For starters I already feel bad for buying the 4.8L so if we could hold off on the reminder that i made a bad mood I would appreciate it but its done and over with so I need to see what my options are. I have a 23ft boat and a total tow weight around 4500. My tahoe has the 3:23 gears. I dont tow my boat that much but I dont want to ruin tranny. I've read a lot of threads and have decided to install an external transmission cooler. My question is will changing my gears to 3:73 make a big difference? How will it effect the drive when I'm not towing? Are there any other options to make sure my Tahoe can tow this safely without selling it and buying a new one?

Thanks for the help.

 

Welcome to the forum.

According to the sales brochure, your 4500 boat is the limit w/ 3.23 gears. 3.73 will get you 4800.

Since you're 2WD, be careful if the boat ramps are steep and slick.

 

Yep, getting the boat back out of the water might be tough some days. Don't do like some guys and sink your truck in the process.

The transmission should go into limp mode before being thermally-damaged. A cooler will help, but the truth is, you might not want to throw money at it if you might change trucks soon anyway. I'd think about how long you plan on keeping it before you go adding a trans oil cooler or changing the axle ratio (and flashing the computer due to different gears.)

Your truck might have P tires, not LT tires, also. Consider upgrading to LT when your current tires are worn out.

 

Thanks

 

Not being mean, but why do they even put the 4.8 in these things? I average 17 MPG with some city and can't imagine the 4.8L saves anything. I like the 5.3, but I would guess the 6.2 really shines...

 

I suspect its for folks that don't plan to tow anything but want the SUV for size people and cargo capacity...the smaller engine is probably a selling point for fuel efficiency...

 

I can't find the MPG because in 2012 it appears they dropped it.

good for them. it was a poor choice.

You'd have to press the 4.8 harder than the 5.3 more often, making real world MPG about the same...

the EPA also tests on 'pure gas' did you know that?

 

"Pure gas" because we all know the dirty little secret of the mutant kept in the basement called "corn fuel"....
Its an alternative but nobody EVER said it was a good one....

 

I will suppress my standard E85 scam rant. but I would like the corn subsidies to end. For Fuel and for High Fructose Corn Syrup.

 

The transmission should go into limp mode before being thermally-damaged. A cooler will help, but the truth is, you might not want to throw money at it if you might change trucks soon anyway.