Just my opinion. The whole rod bolt theory is just forum/internet mumbo jumbo. I shifted my 4.8 for over 2 years at 7k and i never had an issue. I am sure some guy spun a bearing once and that is what he blamed it on and after that everyone considered it the breaking point of these motors.

 

it's been my observation that our ls motors aren't even worth mentioning as a breaking point...assuming semi regular maintenance is performed they're usually good for several transmissions and a rear end or two...they're pretty resilient motors it seems

 

The 4.8 has a shorter stroke and a lighter piston. Start turning a 6.0 over 7k repeatedly and the bolts will fatigue. Not immediately catastrophic because of the cracked cap rods, but I bet a bolt stretch gauge would give some interesting information if you tried it out...

 

I never go past 6100, there is no point in spinning to 7k if you start loosing power at a lower rpm point. I build my own engines so that also contributes to my low shift points, would hate to scatter parts! These chunks of aluminum are my babies!

 

My old truck with the 4.8 had a 224/228 581/588 112 Nelson had shifting 1-2 round 6700 and 2-3 round 6500

 

I woudl definitely extend those shifts out a little.
In my 6.0 with a 222/226 on a 114+4 I shift it at about 6200 on the street and about 6400 on the track... that extra 200-250 RPM's makes a huge difference. It still pulls up there and honestly it feels like its being short shifted when I'm playing on the street. It's more noticable on the 2-3 shift where those couple hundred RPM's make your gear last you 3-4 MPH more.

 

Wow.. I guess I need to shift higher then.. 6000 on a 4.8.. Tr220 112

 

IF you have headers, yea try 6500-6800 and see how it feels.

 

I would look into bumping your shifts a little higher. around 6600 would be nice. I dropped .4 sec in the 1/4 going from a pig rich afr and 6400 shifts to a 12.7 afr and 6750 rpm shifts. Its shifting at 6900 now and I'm sure I dropped another .1-.2 in the 1/4.

 

Thats one hell of a jump! I'm getting heads next week, and they'll probably make it on the truck by the end of the month. I will revisit my tune and shift points then. I know the heads will extend out the powerban a little, so I don't think 6600 is too far off the reservation at this point. I think I will probably set them to about 6450 to target a MAX RPM of 6600 on my shifts at the track. On the street I see no need to shift any higher than I currently do, with the added RPM available through the tow/haul buttom when I need it... like for an SRT8 jeep for instance.