'00 Silv. 5.3L vs. '03 Burb 5.3L

[2tyred]

What's the difference between the motor/drivetrain in my two rigs?

 

'00 Silverado 4wd Ext Cab 5.3L 4.10

'03 Suburban 4wd 5.3L 3.73

 

Anyone have an idea why my heavier Suburban with taller gears feels more responsive?

 

Thanks,

 

Scott

[Valsport]

Exactly that, the gearing. You get better response out of 4.10 gears than 3.73's.

[Tucson_02Silverado]

02 and after no EGR on the 5.3

03 was suppose to be intake change

[01BlackZ71]

Exactly that, the gearing.  You get better response out of 4.10 gears than 3.73's.

So then the Silverado would be more responsive since it has the 4.10 gears.

[carguru]

There are a few other differences. The Silverado has a standard throttle body. The '03 Suburban would have the drive by wire system (electronic throttle body). The Silverado also would have the LM7 engine. The Suburban probably has the L59 flex fuel engine. Off the cuff, I would say on paper, the Silverado should be more responsive. In reality, since the Silverado has a couple of years and miles on the Suburban, you could have some stickiness in the throttle body, wear in components as spark plugs, etc that can affect responsiveness. I do notice that between our Tahoe and Silverado, there is a slight lag in the throttle response in the Tahoe compared to the Silverado. With the same setup, 5.3L and 3.73 rear end, the seat of the pants feel between our Tahoe and Silverado, the Silverado feels a bit more responsive.

[2tyred]

Thanks for the info guys.

 

I think my wording may have confused a few of you. My point was that my newer Suburban with 3.73 feels more responsive than my Silverado with 4.10. Keep in mind that this is a seat of the pants analysis.

 

Carguru, you have many good points. The Burb does have the flex fuel engine.

 

Also, it hasn't been that long since I cleaned the throttle body (because of a sticking problem). I remember reading a few days ago about a throttle body adjustment that can be done when the fixed orifice PCV is installed. Would this affect anything or is it purely to remove this sticking situation?

 

The plugs aren't very old (I'll have to check my records). I put NGK copper electrode plugs in it. Is that a mistake?

 

The Silverado is bone stock except for a K&N air filter. How much difference would an aftermarket intake make?

 

Some other things I've noticed:

 

The '03 Burb seems much better built than the '00 Silverado. Only 16K on it , but everything seems solid. None of the little dash rattles that the Silverdo seems to have.

 

The Burb's tranny shifts a lot better and doesn't have the lag when shifting into reverse.

 

Thanks again. Any additional insights are appreciated.

 

Scott

[Wingnut]

I have to ask....What size tires do you have on the truck? If it's 285s, that would make the gear ratio a bit taller, sapping performance.

 

Just an idea.

[2tyred]

The Silverado still has the stock 265/75's on it. Although I'm considering going to 285's.

 

That's a good point in that the Suburban has 265/70's, so the gear ratios are a little closer than previously stated.