Impressions on the 4.3L V6

corwest · July 27, 2014

Let it run to about empty, fill up with E85, and tell us if you can tell the difference between this and the 5.3l.

I've been running E85 and loving it. 300 hp, 330 lbs torque, compared to the 315/335 I used to have with the 5.3l.

Just be sure you drive 10 miles after the first E85 fill up to give the motor time to re-set to use it.

You'll get 20% less mpg, but the E85 costs about 20% less. (and I personally prefer supporting American farmers to foreign oil exporters)

Yeah looking forward to trying E85. Never had a car that could take it

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02suburbanZ71 · July 28, 2014

Yeah looking forward to trying E85. Never had a car that could take it

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Producing it is way worse for the environment than gasoline. But e85 runs so much cleaner, plus we support our farmers. Always a plus when your fuel (e85) cleans your carbon buildup

GPGuy · July 28, 2014

Ha! I'd try it except we don't have any stations to even buy it over here.

Brian S. · July 28, 2014

My 5.3 has 285 hp

It's probably all it needs.

For decades, a V8 motor had 250-300hp and 300-350lbs torque, and everyone pulled around their boats and small campers fine. If you needed more, you bought a diesel.

These days, there seems to be "OMG! You NEED 350hp and 400lbs torque to pull your 18' boat! Without that, you might slow down a couple miles per hour climbing long steep hills! Your transmission might downshift!" sentiment on forums like this.

There are certainly people who need a lot of power to pull around construction equipment and fifth wheels. My guess is you aren't doing that with your Suburban and it pulls your boat and snowmobiles fine. :-)

KARNUT · July 28, 2014

It's probably all it needs.

For decades, a V8 motor had 250-300hp and 300-350lbs torque, and everyone pulled around their boats and small campers fine. If you needed more, you bought a diesel.

These days, there seems to be "OMG! You NEED 350hp and 400lbs torque to pull your 18' boat! Without that, you might slow down a couple miles per hour climbing long steep hills! Your transmission might downshift!" sentiment on forums like this.

There are certainly people who need a lot of power to pull around construction equipment and fifth wheels. My guess is you aren't doing that with your Suburban and it pulls your boat and snowmobiles fine. :-)

Human nature, If someone told me id be driving an unmodified truck with close to 400HP 20 years ago, Id be looking at their arms for needle marks. Same with living in a 3000 square ft house with two people. Everyone wants more, its what we live for.

Daryl Z71 · July 28, 2014

Yeah, smaller, more efficient engines and 8 speed autos are probably the future but I hope they don't do away with powerful V8's entirely or at least make them a very expensive option because of some silly gas guzzler tax or something like that. Sometimes you simply want more power because its fun to have it, whether you need it or not and I don't like the government telling me that its bad for the environment or some crap like that because it doesn't meet some minimum fuel mileage number. I'm surprised that the 6.2 was ever offered in the 1500 in the first place but I'm sure most still opt for the 5.3 anyway.

Can't wait for the even higher astronomical sticker prices in the future for a truck with less motor. But hey guys NASCAR gets to spew their "pollution" into the air, and guzzle gas like it's going out of style, but their okay! [emoji19]

KARNUT · July 28, 2014

Can't wait for the even higher astronomical sticker prices in the future for a truck with less motor. But hey guys NASCAR gets to spew their "pollution" into the air, and guzzle gas like it's going out of style, but their okay! [emoji19]

So you got to mess With NASCAR, what the hell! I bet their cars on E85 put less pollution in the air then that truck your driving. Next thing youll want to ban baseball because people drive cars there to watch. Ill take my 5.3 than all the 454s, 396s, 350s, 390s, 460s,etc in the past for pollution and HP. I cant think of any truck I had in the past that I take new over the one I have now. All things the same im paying less now, and getting more in my trucks.

Daryl Z71 · July 28, 2014

So you got to mess With NASCAR, what the hell! I bet their cars on E85 put less pollution in the air then that truck your driving. Next thing youll want to ban baseball because people drive cars there to watch. Ill take my 5.3 than all the 454s, 396s, 350s, 390s, 460s,etc in the past for pollution and HP. I cant think of any truck I had in the past that I take new over the one I have now. All things the same im paying less now, and getting more in my trucks.

Haha it's just an example. I'm a fan of, and watch NASCAR. Not as much as I used to, but I'm still a fan. All I meant by saying that was that the government has it's favoritism with CAFE, and because of that it's a double standard. [emoji4] Edited July 28, 2014 by Daryl Z71

KARNUT · July 28, 2014

Haha it's just an example. I'm a fan of, and watch NASCAR. Not as much as I used to, but I'm still a fan. All I meant by saying that was that the government has it's priorities with CAFE, and because of that it's a double standard. [emoji4]

I think there is change in the air come November and in two years, lets hope. We can only cover so much, people are going to have to get more willing to work and produce no one is going to do it for us.

Brian S. · July 29, 2014

Human nature, If someone told me id be driving an unmodified truck with close to 400HP 20 years ago, Id be looking at their arms for needle marks. Same with living in a 3000 square ft house with two people. Everyone wants more, its what we live for.

Personally, I live for bass fishing with my son and watching him play soccer, but to each their own.

Replaced my 3.5 year old 5.3l LT Z71 with the new 4.3l LT Z71, and my six year old 17'8", 150hp boat with a new 17'8", 150hp boat this spring.

Could I have bought the 6.2l truck and a 200hp boat? Sure, but the money I saved on things that fit, but don't exceed, my needs I can spend on other things. :-)

KARNUT · July 29, 2014

Personally, I live for bass fishing with my son and watching him play soccer, but to each their own.

Replaced my 3.5 year old 5.3l LT Z71 with the new 4.3l LT Z71, and my six year old 17'8", 150hp boat with a new 17'8", 150hp boat this spring.

Could I have bought the 6.2l truck and a 200hp boat? Sure, but the money I saved on things that fit, but don't exceed, my needs I can spend on other things. :-)

Or you could have kept they old ones, I have no room to talk. I didn't get the 6.2 either at the time I bought it would have cost 15k more and upgrades I didn't care about. I have a 22 year old truck that would have made the 24 miles a day I drive for many more years.

Chris Godlove · July 31, 2014

This is going to sound like a dumb question but how do you check the mpg for your specific truck

Brian S. · July 31, 2014

This is going to sound like a dumb question but how do you check the mpg for your specific truck

I hit the down arrow on the driver's side steering wheel controller, the control pad on the front. Scrolls through all available screens on the 4" screen in the instrument cluster which includes a lifetime, this trip, and current mpg screen.

Chris Godlove · July 31, 2014

Thanks man but does that work on older trucks? I have a 1996 Blazer

courts94s · August 2, 2014

Thanks man but does that work on older trucks? I have a 1996 Blazer

'96 Blazer and '14 Silverado have different hardware and software. The best method is to do it yourself at the pump. Fill it up, reset the trip, drive to "E", fill up again and divide the miles by the gallons it takes to fill up. That's your MPG.