2L makes its power up top and seems it would make for great highway power.

Tough choice...

AMPRG · June 5, 2019

On 5/21/2019 at 10:59 AM, Snuff said:

I am happy to hear so people are pleased with their 5.3/8speed. I probably don’t need 6.2/10speed either. Just concerned about the negative press in 8 speed. I am sure there are a lot of happy campers out there and the unhappy tend to chime in on the forums more. Since I want the standard bed, cloth, buckets and Bose the RST z71 fits my want list fine. My dealer says he can order what I want for $10K below MSRP. I plan to drive the 5.3 and 6.2 back to back and then decide.

Don't forget that 6.2L is thirsty for 91 octane gas vs 5.3L which you can fill it up with anything except water ?. I also believe that your registration will go up compare to 5.3L if you're here in CA, due to increasing the weight.

Adding all of these plus $2500 extra cost of purchase, may increase the cost of ownership much more than 5.3L in your 10-year plan.

I'm very happy with my 5.3L/8 speed. It's way more smooth than my previous 2014 with 5.3L/6 speed. I'm not towing anything, and just use the truck for commuting and using the cargo area for carrying very light stuff.

If you are planning to tow heavily and so often, then you should get 6.2L/10 speed.

I have no comments on 5.3L/10 speed. I belive it should give you better gas mileage and much smoother.

To be honest with you, my previous 2014 with 5.3L/6 speed had better gas mileage compare to this 2019 one. I hope such results won't happen to 5.3L/10-speed ?. I understand that previous gen was AFM while the new gen is DFM; and was supposed to get better gas mileage with DFM (which didn't happen). But who knows what will happen when they add 10-speed to 5.3L DFM.

AMPRG · June 5, 2019

On 6/2/2019 at 7:22 AM, Wiggums said:

I'm deeply regretting the 5.3 8-speed.. the transmission is by far the clunkiest of all the cars I've owned. Starting it up, leaning my foot on the brake, shifting it to D and waiting for the clunk that happens within 2 seconds after shifting then it's mostly smooth afterwards.

You should share your issues with the dealer. There are some discussions here very similar to your issues. I belive if your truck was built before October 2018, there are some solutions for it. I believe the dealer needs to change the transmission fluid completely with different one.

My 5.3L/8 speed doesn't have this issue. Sometimes it's clunky when it comes to stop. That happens may be once a couple of weeks, and when I'm driving in heavy traffics. I have more than 7000 miles on it.

TeamSaris · June 5, 2019

More power never hurts but my 8spd is smooth as silk. If i could run the 6.2 on 87 and get it in an Elevation, I would have gone for it. Absolutely no regrets with my 5.3 though. Great engine.

Wiggums · June 5, 2019

4 hours ago, AMPRG said:

You should share your issues with the dealer. There are some discussions here very similar to your issues. I belive if your truck was built before October 2018, there are some solutions for it. I believe the dealer needs to change the transmission fluid completely with different one.

My 5.3L/8 speed doesn't have this issue. Sometimes it's clunky when it comes to stop. That happens may be once a couple of weeks, and when I'm driving in heavy traffics. I have more than 7000 miles on it.

The dealership said it'd eventually go away and I haven't really driven much on it, still have around 900 miles on it. I don't think it's getting better so I'm turning it in when I get the first oil change next month. Fingers crossed.

AMPRG · June 5, 2019

27 minutes ago, Wiggums said:

The dealership said it'd eventually go away and I haven't really driven much on it, still have around 900 miles on it. I don't think it's getting better so I'm turning it in when I get the first oil change next month. Fingers crossed.

I had my first oil change at 6400 miles. I think you should go back to the dealer after 2000 miles if it won't get better.

Wiggums · June 5, 2019

30 minutes ago, AMPRG said:

I had my first oil change at 6400 miles. I think you should go back to the dealer after 2000 miles if it won't get better.

You can be sure of that. I dread shifting it in Drive after starting it. The same loud clunk is annoying.

AMPRG · June 5, 2019

5 minutes ago, Wiggums said:

You can be sure of that. I dread shifting it in Drive after starting it. The same loud clunk is annoying.

There are some other discussions here also regarding start driving the truck right after cranking up the engine. There is a recommendation of waiting 30 seconds before putting the transmission into the gear, to let the computer boot up properly. I think it shouldn't hurt if you try this too.