How will a 5.3 with a 3.08 fair?

Nathan79 · June 5, 2016

Isn't the tow capacity of the 3.08 rears about 6k lbs? And that's before weight of passengers, gear, etc.

Imcrazy · June 5, 2016

They shouldn't even make the 6 speed trucks with a 3.08, the 8 speed I think does pretty fair with that rear end though.

I have a 5.3 and a 3.42, I'd get a 4.3 with a 3.42 before I got a 5.3 6 speed with a 3.08.....

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · June 6, 2016

I have the 5.3 6 speed 6L80e with 3.08s and I hate the axle gear ratio. I don't really tow so no big deal. I do haul and maybe it was in my head but the first time I hauled something with real weight it felt like the truck was almost struggling because of the 3.08. I say it's the 3.08 because that same weight and more I wouldn't have even felt in my '98 with the 5.7 with the 4 speed 4L60e and 3.73 gears. By the way, I tried it with and without the tow/haul mode being on. It seemed like it was the fine line between the to because with it off it acted like it was struggling and with it on it was like it wasn't enough weight. 3.08 is ok for lighter stuff and I remember reading on here that someone towed with that same configuration right at the max tow capacity and he said it did it fine. I didn't worry about the axle ratio when I got the truck because I honestly didn't think GM would even put a higher gear (lower #) than 3.23. I actually think they shouldn't put anything higher than 3.42, but 3.23 would be a max.

I plan to regear to 3.73 if I can find them but if I can't I may go up to 4.10.

treesovertexas · June 7, 2016

I have the 5.3 6 speed 6L80e with 3.08s and I hate the axle gear ratio. I don't really tow so no big deal. I do haul and maybe it was in my head but the first time I hauled something with real weight it felt like the truck was almost struggling because of the 3.08. I say it's the 3.08 because that same weight and more I wouldn't have even felt in my '98 with the 5.7 with the 4 speed 4L60e and 3.73 gears. By the way, I tried it with and without the tow/haul mode being on. It seemed like it was the fine line between the to because with it off it acted like it was struggling and with it on it was like it wasn't enough weight. 3.08 is ok for lighter stuff and I remember reading on here that someone towed with that same configuration right at the max tow capacity and he said it did it fine. I didn't worry about the axle ratio when I got the truck because I honestly didn't think GM would even put a higher gear (lower #) than 3.23. I actually think they shouldn't put anything higher than 3.42, but 3.23 would be a max.

I plan to regear to 3.73 if I can find them but if I can't I may go up to 4.10.

This is what I'm getting at to the original poster. Even if you don't tow daily, my point is, we still own trucks. They should be usable when you need to use it. Another thing I would like to add, in your case. Assuming that's your truck in your signature? You might be interested in looking into 4.10's being that your a crew cab 4-door. That's something else to factor in.

To the original poster or guy who asked how much for the dealer to install them. You're probably going to run when you hear their pricing. I would assume the transmission shop would be a good place to start. My guess is between $700.and $1000. if your 2wd, and $1500. to $2,000 if your 4wd. This would be parts and labor.

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · June 7, 2016

This is what I'm getting at to the original poster. Even if you don't tow daily, my point is, we still own trucks. They should be usable when you need to use it. Another thing I would like to add, in your case. Assuming that's your truck in your signature? You might be interested in looking into 4.10's being that your a crew cab 4-door. That's something else to factor in.

To the original poster or guy who asked how much for the dealer to install them. You're probably going to run when you hear their pricing. I would assume the transmission shop would be a good place to start. My guess is between $700.and $1000. if your 2wd, and $1500. to $2,000 if your 4wd. This would be parts and labor.

Actually it's the Double Cab which replaced the Extended Cab. With actual rear doors it's just a smaller crew cab.

I guess I got used to the 3.73 gears in my old truck. Also someone stated that 3.08 trucks get horrible gas mileage in town which I can attest to. Mine get's great mileage for a full size 4x4 truck on the highway and interstate, but in stop and go in town it barely gets better mileage than my '98 5.7 4 speed 3.73 truck did. I will admit that I got good mileage in town when I babied the hell out of it before I had the exhaust done. I could squeeze about 18 in town in the summer and about 16-16.5 in the winter. After having the exhaust done I guess it had me revert back to my old driving style, but just toned down so not as bad. Now the avg mileage for a tank that's all city miles I would be between 11.5 and 12. That's with tire pressures all equal by the way. I've ran the same tire pressures since getting the truck so I know my driving is what lowered it like that. I won't actually complain about mileage since I've always had full size Chevy trucks so I'm used to the mileages. Plus from what I've read on here it seems like regearing to lower gears don't really effect mileage that much when it comes to highway and interstate so that's good to know even though it wouldn't effect my decision to regear anyways.

ember1205 · June 7, 2016

This is what I'm getting at to the original poster. Even if you don't tow daily, my point is, we still own trucks. They should be usable when you need to use it. Another thing I would like to add, in your case. Assuming that's your truck in your signature? You might be interested in looking into 4.10's being that your a crew cab 4-door. That's something else to factor in.

