[CMS]

I am looking at buying a 2003-2007 Chevy Silverado 1500 extended cab and im unsure which enigne would best suit my needs. Basically its going to remain a near stock truck with little to no lift, no big tires just a get me from point a to point b vehicle. Maybe a few appearance mods but thats it. I wont be doing any heavy hauling it would all be light loads and it wouldnt be hauling very often. Yet i would also like to get a decent number for gas mileage. im not sure if the extra liters in the 5.3 would affect gas mileage all that much or not but i do know there will be a little more performace from it which im not looking for perfomance as i am more of a conservative driver. please give me any input you may have. Thank you!

 

[murdog94]

Go with the 5.3L there isnt really any difference in milage, and the 5.3L has more power, will haul more etc. And as mentioned there isnt a noticable milage difference and in some cases the 5.3L gets better milage.
Both will more than meet your needs however, and honestly just find one that you like with the options that you want and either motor will more than suit your needs, and last for a VERY VERY long time with proper maintenance.

 

[jbjohnson92f]

i agree with Murdog, i have the 4.8 but i bought the truck used and the mileage and price was right. the mpg are nearly identical, so why not get the extra power.

 

[phoebeisis]

5.3 5.3 5.3 Like Murdog and JBJ said 5.3.
No one who bought the 5.3 wishes he had bought the 4.8- NO ONE.
However most folks who bought the 4.8 wish they had the 5.3! Heck all of them wish they had the 5.3(if they are being honest).
The 4.8 has one small advantage over the 5.3- CHEAPER TO BUY A NEW TRUCK WITH THE 4.8!!
That- cheaper to buy when new- IS THE ONLY REASON TO BUY A NEW TRUCK WITH A 4.8!!Cheapskates(I'm usually one) buy the 4.8.
On the other hand the 5.3 is better in every other way you can measure.
In fact the 5.3 with the cylinder shutdown feature(maybe added in 2006 or so??) gets better mpg than the 4.8.

Buy the 5.3 !!
Now there is nothing wrong with the 4.8, but the 5.3 gives MORE of everything for the same MPG- easy choice.

 

[murdog94]

The active fuel management (AFM) which shuts down 4cyls. was in either 07 or 08 (pretty sure on the 07 NNBS trucks GMT900) the 1999-2007 (classic) have just a good old american 300HP V-8.

 

[ajarman]

5.3l ftw!!!

 

[TomsHHR]

My 5.3 has the AFM and is rated at 327 HP from the factory. On a trip over New Years at -12F I averaged 22 MPG at 75 Mph. I added a Trifecta Tune to make the AFM more aggressive. Even if I am a dealer!! sssSSShhhhhh!!

 

[ajarman]

What's this you speak of??

 

[IPFK83]

Go with the 5.3!

 

[Sierraowner5.3]

5.3 for sure. more common means cheaper parts. my brother had a 4.8 in a truck his work gave him and he hated it. my sierra has a 5.3, and the silverado I had before this had one as well, there good strong reliable engines that get the same mileage ( if not better 4.8 is smaller so it has to work harder to do the same things )

Alex

 

[canislupis69]

As you can see go with the 5.3...

 

[MikeGEE]

OK I am one of those 4.8 guys. I went for that engine size solely due to budget constraints. I believe you can put a few mods into the 4.8 to achieve the performance from the 5.3... But I will admit, if you have the option, start with the bigger and avoid the legwork. Good Luck!

 

[bubba lee]

No way will you go wrong with the 5.3 it has great gas for a truck and also has the power to get up and go if you push the pedal down

 

[Tj07classic]

i hsd the 5.0 in my last truck and i had to do everything to that truck just to make it feel like it have some power. i now have the 5.3 and let me tell you its the best motor i have ever had or worked on. the 4.8 only came out so the dealers could sell more and have more optionable pricing on the lot. the 4.8 has tothing on the 5.3 , not eaven milage

 

[mfleetwood]

x100 on the 5.3

 

[Enkeiavalanche]

101x5.3... Like everyone else says you will enjoy the power when needed...remember it is a 5000+lbs truck...

 

[SliverZ71]

5.3 much more power and the same MPG
Steve

 

[J_chevyman]

Defidently get the 5.3... I believe that year your looking for chevy made a motor called L33 which on came in like a certain amount of crew cabs 03-06 if you can land one of those you'll be set. I believe they are rated like at 345 hp stock! I have a 4.8 and I wish in had a 5.3 although when I hit 180k miles ill be doing a 5.3 swap

 

[hotrodking86]

5.3 5.3 5.3 Like Murdog and JBJ said 5.3.
No one who bought the 5.3 wishes he had bought the 4.8- NO ONE.
However most folks who bought the 4.8 wish they had the 5.3! Heck all of them wish they had the 5.3(if they are being honest).
The 4.8 has one small advantage over the 5.3- CHEAPER TO BUY A NEW TRUCK WITH THE 4.8!!
That- cheaper to buy when new- IS THE ONLY REASON TO BUY A NEW TRUCK WITH A 4.8!!Cheapskates(I'm usually one) buy the 4.8.
On the other hand the 5.3 is better in every other way you can measure.
In fact the 5.3 with the cylinder shutdown feature(maybe added in 2006 or so??) gets better mpg than the 4.8.

Buy the 5.3 !!
Now there is nothing wrong with the 4.8, but the 5.3 gives MORE of everything for the same MPG- easy choice.

I agree. I have the 4.8 but I couldnt afford anymore features on my truck when I bought it new, lol. So I wish I had the 5.3 liter, but I know that the power isn't much more so that kind of makes me feel a little better. I put an intake on my 4.8 so I'm hoping its that much closer in performance to the 5.3.

 

[Runnerboy23]

5.3 for sure