marc_w

I was wrong, it's up around 5,000lbs. Maybe I'm thinking of the Dodge thing with the big motor...

Scream

iTrader: (6)

I wanted an L when I bought the Sierra. If I had a choice between those two, I would go for the L all day. I have never towed anything, and don't need a back seat.

F8L Z71

here, here!

I have hauled tons of dirt, rocks, and gravel in my poor truck. I don't tow much but a couple times a year I tow my buddy's bass boat to our tournaments. That's changed since he bought and SS truck though. LOL

ktmrider

Agreed, fast = L and practical = SS. But, that is one HELL of a price for the Lightning! Just remember that your SS is gonna take a huge depreciation hit, even with the low miles. Unfortunate reality of GM/American vehicles.
The low tow rating is for the SRT-10 Dodge. The L has a decent tow rating but I would not look to hook up a fifth wheel or anything like that.
The other shoe is that making the L faster is easier and cheaper than the SS. Chip, pulley, and intake puts some serious power down. Of course, your SS will be hooking up with the AWD while the L is feathering the throttle to keep traction.
Boy, I don't envy your choice! Good luck, let us know what ya decide.

mzoomora

iTrader: (31)

I was looking into an SS, but the price difference was too much over the Z71, about 7-8k even thought the stickers were only 6k different. If I bought one it would be used for hauling though, and towing my boat, etc..... It is a great truck, I just couldn't justify the extra money.

O3GMC

I'm glad you got your Sierra, L wouldn't have been nearly as cool...

but on the other side, the L truly is engineered for hauling ***....drivetrain is made to run 13's all day long w/o breaking a sweat, and the trans can hold up to 11s with just an upgraded valve body. Luckily they fixed the weak rod/spitting plug issue they had on the 01-02, some of 03's. The 04's seem to have every bug worked out.

Good luck deciding, tough choice I think

marc_w

I honestly couldn't either...

I went to a dealer just to look at prices for a Z71. Of course I got pestered by a salesman. Not very serious at all, I told him I was interested in the SS. To my complete amazement, the manager of the dealer worked out numbers that were cheaper than what I was paying for my current truck, which was only 1.5 years old at the time... so I said, "what the heck".

I went in late on a Saturday at the end of a month, with NO intention of buying a truck. I honestly DID NOT WANT TO at the time. I guess everything fell into place and my attitude worked to my advantage.

styleandspeed

That is what makes it so difficult guys. Here is my situation

I am a single college student that works at an auto parts store about 25-30 hrs a week to afford my truck, and whatever else I feel like doing. I don't have rent, a house payment, kids, or any other big expenses (except my gf) I do not need an extended cab although I like having it, nor do I tow anything on a regular basis. Just an occasional friends car who broke down doing something stupid

The Lightning that I found is in another state so I can't just go and test drive it, although I have driven one for a few minutes before and it was awesome. Definately not as nice of an interior as the SS, and in my opinion didn't look quite as good(although I really do like the way they look). The main things that draw me to it is the beefed up tranny, rear end, and stock blower because I would like to be fast again, and not spend $5-6k or more just to do it reliably. Guess that I will just have to do a little more looking into it and see if getting rid of the awd and extended cab is worth being fast. Definately a very difficult question.

Hey, 5.3racer16 where in TX are you? You know, if you are looking for an SS

Scream

iTrader: (6)

If I were in your shoes and I had the money, I would get the L. JMHO.

FATBOYSS

[QUOTE=ktmrider]Agreed, fast = L and practical = SS. But, that is one HELL of a price for the Lightning! Just remember that your SS is gonna take a huge depreciation hit, even with the low miles. Unfortunate reality of GM/American vehicles.

This is not always true. i bought an 03 ss brand new (230 miles) and now I have almost 18,000 miles and about a week ago I got a price quote from a different dealership and it was 40 dollars higher than what I paid for it. I know this does not happen often. Maybe im just lucky