truck is an 01 rcsb 4.8 auto 2wd.

truck will be used for daily driving, some fun, and also towing my track car around, maybe once or twice a month during spring/summer/fall.

the truck has 160k on it, but runs like a top now, so plan is to freshen up another engine and trans, and then pop it in over a weekend. i want to do engine first, then ill do a trans.

first things first, plan on upgrading the current cooling system, 05+ rad and electric fans, big trans cooler.

im looking at either a 5.3 or 6.0, basically whatever comes up as a better deal sooner, or is it really worth getting a 6.0 off the bat? fuel economy is slightly in consideration.

long tubes
intake
exhaust
cam (recomendations and personal experiences please)
and of course a tune

sorry if this is basic, repetitive info, but im coming from the world of turbo 4 cylinders nissan and hondas, and bmws. want to make sure i get good info, and this site seems most helpful.

my first fullsize chevy, help me make it count!!

 

I say go straight to the 6.0, and for towing, I'd go with either the ever popular 212/218 .55x/.55x 114 with the stock converter or a mildly stalled converter, or a little larger 216/22x .55x/.55x 114-115 with say a 2600 converter. These cams will have the good low end torque that you need for towing and won't kill your fuel economy. I'm sure that you'll get recommendations for cams in the 22x range, which you can do also, but you'd also have to upgrade to a converter in the 3k range to maximize their powerband and this wouldn't be optimal for towing IMO.

 

the 4.8 can't tow worth a ****. Just to maintain speed up a hill on the highway completely unloaded it had to downshift....now with 5k on the back and the cruise control on, the thing would just absolutely scream @ 5k going up a hill. The 6.0 is much better, should have come stock. It's by no means a stump puller but it tows much, much better.

 

I can't even tell the difference between my 4.8L and 6L for the off-idle torque to be honest. All these motors are pretty "pipey". The 6L feels stronger from 2K on up but that tip in or off idle is neglidgible.

 

so tr244 would be pushing the rpms up a little to high you think? i was thinking about picking up the one the member on here is selling, but that was kind of what i was wondering. i dont mind, and was planning on upgraded the converter anyway.

the truck will be doing more fun around town/track nights then towing, think it will be liveable?

ive towed twice with the 4.8, once my track car that its gonna be towing regularly, and a miata, and it towed fine. not optimal, but fine.

either way, with the mileage, the motor would be gone through/replaced, so for the price it only makes sense to up the displacement while im at it.

 

I think it will be liveable, it won't be optimal for towing IMO, but it will still work. The extra cubes of the 6.0 will eat up some of that cam. The TR224 has been a proven performer in the 6.0, but has a higher powerband than the cams I mentioned. It will want more converter than your average towing set up (I'm guessing that a 3200-3400 converter would work with the TR224), but you can go with less converter and it should still pull nicely.

Since the truck will be more of a fun/track truck than a tow truck, I'd say go for it, it should be alot of fun to drive