Chevy 6.0 Vs.8.1 - Pirate 4x4

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#1 · May 8, 2006 So ive been looking into buying a used chevy hd. im going to leave the resoning out on this, why a chevy, why a gas motor. So it seems like everything for sale is a 6.0 has anyone towed with on? how do they do? Do you wish you went with the 8.1? Its not a dd so the gas mileage is no concern. Thanks for your input. Sort by Oldest first Oldest first Newest first Most reactions 1 2 #2 · May 8, 2006 For pulling one rig its fine, my jeep and trailer together probably weighs about 6000-7000lbs and my truck with the 6.0 pulls it fine, plenty of power. I've never towed through any mountains or anything but its done fine on everything that ive tried it on. No problem keeping up with traffic at all. #3 · May 8, 2006

MudTJ said: For pulling one rig its fine, my jeep and trailer together probably weighs about 6000-7000lbs and my truck with the 6.0 pulls it fine, plenty of power. I've never towed through any mountains or anything but its done fine on everything that ive tried it on. No problem keeping up with traffic at all. Click to expand...

x2... But the 8.1 is SICK! Plenty of power to spare, but most will be OK with th 6.0. #4 · May 8, 2006 6.0 vs 8.1 my uncle tows with 6.0 regulary says it tows much better than his old 5.7, got a friend who regulary tows 17,000 lbs plus with his goose neck 8.1 and it has all kinds of power to spare very strong if your just doing on rig id say 6.0 and if your going to do a goose neck and bigger loads id say 8.1, of course i use 6.6 dmax and i love it #5 · May 8, 2006 (Edited) I'm pretty happy with my 8.1, gets 13-14 mpg empty, (w/ 4.10s) and pulls 10 000 lb like its not there. After about 12 000 lb, the mtns start to slow it down though, thats where a Dmax would be nice. #42 · Apr 2, 2008 13-14 When? I would like that! I love my gas pedal and get 8-9, the previous owner avg. was 10.4. BUT towing 10,000 lbs is 5-6, this kills at the pump no matter what the power. I'm tired of stopping and need a bigger tank! 0 Reply #6 · May 9, 2006

ramv said: I'm pretty happy with my 8.1, gets 13-14 mpg empty, (w/ 4.10s) and pulls 10 000 lb like its not there. After about 12 000 lb, the mtns start to slow it down though, thats where a Dmax would be nice. Click to expand...

You really average 13-14 with the 8.1? I only get about 11 out of my 6.0, given i drive mostly around town and don't drive like a granny but damn, i figured no way would an 8.1 get better mileage. #7 · May 9, 2006 Yep. Its in an Avalanche 2500, so its a 4l85e, not an Allison. Weighs abotu 6800 lb. Mainly around town, but I do try to take it easy. I get enough tickets driving like an old lady. (travel at posted speed limits, but avoid the agressive starts from lights) Funny enough, it doesn't do any better on the highway. #8 · May 9, 2006 Haven't tried an 8.1, but I did rent a Penske moving van with a 6.0 in it to tow my junk west. Drove I-10 the whole way to Las Cruces and it did pretty well. It also sucked down the gas too, but considering I was driving a bill board down the road, it performed the job well. #9 · May 9, 2006 After driving the 8.1 in a very heavily loaded uhaul 26 footer, I swore there is no other gas engine I would ever buy for towing. It simply is a beast. #10 · May 9, 2006 i have an 01 chevy 2500hd ecsb 8.1 allison with 3.73's on 35's. i get around 14 on the highway doing between 65-70 and 9-10 in town. towing my 21 ft gooseneck with my k5 which combined is about 17.5 k at 65-70 i get around 9 on the highway. my cousin had a 2500 with a 6.0 and he got around 16 on the highway and about the same in the city. i vote 8.1 but i'm biased #11 · May 10, 2006 I bought a '99 chevy k2500 last year with the 6.0 and 3.73 gears and have been flat towing and trailering my cj5 to different places. It does pretty good. Keep in mind I don't go much over 55-60mph. It has plenty of power although I hate the auto trans, just wish it were stick. Gets 13-14 in town and 16-18 on the highway empty. I've never calculated towing mileage. I try not to think about it too much. I think if your just towing one rig it would be fine for the most part, but if you need to tow something heavier then step up to the 8.1. Kevo #12 · May 11, 2006

MudTJ said: You really average 13-14 with the 8.1? I only get about 11 out of my 6.0, given i drive mostly around town and don't drive like a granny but damn, i figured no way would an 8.1 get better mileage. Click to expand...

