Chevy 1500HD Reviews

minikin

ace, off-roader, actually, if you don't mind. And the fullsize pick-ups have had torsion bars since '88; this ain't exactly brand new brain surgery and it's been repeated on the Chevy forums several times since January. -- Don

oldharry

Will change slightly when T-Bars are adjusted because the upper control arm is shorter than the lower. When any pivoted arm moves toward or away from horizontal the end of it displaces inward if away from level, and outward if toward level. The shorter upper arm displaces farther because in moving the same vertical distance (it it connected to the lower arm by the knucle) it swings through a larger angle. Raising or lowering the truck an inch from stock does not usually affect the alignment enough to worry about. If the height is not stock, and you move farther away, you *may* change it enough to affect tire wear and handling. Small changes are not critical, or you would have to re-align every time you carried a load.

Harry

minikin

for the articulate answer. You certainly have more patience than I do.
-- Don

jlflemmons

I went out this weekend and crawled under one to see.

Jim

minikin

Go from 245 to 265 or 265 to 285 tires and there WILL be a difference, not good, in the way the ABS works. Ryan found that out when he changed tire sizes and mine behaved the same way when I did. Also, without correction changing tire sizes screws up the A/T shift points enough to be agravating/noticed. Ain't finely tuned, computer controled trucks wonderful. Actually, they probably are; close to 20 mpg out of a 5000#, empty, vehicle with the aerodynamics of shapely barn door which will also stop when you want it too is pretty damn good.
-- Don

txyank1

a used truck dealer and we had a few older trucks with carbs. You had to learn the tricks to starting each one as each was different. That's when you could really appreciate the newer computerized fi engines. Just turn the key and start it.

polcat

Can anyone advise on the gas mileage of a 1500HD 2wd CC with 3.73? I'm considering trading my '00 GMC 1500 ExtdCab for a '02 while the rates are low. From all the reviews, it appears everyone likes the CCs. Mileage isn't the biggest factor, finding one in my area is the biggest problem. Appreciate any and all advice.
Tim

quadrunner500

My guess for 2wd 1500HD CC 6.0L is going to be about 13.0 to 16.0 mpg

dex1

Is there much difference between the bucket seats in the LS with Leather and the LT? Does anyone know if the back seats are leather also? The Chevy brochure says that only the front seating surfaces are leather. Are the back seats vinyl? I would hope not.

randyp

I get 13.8-14.5 mpg mixed driving commuting. 15mpg all hwy(70-80mph), and 9.5-10.0 mpg towing g/n trailer with horses 6-7,000 lbs. 8,000 miles and no problems. It is a good truck!

dgore1

I believe the seats themselves are the same. I've seen the leather bucket seats in the LS and they appear to be identical to the LT's. I don't think that they come standard with the heaters, however. I don't even know if that is an option on the LS at this point. Don't know about the backseat. My experience with domestic vehicles is that their leather isn't much different than vinyl. US manufacturers, and some of the Japanese manufacturers don't use the best quality of leather.

seelig

pricing are you guys finding?

edwardt1

I'm currently trying to negotiate the
purchase of a 4x4 LT Crew Cab Sierra
15000 HD. The local dealer has
located one but the price seems high.
He's basically offering a two thousand
dollar discount.

Edward

dgore1

I purchased a 2001 1500HD 4x4 around the first of August. No trade, a straight buy. I had to come back to the dealer a couple of times, but ended up getting them to sell it to me at cost, minus a $1,000.00 dealer rebate. The truck listed for $33,377 and I bought it for $28,280, give or take a $100. They almost always have a dealer rebate in effect. You have to ask about it, though, as they aren't advertised like retail rebates are. The dealer's don't have to provide you with details on dealer rebates, but often will if it means making the deal. This truck was purchased at a large multi-line GM dealer just north of Kansas City.

bigsnag

The latest TT has an article pitting the Ford SuperCrew against the 4 door 1500 HD. As always they tried to split the praise as much as possible. The thing I did notice was that the Ford kicked butt in acceleration. The Chevy had the 6.0 and 3.73's the Ford had the 5.4 with 3.55's and the Ford won hands down. Not what you would expect. Interesting to say the least.

txyank1

although the Ford "Screw" is a smaller lighter vehicle than the 1500HD.

bigsnag

The curb weights on the particular trucks tested were within 100 lbs. with the Supercrew being lighter.

txyank1

That I'd beleive. Edmunds lists Ford at 4655 and Chevy at 5585. That is with a 4.6 in the Ford, so the 5.4 is probably a little heavier. But still closer to 1k than 100.

rsholland

The GVW. The Ford Super Crew's GVW is around 6600 pounds, whereas the Silverado 1500HD is 8600 pounds.

For all intents and purposes, the 1500HD is really just a re-badged 2500 model. All the specs are the same. So you're really comparing a 1/2 ton to a 3/4 ton.