To the original poster or guy who asked how much for the dealer to install them. You're probably going to run when you hear their pricing. I would assume the transmission shop would be a good place to start. My guess is between $700.and $1000. if your 2wd, and $1500. to $2,000 if your 4wd. This would be parts and labor.

And every owner determines what "usable" is. The problem is, no one ever takes the time to understand what they're buying. My brother was ready to sign on the line for a '16 with the 3.08 rear end in it until I stopped him. He said "what do I care?" I explained that he drives almost exclusively around town and tows about 1500 lbs 10-15 times per year about 50 miles. For him, the 3.08 would produce lower MPG overall even though it would tow just fine for him. He never hauls anything heavy, it's a crew cab but almost always just him or him +1. If he drove a lot on the highway, then it would have been ideal.

He went the route of the 3.42 instead which will serve him much better overall. And, if he needs to tow or haul heavy, he can still pull it off.

3.73, for me, is a giant waste. I spend a lot of time on the highway (bad MPG) and tow infrequently. On occasion, I will load the bed with 2k worth of payload and drive about 10 miles back to the house before unloading it. For me, the 3.42 is a good setup.

What so many people here fail to understand is that trucks are commuter vehicles and family vehicles now. The person that wants to take the family on vacation and have a "really big trunk" to throw the luggage in is served well by a truck. And you don't need 3.42 or 3.73 rear ends for that. Period.

The OP asked if the 3.08 rear end would work ok to tow some specific items. The answer is yes. Period.

How he uses the truck the other 99.99% of its life wasn't detailed, so we can't tell him whether he should change his gear ratio or not or whether a specific ratio would serve his needs better. We all know how we use our own trucks, and we can draw our own opinions as to what we like. Beyond that, we're just shoving our opinions down the throats of others.

GsBowtie · June 8, 2016

OP, for what your planning on towing, (light weights ) I think the 3.08s would be just fine. But I do feel the 3.42s are the better option. My truck tows a 6k TT well with them

fedmogul89 · June 19, 2016

This is what I'm getting at to the original poster. Even if you don't tow daily, my point is, we still own trucks. They should be usable when you need to use it. Another thing I would like to add, in your case. Assuming that's your truck in your signature? You might be interested in looking into 4.10's being that your a crew cab 4-door. That's something else to factor in.

To the original poster or guy who asked how much for the dealer to install them. You're probably going to run when you hear their pricing. I would assume the transmission shop would be a good place to start. My guess is between $700.and $1000. if your 2wd, and $1500. to $2,000 if your 4wd. This would be parts and labor.

Yeah, mine is a double cab with the standard bed. What you said actually sparked my curiosity: Why would the cab/bed size need to be factored in?

fedmogul89 · June 19, 2016

And every owner determines what "usable" is. The problem is, no one ever takes the time to understand what they're buying. My brother was ready to sign on the line for a '16 with the 3.08 rear end in it until I stopped him. He said "what do I care?" I explained that he drives almost exclusively around town and tows about 1500 lbs 10-15 times per year about 50 miles. For him, the 3.08 would produce lower MPG overall even though it would tow just fine for him. He never hauls anything heavy, it's a crew cab but almost always just him or him +1. If he drove a lot on the highway, then it would have been ideal.

He went the route of the 3.42 instead which will serve him much better overall. And, if he needs to tow or haul heavy, he can still pull it off.

3.73, for me, is a giant waste. I spend a lot of time on the highway (bad MPG) and tow infrequently. On occasion, I will load the bed with 2k worth of payload and drive about 10 miles back to the house before unloading it. For me, the 3.42 is a good setup.

What so many people here fail to understand is that trucks are commuter vehicles and family vehicles now. The person that wants to take the family on vacation and have a "really big trunk" to throw the luggage in is served well by a truck. And you don't need 3.42 or 3.73 rear ends for that. Period.

The OP asked if the 3.08 rear end would work ok to tow some specific items. The answer is yes. Period.

How he uses the truck the other 99.99% of its life wasn't detailed, so we can't tell him whether he should change his gear ratio or not or whether a specific ratio would serve his needs better. We all know how we use our own trucks, and we can draw our own opinions as to what we like. Beyond that, we're just shoving our opinions down the throats of others.

My department where I work usually works 7 days a week the majority of the time, but I'll just go with 5 days a week for this: At least 5 days a week I'll travel about 30 minutes to and from work; with speed limits of 45, then 70, and ending in 65. 3/4 of my miles are strictly highway miles. I kind of feel like a little boy pretending to be a grown man with this gear ratio. A guy i work with has a 2016 1500 z71 crew cab and I'm 90% certain he said his ratio was 3.08 also

HoosierZ · June 19, 2016

My previous truck was an '08 w/ 5.3L, 4L60E, and 3.73 gears. My current truck is a '16 w/ 5.3L, 6L80E, and 3.08 gears. The '08 had a 1st gear x rear ratio of 11.4:1. The '16 is actually geared better at 12.4:1. The 4 spd in 4th gear is almost exactly the same as the 6 spd in 5th gear. The transmission ratios make a big difference.