chevyboy1993

i would honestly get the 5.3 over the 4.8 because the 4.8 is a little under powered for a crew cab, so in return you would get a little worse mileage. they are great motors if taken care of like any other motor out there.

Cpb200

no problem and any motor will run for as long as you want it too just do regualar matenance on it like change the oil, fuel filter, spark plugs, air filter, and all other fluids and dont dong the hell out of it these trucks run past 200k+ miles the 4.8 and 5.3 has the same block just the 4.8 likes to rev a little bit as compaired to the 5.3 which is just kinda like a bored 4.8 doesnt like to rev and has a little more power also what plays big factors is rearend gears and transsmission 3.43 is good for just highway where as the 3.73 is good for all around and if you have somthing like 4.10 then thats where gas milage starts to hurt
but just for saying how long these motors last my truck is a 99 and has 260000 miles on it before me it was owned by an interstate company who pulled a 5th wheeler and trailers and put some hours on it now that i have it i use it for dailey driving pulling a 35 foot camper trailer pulling a 22 foot flat trailer for the four wheelers and any time i just need to haul stuff around pull people out or any type of work and it runs great almost as if it was still new the only major work ever done is a fuel pump and altenator all regular tune ups and matence is done everytime its needed by me and i plan to keep this truck for another 3 or 4 years or more hope this helps in anyway

JK23112

I have a 2004 Silverado 1500 LS extended-cab with the 6.5-foot bed. My truck has the 5.3L V8, is two-wheel-drive, has the towing package and the previous owner installed Z71 rims (17-inchers) from a 4x4 truck. {My truck originally had 16" wheels.}

I have rather large 265/70-17 Michelin all-season tires, which are outstanding! My axle ratio is 3.73:1 and I have Flowmaster 50 Series mufflers (true duals from the cats back). I have 102,xxx miles on the truck and it pulls like crazy. My V8 is putting out about 300 horsepower and I average 15 to 16 miles per gallon. In all local driving, it drops down to 14 sometimes; but will get 18 to 18.5 mpg on a long trip if I can keep my foot out of it.

I don't tow anything with it, but did once haul a whole ton of landscaping bricks with it. Aside from sagging a bit, the truck did just fine for a half-ton. GM has taken a lot of heat for quality issues with their cars, but I believe that they build great pickup trucks and SUVs. There are plenty of them on the road with well over 200k on the odometer!

I plan to keep my truck a long, long time. Yes, it is thirsty - but is reliable, sturdy and has plenty of power when I need it. For my "commuter" needs, I have a little Nissan Sentra that has a four-cylinder engine with a five-speed manual transmission. It uses half the fuel of the truck!

country_09

4.8 or 5.3 will definitely do the job. The 4.8 lacks off the line power but makes up for it down the stretch, the 5.3 is a little more powerful off the line and still pretty quick down the stretch.

When I was stock, 01 5.3 z71, i was gettin 15 mixed. Now with a 6" rcx lift, 1.5" body and 35x12.5x20 mud grapplers I get about 11 or so. But gears are comin soon to bump it back up

redboy

I have a 07 sub with 5.3.,4x4.milage I think is pitiful at 13.1,its rated at 300hp .I had a 2000 express hi top conversion with a 5.7 rated at 300hp befor.no comparison .I wish I had the 5.7 again.15-19 mpg and alot more power.While pulling my boat going 65mph up a slight upgrade the truck went down to second gear just to keep up speed,boat mayby weighs 2500.never had that problem with 5.7

country_09

Don't use cruise control while towin from the sounds of it. That's no bueno. My truck has no problem haulin 2500lbs up steep grades and keepin 65. And the 5.3 is a lot better motor than the 5.7. That v8 to v4 drop down crap kills the new ones though

redboy

so what makes it better?I used cruize with the van,still better milage and performance

country_09

Better heads, flow design, puts more power to the wheels. That sort of thing. If yours is the newer model then they came VERY detuned from factory and with craptastic gearing for mpg

67Motorcat

4.8 or 5.3 just can't be beat in my opinion.The 4.8 just has a shorter stroke crank which,as stated above,likes to rev a little more but lacks the low end torque of the 5.3. but not by very much at all.

I average around 18 mpg combined with the 5.3 and 3.73 gears and have over 200K miles and still runs like new.

2WD with 3" spindle lift and 265-65-18 tires and 2010 OEM Z71 rims

chevyboy1993

I just bought a 2011 1500 with 5.3, 6 speed auto and 3.42 gears. i'm getting 17/25 and thats beating the hell out of it. the one thing i hate on 07+ 5.3's is the AFM, kicks in and out too much