Bob

dgore1

I've read through a lot of opinions on this matter in the past few months. I understand that a lot of people are of the concensus that the 1500 HD is really just a 3/4 ton pickup. That may be true. What mattered to me the most was how the truck rode. When I went to buy a new truck, I drove all crew cabs: Ford F250 SuperDuty , Ford F150 Supercrew, Chevy 1500HD and Chevy 2500HD. The Ford F250 and the Chevy 2500HD were both noticeably firmer riding than the 1500HD. The Ford F150 Supercrew's ride was very similar to the 1500HD. I did notice that the Chevy 2500HD has an additinal leaf spring in the rear that the 1500HD doesn't have. The 2500HD also has more torque on the front torsion bars as well. The half ton Chevy's do ride smoother/softer than the 1500HD. But the half ton Chevy's also ride smoother/softer than the Ford F150. So it boils down to a subjective matter of what feels best to you. When I compared the engine line up that was available in both lines, I felt that the 6.0 was by far the best overall choice. It gets decent milage and has enough hp and torque to handle trailers that match the trucks ability. The truck is very comfortable to ride in for long distances as well.

So in the end, it doesn't really matter how the truck is rated or whether it's a true 1500 or 2500. As a matter of fact, if you check the manufacturers stats, you'll find that there is a large amount of discrepancy between manufacturers ratings and what they recommend for towing, GVW, GCWR, etc. In other words, what Dodge considers a 1500 may be significantly different than what Ford or Chevy consider a 1500. So there really is no standard and therefore the designations are esentially useless. Get out and drive them, decide which ones offer the best option/power packages and then decide if you can live with the ride.

edwardt1

I took delivery of my 2002 1500HD
Siera Crew Cab last Friday. It is
a 6.0 SLT 4WD. So far I'm very pleased
with the truck. The ride is a little
firmer than the 2000 1500 EXT Cab Z71 that
I traded in. I have no compliants about
the truck at this time.

jchamberlain2

Gents, and any ladies who may like trucks.

I have a chevy 1500hd CC 4wd 4:10 (rear end). I am getting about 11.5 mpg combined. I have seen an improvement in the mileage since I got it, but am hopping that it continues to improve. I have seen a number of posts siting 15 mpg on trucks with 373's.

Does anyone else have information about what MPG to expect in the end. I knew that the 4:10's will result in a decrease of mpg, but, not that much.

Also, can anyone lend some advice on how to have the shift patterns adjusted when going to larger tires? I will be putting on 285's and have read posts indicating that the shift patterns will become anoying.

lastly, on the tires. Does anyone know if there is a 285 75R 16 that has the same load rating as the stock 245's. The stock load rating is range 'E' if I remember right.

Later boys, Jim

eric2001

The best way to modify the transmission shift points is with a Hypertech programmer. The dealer can modify yours for a 265/75, but not the 285/75. The Hypertech will allow you to reprogram for that and many other sizes. It also allows you to change shift rpms, firmness, ignition/timing mapping, resulting in added performance if you so choose.

As for a load range 'E' tires, I have only been able to find them in 265/75/16. On the other hand, many of the available 285s come with 'D' ratings with load capacties exceeding 3000 pounds, much higher than your truck capacities require.

-Eric

jchamberlain2

Eric, thanks for the help.

I am assuming the Hypertech computer is a commercial product. And that I need to find a garage that has one.

Thanks again.

obyone

You do not need to find a garage that has one cause they do not. What you need to do is buy one from a truck performance parts store or look online for one.

dgore1

Are you planning on raising the front end of your 1500HD. I asked about this in an earlier message and got some good information on how to do it, but I've yet to make the adjustment. I've seen 2500HD's with 285 tires and it looks like they might rub at full turns of the wheel. There is also not a lot of tollerance between the edge of the tire and the rear part of the wheel well on the front. Just some food for thought. The ones I saw were both on factory rims. It was because of this that I decided to go with 265's.

Hopefully, I'll get my nerve up soon and torque up the front end a couple of inches.

dgore1

Does anyone know where I might find stainless steel nerf bars for my 1500HD? I've decided to stay away from the chrome and painted models as they all seem to rust out over time.

eric2001

I have the Westin CPS chrome plated SS. Best of both worlds; won't rust like regular steel, and won't yellow like stainless.

http://www.westinautomotive.com/

Platinum series step bars.

I purchased mine through carparts.com. I found the cheapest price on the web that I could, then went to carparts, as they will beat that price by 10%. They also had them shipped to my house via UPS, so it is possible (many state freight only).

 -Eric

dgore1

I saw the article today and read through it. In fact the SuperCrew did have better acceleration than the 1500HD. However, the 1500 HD was a 4x4 and the SuperCrew they tested was a 2x4. It states that in the article. I think that might explain the bulk of the difference regarding their respective performance.