I was actually interested in seeing how it compared, but he never bothered to really track gas mileage in the old truck without the trailer.... so we wouldn't have anything to compare it too as far as old truck vs new truck without the trailer.

I'll have to sneak in there and reset the computer in the truck and see what kind of mileage it gets just being driven around normally.


FWIW, the 8100/Allison got 12MPG in mixed city & highway driving pulling a 24' loaded trailer.

 

Is it just me, or does 355 hp seem pretty highly tuned for a 5.3 destined for low end grunt truck use?

 

Not just the HP, but the torque is said to be going up from 330 to 380. Direct injction maybe? were else would the be getting that kind of torque from.


Darth, If these #'s hold out to be true, I think you might have to hold out for that 355-400HP GMT900 Avalance to replace the GTO

 

Dare I dream?!

Avalanche SS ??

 

Wouldn't you rather prefer the diesel, with over 600 lbs/ft of torque?

 

Good question.

I asked him the same thing when he bought the truck.

Honestly, one major factor in him buying the truck was that it was on the dealer lot... apparently someone special ordered the truck, then backed out, and it was sitting there for a while.... so he got a nice deal on it.

But, he said he really didn't want to go diesel for a couple reason... diesel has been more expensive than gasoline (at least around our area) for at least a few years... which is kind of odd, since it is less refined, no? Also, he didn't care for the noise of the diesel...

Basically, he just perfers gasoline engines for whatever reason. He is very happy with the truck.

 

Diesel cost more near me too. It is about the same as Premium. Last year it was cheaper than regular.

Also the Diesel V8 engine cost about $5000+ more than the Big Block 8.1L

 

Oh ya, I forgot that one too!

 

I have been informed by a friend that there will be no inline engines in the 900s.
Not completely sure what to believe now...

 

If so what would they have as a base? 4.8 V8 or something smaller?

 

Didn't the new F150 do all V8s at first and then eventually offer a V6?

Let's just hope they don't plan to stick with the 4.3 again. Good engine, but just getting too old in a variety of ways,

 

I seem to remember a print ad recently (in the past month or so) that shows the Allison's input shaft compared to that of the competition. Unfortunately, someone decided not to use the obvious "Our shafts are bigger than the competition" tagline.

In general, GM does a poor job of marketing their technology.

 

Bet the FARM on the 4.2 going into the 900s with 290 HP.

 

I agree.

I've also found the Ford F-150 commercials to doa decent job with this... one that stands out in my mind is the Frame Rail commercial where that country singer (Toby Kieth?) puts cut sections of a Chevy, a Dodge, and then the "fully boxes" Ford... it does put better quality/heavier duty thoughts in your mind....

Another one that comes ot mind is that "Bolt" commercial... the one with the bed bolt that can hold the whole truck in the air...

 

Here it is closing in on a year later and so far the GMT-900 SUVs have fallen a bit short of the expectations of this thread regarding powertrains (of course everywhere else they've met or exceeded most realistic expectations). Still no 6-speed auto except in the Escalade, and the 5.3 and 4.8 fell short on their power expectations. In fact they remain much closer to the GMT-800's power outputs than they did to the expected output for the 900s.

Are people expecting this to change once the trucks come out and if so will the changes be made at about the same time for the SUVs? They've been calling these SUVs 2007 models despite having been out in the very beginning of 2006. So they've either got to wait another full year before making changes to the power output and putting the new trans in, or it's going ot be one of those odd mid-year changes where the later half of '07 models get the changes they were supposed to be getting from the beginning.