anyone know TOWING 4.8 vs. 5.3?

[mopower440]

I'd recommend the 4.10 gears. I had them with my 5.3L and it worked really well.

 

The '89 350TBI is only ~190HP, so it wasn't a power house by no means. It probably had better gearing.

yes, but it was 300 ft. lbs of torque at 2800 rpm, the torque at the lower rpm is why it pulled so well. and it only had 3.42 gears. The 4.8 peak torque is 285, but its at 4000 rpm, i dont want to tow at 4000 rpm..lol.. was thinking the bigger 5.3 would put out more torque at a lower rpm so would be better to tow with..

[Wires]

The 5.3 probably has torque a lot lower in the band. Nobody every posts the dyno curves, just peak HP/TQ numbers.

 

For the money, the gear swap would be the best choice. I miss my 4.10 gears. I have the 6-speed now, and my 6.2L labors climbing hills in 6th.

[Ramin258]

The 4.10 will bring your rpm up and bring you closer to that 4000rpm peak torque, without downshifting....hopefully.

[mopower440]

The 4.10 will bring your rpm up and bring you closer to that 4000rpm peak torque, without downshifting....hopefully.

I know, but thats what i dont like about the 4.8 is the high revving to pull the boat. I would like the bigger engine so that there is more torque at a lower rpm, similar to the way my old 350 tbi was. I guess thats mainly what im asking is if the 5.3 will do a lot better than the 4.8 towing at the lower rpm's, like in the 2000 rpm range since thats where you normally cruise down the highway at..for example, if im towing the boat at 55-60 mph down a totally flat highway at a 2000 rpm cruise, its fine, but if the SLIGHTEST incline comes up, it has to drop a gear or 2 and scream the engine to TRY and maintain its speed to get up the incline. My old 350 truck would have went right over the hill without dropping a gear and held its speed. Now, i know i may not get that even with a 5.3, but wondering if the 5.3 would be a heck of a lot closer to behaving like that than the 4.8 does?

[Chris]

4.8/5.3/6.0 behave similar with similar gearing. Peak torque around 4100

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Xparent Red Tapatalk 2

[BruceDeuce]

4.8 peak torque is 285, but its at 4000 rpm and the 4.3 is 253 foot-pounds when operating at 2,800. 4.3 best all around engine GM ever made.

[Ramin258]

My point with the 4.10 is this, you state that while cruising now you are at 2000rpm. If you change to a 4.10 your rpm will be around 2200-2300 rpm which will bring you closer to your power band and most likely prevent the truck from downshifting at every little hill. Also when the truck does have to down shift it will be able to get more torque to the road in 3rd gear and hopefully not drop to second as often.

[Prokopchuk_9]

Gears and a tune is quickest/easiest/cheapest option in this case. Nuff said.

[white1500]

Now, i know i may not get that even with a 5.3, but wondering if the 5.3 would be a heck of a lot closer to behaving like that than the 4.8 does?

Yes, the 5.3 is what you want. This engine with 3.73's or lower is the best setup for an all around truck. It can rev (within reason) and has plenty of torque all across the rev range.

 

yes, but it was 300 ft. lbs of torque at 2800 rpm, the torque at the lower rpm is why it pulled so well. and it only had 3.42 gears. The 4.8 peak torque is 285, but its at 4000 rpm, i dont want to tow at 4000 rpm..lol.. was thinking the bigger 5.3 would put out more torque at a lower rpm so would be better to tow with..

The underlined part made me literally laugh out loud. I pictured someone towing at 4000rpm.

[Matte454]

having towed with 305, 350, 351 ford , 454, gmt800 4.8 and gmt900 4.8 vvt I have felt quite a few engines under load. Il take the 4.8 over the 454 any day, so what if it revs at 4000rpm, it gives you power and torque when you need it at those high rpms. They built these motors to spin do let them, boat engines spend the majority of there life at rpms. I know it feels a little different, and maybe doesn't feel as powerful. If torque is your issue buy some long tube headers with your 500 bucks and run o2 simulators until you can afford a tune. I swapped in a wrecker engine into my 99 and shortly after the rear main seal went. So don't count on a 500 dollar wrecker motor being all that. Sonetines your better off with what you know.

[truckofwinandawesome]

our GMT900 Silverado with the LY2 4.8 (no VVT) and 3.24 gears tows a 16' 900 Pound Tri Hull boat on a 1700 GVWR trailer and it almost feels like there's nothing back there!

[Matte454]

Thinkof it this way too, at the higher rpms that's more coolant, oil, trans fluid being pushed through the engine and their coolers. I always downshift to 3rd in tow/haul for hills even with a very light load. Big load and big hill 2nd works, my biggest irritation with the 4.8 is that if you don't move it to a lower gear it will up shift too early and lug. Beats the old carbed 454 this th400, that thing was either sucking wind at high rpm or plowing along at low rpm and speed, I emember the tranny getting so hot you could feel it on the floorboards.

[mattmanuel]

I had a 4.8 with 3.43 gears and had to hit 2nd alot, replaces that truck with a 5.3 w/3.73 gears and it made a world of difference both in towability and gas mileage. I pull a 2300# flatbed with a 5000# tractor on it. I'm happy with the upgrade but for the 340 days a year that I'm not towing, it sure would be nice to have that 5mpg back!

[Wires]

If you google the GM performance site, they should have dyno plots of their crate engines (4.8, 5.3, etc), so you can see what the power band looks like between them.

[mopower440]

If you google the GM performance site, they should have dyno plots of their crate engines (4.8, 5.3, etc), so you can see what the power band looks like between them.

I did, at 2000 rpm, which is where i usually cruise at, the 5.3 makes 30 more ft. pound of torque and 20 more horsepower than the 4.8., but, i dont really know how much that would or wouldn't help as those are just numbers to me..lol