I've done as well as 11.6 TOWING with my 6.0, but you have to really baby it (run 65-70 & be prepared to lose 15 MPH on every hill to try to keep it in OD). I also have done as poorly as 10 hot-dogging it around town with no load at all. In-town mileage sucks even if you baby it, but it really blows if you have a heavy foot. Just a hair under 16 is my best running empty on the interstate. Oh, and it's got PLENTY of power for towing one rig. TEX #13 · May 11, 2006 (Edited) Local rancher recently traded his 6.5 diesel for a 6.0/5spd. He says it's gutless . I drove one empty and it seemed to run good but I had a 350 at that time. Now I have a mod'd D-Max. If I was getting a gasser it'd be an 8.1/6spd :cool2: . #14 · May 11, 2006 Outside of the gas mileage (roughly 11 around town), i love my 8.1/allison. pulls wonderful. i got 8mpg going 80mph towing my 4runner on an 18' gooseneck and it wanted to go faster. The 6.0 is very capable for pulling one rig. either would be a good choice. #15 · May 11, 2006 Has anyone ever pulled a gooseneck with 2 rigs behind a 6.0? my buddy is about to buy a d-max and we are thinking about splitting a goosneck big enough for both our rigs, obviously we would usually pull it with his duramax but if neccesary how would the 6.0 do with 2 rigs and a gooseneck, or even just one rig and a gooseneck big enough to hold 2 rigs(still pretty heavy, how much does a 26ish gooseneck weigh?) #16 · May 11, 2006 I wouldn't want to haul 2 rigs with a 6.0 on a regular basis, but I'm sure it's more than capable enough to do on an as-needed basis. TEX #17 · May 11, 2006 If you can get both rigs on a 26'er a 6.0 would probably work. I pulled 18k with my 88' 2500 350 and it worked but that's all I'll say. On the other hand my D-Max will pull the same load @ any speed :cool2: #18 · May 11, 2006

1967K10 said: If you can get both rigs on a 26'er a 6.0 would probably work. I pulled 18k with my 88' 2500 350 and it worked but that's all I'll say. Click to expand...

If a TBI 350 will do it, a 6.0 will do it WAY better. My last tow rig was a '90 with a TBI 350. There's a particular hill on I-70 that I used to hit at 75+ in 3rd gear with that rig when I towed my mud racer. By the time I'm midway up, I'd be at 45 in 2nd gear keeping an eye on the temperature guage. And that's pushing it as hard as I can. Same hill with my 6.0, I hit it at 75 in overdrive, drop to 65 midway up, downshift to 3rd, and crest at 75+ again (if I'm not taking it easy trying to save gas that is). TEX #19 · May 11, 2006 Do you guys know the tow rating for the 6.0L? compared to the 8.1L and the d-max? #20 · May 11, 2006 (Edited) Manual and Automatic Transmission Ratings with 5th Wheel or Gooseneck Hitch Extended Cab Short Box 4WD Vortec 6000 V8 4.10 10000 lbs Vortec 8100 V8 3.73 13600 lbs 4.10 15600 lbs Duramax Diesel 6600 V8 3.73 15400 lbs These are for a 2500HD. The 3500 DRW adds 1500 lbs to the diesel/auto GCWR. http://www.gmc.com/sierra/specsDimension.jsp?vehicle=2500hd #21 · May 11, 2006 I have a 03 gmc 2500hd, crewcab with 8.1 and allison combo. I towed my 10k trailer and 4runner from Va to Moab last summer and never dropped below the speed limit, driving through the mountains of West VA, Colorado, ect. Ran 85 all the way across Kansas. The trailer load was about 8k total with truck and spare parts. Gas milage ranged from 7-10 mpg, but never really dropped much below 70mph outside of cities. Average driving I get 12 mpg and empty get 14-15. I have 305's with 3:73's. I am going to switch out to 4:10 because it will not cost me anything. I may go to 315's. I would not think about a 6-0 in a truck this size. I work a a dealership and they are all dogs compared to a 8.1, plus you can get the allison tranny now in a 6spd. Just my .02 #22 · May 11, 2006

ramv said: Manual and Automatic Transmission Ratings with 5th Wheel or Gooseneck Hitch Extended Cab Short Box 4WD Vortec 6000 V8 4.10 10000 lbs Click to expand...

That's interesting as they show the bumper-hitch as the same 10,000 max. Pretty sure when I got my '02, it showed the Gooseneck rating as 12,000 and the bumper hitch as 10,000. 90% sure that's what it said, 99% sure they weren't the same number. TEX #23 · May 11, 2006 (Edited)

ramv said: Manual and Automatic Transmission Ratings with 5th Wheel or Gooseneck Hitch Extended Cab Short Box 4WD Vortec 6000 V8 4.10 10000 lbs Vortec 8100 V8 3.73 13600 lbs 4.10 15600 lbs Duramax Diesel 6600 V8 3.73 15400 lbs These are for a 2500HD. The 3500 DRW adds 1500 lbs to the diesel/auto GCWR. http://www.gmc.com/sierra/specsDimension.jsp?vehicle=2500hd Click to expand...

my d-max says 16,800lbs., its a 2500hd #24 · May 12, 2006 i have 2001 2500 hd with the 6.0l it tows great i can run with my buddys that have the cummings super dutys durmax. on just street driving it will out run the 8.1 by a longways that was a suprise. i love mine #25 · May 12, 2006

tennessee rockhumper said: my d-max says 16,800lbs., its a 2500hd Click to expand...

Yea for you. All I did was pull the specs from the GM site. http://www.gmc.com/sierra/specsDimension.jsp?vehicle=3500 For '06 the highest rating is a reg cab dually, at 16,700lb. with Dmax/auto. #26 · May 12, 2006

jeepsparky said: i have 2001 2500 hd with the 6.0l it tows great i can run with my buddys that have the cummings super dutys durmax. on just street driving it will out run the 8.1 by a longways that was a suprise. i love mine Click to expand...

dude you are full of shit. You would not be able to hang towing anything over a single vehicle trailer. and it's cummins. You won't out run a 8.1 driven by someone with nuts. You are completely full of shit -ben 1 2 This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread. Insert Quotes Post Reply

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