Is there a noticeable power/torque difference?

QUIKAG · December 22, 2003

The 4.8 is rated at 285hp now and the 5.3L is 295. The torque is 35lb/ft difference.

I've driven the 5.3L and it's nice, how much different is the '04 4.8?

December 22, 2003

I test drove both and bought the 4.8L. There is a difference but not extreme. On hills the 4.8 will downshift sooner. Towing can make the difference more noticable. As I said, I bought the 4.8 and a chip programmer. Now I'm even on HP and torque. Gas mileage is not enough to figure in. You probalby made a better choice but I'm not unhappy.

GMINSIDE · January 12, 2004

I have the 4.8 and love it. to me the 5.3 seemed slugish

dieselman · January 12, 2004

Talk to most GM tec;s and you will find the 4.8 is a better performer. And yes I have one in a 00 4x4 silverado LT reg cab all stock and 75'000 miles and can still smoke the tires with the G-80 rear end.[not that I do. twice once when it was 6 months old and last week]

QUIKAG · January 12, 2004

Well, as you can see by my sig, I got the 5.3L.

When you guys are talking 'performance' being better with the 4.8L are you talking about acceleration or towing?

Bruce03Silverado · January 12, 2004

Talk to most GM tec;s and you will find the 4.8 is a better performer. And yes I have one in a 00 4x4 silverado LT reg cab all stock and 75'000 miles and can still smoke the tires with the G-80 rear end.[not that I do. twice once when it was 6 months old and last week]

Just curious how it can be a better performer? The 5.3 has more torque and as the old saying goes "there's replacement for displacement". Yes, I have a 4.8 in my 03 but I don't see the logic behind it being a better performer...it's essentially the same motor

LS1Steve · January 12, 2004

I worked at a dealership for a bit and drove them both often. The 4.8 is sufficient for most people, but I could definitely feel the extra torque in the 5.3. Most don't see a difference on a test drive, but once you throw some weight in or pull something, you'll realize the difference. Depends on the individuals needs, personally, i'd spend the extra for the 5.3 (being the power-crazy maniac that i am)

CapnDean · January 12, 2004

CapnDean sings about his 4.8 gas mileage. 19/20 on the hwy 15/17 around town.

I have the extended cab and generally run with the bed empty. If the 5.3 has better power I don't see how - - I can spin my street tires without really trying.

I tow also: Not often - - But when I do it's either a 4000# boat (12 miles to the water) or my 6000# Bushog Tractor. Does the power make a difference here? I dunno...you can't exactly expect to accelerate with lightning speed when you're hauling like this....

In a nutshell: FOR MY APPLICATION - - the 4.8 wins hands down. Love the punch, love the economy.

I suppose if I had 4WD, or towed more frequently...I'd opt for a bigger engine.

The combo that GM put in my truck is perfect. I feared that it might be like the old 305/350 comparsion....those of us who had em know what a crappy comparison that was...the 305 was a ham that got poor mileage and had no balls. The 350 got the same mileage - - but it at least had some guts.

Charlie in TX · January 13, 2004

I had a '99 ecab with the 4.8 auto. It had plenty of power until I tryed to tow. Then it was even more of a suspention thing then a lack of power. It had the lighter suspention. It would easiely grab rubber in the 1/2 shift. I do miss that truck.

Having said that, the 5.3 in the same truck should be better.

dieselman · January 14, 2004

Think of it this way 4.8=285 hp 5.3=295 hp same block same heads but the 5.3 is bored out a bit more = 4.8 stronger block.. Just my way of thinking

TarheelZ · January 14, 2004

I'm pleasantly surprised by the 4.8L in my '00 Sierra...BUT I would love to have the extra torque from the 5.3 (about 35 lb-ft, I think). My future upgrades will probably be relatively mild cam/head work as well as headers and a good PCM tune to squeeze a little more thump from the little V8 that could!

HumanZoom · January 14, 2004

I test drove both before buying. There is relativly no difference in daily driving, but I have no idea what the difference would be with towing/fully loaded. I guess I just wanted to go with the biggest engine I could get

My question is why did GM inflate the HP rating for 2004? My 03 5.3 is rated at 285 hp and the 4.8 was rated at 275 hp. Is there anything different with the trucks or is this just an inflated rating from GM?

mdub · January 14, 2004

4.8L and 5.3L have the same bore (I believe the same block, correct me if I'm wrong). The 5.3L uses a longer stroke. A "stroked" engine gives more torque. Torque is most noticable when pulling weight or maintaining speed on hills, not seat-of-the-pants acceleration that you experience on a test drive. It's not surprising that the enigines appear to have the same power on test drives... GM seems to have the engines/trannys tuned real nice for 0-60 acceleration.

I personally think the 5.3L is quite weak on torque, especially at maintaining speed on hills, or when passing. Of course, the "hill" problem is dependent on where you live. Next time, I wouldn't consider anything less than the 5.3L, and would probably try to select an engine with MORE torque, not less. If I chose the 5.3L again, I would definitely choose the 4.10 gears to compensate for the lack of torque (especially if adding oversize tires).

As stated above, resale value will partially compensate for the higher up-front cost of the 5.3L.

SilveradoWV · January 14, 2004

I have a 02 4.8L and its really great. If they had the exact same truck with the 5.3L I would have gotten it but you cant find a 5.3L base 4x4 Z85 like you can a 4.8L. Honestly I dont think there is alot of difference, except when it comes to towing or something.

Bruce03Silverado · January 14, 2004

I've got the 4.8L w/3.73's in mine and I love it. Since I put 285's on the truck I did notice a SLIGHT decrease in power/torque just because of the bigger tire, but I plan on fixing that with a programmer and intake. It does just what I need it to do and the most I ever plan on towing is one day towing my Firehawk around or a small trailer to move from house to house. I think the 4.8 has plenty of power for me and it was the first motor I test drove and coming from 2 Dodge trucks I thought the 4.8 was a 5.3 because it felt so much stronger than the Dodge 318 and 360. I'm not really concerned about resale value though becasue I think it's resale value regardless of the motor will still be one of the highest values out there. I plan on keeping mine for quite a while so resale isn't an issue...trust me it can;t be any worse than the two Dodges I had....those things were unreal in depreciation and I had an 01 and an 02.....