joe0523

I am considering moving from my 04 Dodge Ram to a '11 Silverado 1500LT crew cab. Got a good quote from a dealer on a leftover 11 and just realized it comes with a 4.8L engine. Now I am wondering if that is enough motor for what I need. I didnt make the deal yet and wondering if I should hold out and try to find a 5.3L. I have boats and snowmobiles I tow regularly (heaviest being about 5500lbs). I am used to the 5.7 hemi I have and not sure if the 4.8L is going to cut it. I tried going to websites to see if the '11 1500 crew cab even comes with a 5.3L option and Im getting mixed info. It says it was an option but I cant seem to find a price difference or upgrade option on the chevy website except for a 6.0L. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

Cpb200

well comeing from a 5.7 to a 4.8 is a big change but they are great engines they will pull that load but my personal opinion is try to save up for a 5.3 or a 6.0
the 5.3 has only about 20 more hp and tq than the 4.8 BUT the big difference is transmission and gear ratio the 4.8 come with a 4 speed i think and 3.42 gears but i thik you can get it with the 3.73 the 5.3 comes with a 6 speed transmission and 3.73
the difference between the 3.42 and 3.73 is the 3.42 will get more gas milage but not as good for towing and the 3.73 is the best of both nice towing and gas milage
i also think that the 5.3 is only about 2k$ more and it comes with afm which helps save gas milage but if it was me id get that turned off
the 6.0 you can say good bye to gas milage but you have all the power you will ever need they are also a little more expensive
so personal opinion 4.8 is a good motor just may feel different to you if possible get a 5.3 (although it doesnt take many mods to get a 4.8 to run like a 5.3)
hope this helps and welcome to the forum

joe0523

thank you for that info. I am going to try to locate a 5.3L if possible. If for some reason I cant find one and I stick with the 4.8L what sort of mods could be done to get better towing performance without spending a ton of $$ and without voiding any warranty?

Cpb200

well many mods would void the warranty at least the ones you would have to do but heres a list and price range of mods
1.free flowing exhaust(single mufflerand you could have it si/do or si/so with a y pipe behind itfor duals) 120-200$ void warranty unless you can get an aftermarket exhaust from chevy they use to do it and still have warranty but thats a lot more money for them to do it but you keep your warranty

2.free flowing intake tube and high flow air filter 87$(if done right thats how much it was for my truck and did install myself), your truck already has a true cold air intake but the intake tube is restrictive with baffles to keep the noise down in the cab the way to help this is to buy an intake tube wither one from airaid(pricey) or a cheap on off of ebay and just use the tube(worked for me) also get a better drop in filter such as a spectre(same as k&n but cheaper)(i can give a write up on what you need if your thinking about this) void warranty

3.long tube headers anywhere from 400-1000$ depending on the kind you get you can get a cheap pair for 200$ but they wont last long depending your climate conditions pacestter has a set of cheramic coated for 427 which aint bad at all but you can spend the big bucks and a stainless steel set long tubes help with mid range power which is great for a truck will void warranty

4. you can port and polish your throttle body and pick up about 2-3 hp mostly for better throttle response you can do it yourself(free) or pay for someone to do it about 80$ this might void warrant

5.if you have a 4l60e transmission you can do a vette servo which many people say works wounders and better shifts its also not hard to install about 80$ if you do it yourself(im not 100% sure if you csan do this on the newer trucks though)

6. gear change around 100$ for parts (i dont know about labor) if you wanted to run bigger tires or pull gear change would help you have more power but could affect mpg depending on the gears will void warranty

7. custom tune from blackbear 250$ this is better than a handheld programer because it fine tunes to be exactly what you want and free retunes later on if you add more to your truck later i dont know to much about it because i havent got one for my truck but everyone who has a custom tune says they will never go back and say theres a big power increase and better mpg this could void warranty

8.tow mirrors are great for pulling helps you see your load better you can get some from gm and wont void the warranty (dont know the price)

although you might get more power than the 5.3 with these mods they void warranty and can cost as much as 2000-3000$ when that could be put towards a 5.3 however it wont have all the mods the 4.8 will after this but also the dealership and chevrolet always only warrants the vehicles to factory specs due to breaks transmission gears and frame even tho you might have the power to pull it the truck might not be built for it (but just saying that would be one bad *** 4.8 and would run great)
most important thing is to take care of the vehicle and dont dog it and do regular maintenance these trucks will run for a long time as long as you take care of them they take care of you

joe0523

Thanks for all the great info, been a lot of help! I ended up going with a 2012
With a 5.3, towing package and a few other options the 11 didn't have.
A little bit more $ but it's got everything I want and I think I'll be happier
In the long run! Pick it up tomorrow, can't wait!! Thanks again for all the help!

Cpb200

no problem just happy to help when you get your truck be sure to tell us how you like it im sure you will and wont be disapointed

Michael Henry

I have recenter purchased a 1999 chevy with a locked up 4.8 and a 5 speed manual transmission I can buy a motor for 500 dollars with less than 70 thousand miles on it but it came out of an automatic truck I was told that they could not be swapped out because of the crank and the same mechanic told me once an ls motor locks up they are junk is either one true