I found my dream Tahoe
- Thread starter mikeyss
- Start date
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Shunto
Full Access Member
Whats not to love?
I rented one of these once and it was a joy. is the 5.3 a V8 or 6? Ive always wondered what the most popular color was too.... around here in NY it's Black hands down..
I rented one of these once and it was a joy. is the 5.3 a V8 or 6? Ive always wondered what the most popular color was too.... around here in NY it's Black hands down..
The 5.3L is a V8 but can feel under powered and sluggish (I live in Colorado so the altitude doesn't help). I see a lot of black and silver Tahoes around here. Mine is black and looks sharp!
Shunto
Full Access Member
Ahhh understood.. Most of the time if folks dont like their Tahoe it's the lack of power..
I've always said that that a black anything will always look sharp if properly maintained.
I've always said that that a black anything will always look sharp if properly maintained.
thirdcoast
Full Access Member
Congrats on joining the L9H club!! Not many of us around.
I really like the color of your Tahoe.. Mine is Gold Mist or as the Boss says, "Champagne Silver".
I searched for a long time before I found mine and it only had 30K on it when I had it shipped to Texas..
You can see what I have done in my sig, but I will caution you that the single 3.5" exhaust cannot be beat unless you pony up for ARH long tube headers.. I talked to Borla, , Corsa & Magnaflow and nobody makes a cat back system for this vehicle. Plus they all said that the exhaust system from the factory is extremely good. All I did is add a Flowmaster Big Block 50 Series and it sounds "Loud Enough" and has Zero Drone at cruise, which down here is 80-85...
I had a tune done by Nelson Performance and added the MIT.. thats it and it will run fast enough that you will need to buy V rated tires.. I also upgraded the brakes to the Baer EradiSpeed Rotors along with their pads.. you will be glad you did especially after the BB tune..
I am up to 43K miles on mine as I only use it to run around on weekends and go to a couple of podunk car shows..where nobody will believe that it is a 6.2 from the factory..
It sure surprises the Hemi & TRD truckies when they want to play..
Oh, by the way, they made 620 of these trucks in 2009..
Good luck and have fun,
Thirdcoast
I really like the color of your Tahoe.. Mine is Gold Mist or as the Boss says, "Champagne Silver".
I searched for a long time before I found mine and it only had 30K on it when I had it shipped to Texas..
You can see what I have done in my sig, but I will caution you that the single 3.5" exhaust cannot be beat unless you pony up for ARH long tube headers.. I talked to Borla, , Corsa & Magnaflow and nobody makes a cat back system for this vehicle. Plus they all said that the exhaust system from the factory is extremely good. All I did is add a Flowmaster Big Block 50 Series and it sounds "Loud Enough" and has Zero Drone at cruise, which down here is 80-85...
I had a tune done by Nelson Performance and added the MIT.. thats it and it will run fast enough that you will need to buy V rated tires.. I also upgraded the brakes to the Baer EradiSpeed Rotors along with their pads.. you will be glad you did especially after the BB tune..
I am up to 43K miles on mine as I only use it to run around on weekends and go to a couple of podunk car shows..where nobody will believe that it is a 6.2 from the factory..
It sure surprises the Hemi & TRD truckies when they want to play..
Oh, by the way, they made 620 of these trucks in 2009..
Good luck and have fun,
Thirdcoast
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Shunto
Full Access Member
Beauty !!!
Tell me something was 2009 the ONLY year that they made the 6.2? something like this would be great to tow the jetski and small boat to the lake. Prob good in the snow too.
Tell me something was 2009 the ONLY year that they made the 6.2? something like this would be great to tow the jetski and small boat to the lake. Prob good in the snow too.
Damn!!! Imthought I knew quite a bit about the background of these things, but wasn't aware of the 6.2 Tahoe. 
Very nice!!! Now I know what to look out for when it's time to replace wife's Tahoe in the next year or two. Loved the 07 Escalade she had a few years ago, but kind of prefer the plain old Tahoe a bit more on the looks department over the Eskynor Denali.
Very nice!!! Now I know what to look out for when it's time to replace wife's Tahoe in the next year or two. Loved the 07 Escalade she had a few years ago, but kind of prefer the plain old Tahoe a bit more on the looks department over the Eskynor Denali.
OP
OP
mikeyss
Full Access Member
Thanks for the warm welcome and advice, Thirdcoast. I really like you Tahoe, yours looks even more like a sleeper than mine does. It is funny you mention about unsuspecting Hemi's, as I just had an encounter with one. Was travelling up towards the Eisenhower Tunnel in the middle Lane just cruising and I happened to pass a new Hemi Ram that was in the left lane trapped behind slower cars. Well after I just went by him normally, it must have not sat well with him, so he got behind me, then into the right lane and I saw him quickly approaching. I let him get within 3 car lengths, then I put the hammer down. Now, we are over 10k feet above sea level, and I still managed to put at least 6 car between us. He didn't want to play anymore after a few mins. I let him pass me when we went down the mountain, and he kind of lingered around me, as if confused why a Tahoe kicked his ass so bad. I love that it's such a sleeper!!
So far all I have is the MIT intake. I am planning better to get better sway bars, better tires and wheels (something more stock), longtube headers, a tune, and because I'm VERY OCD, going to have my exhaust shop do another custom true dual system like they did for my 05 Tahoe. I know the factory system is awesome, and I'm not expecting any gains, but I love true duals and the sound, and equal steam coming out in the winter.
I still am in awe that I have one of 620 made, that completely blows my mind, thanks for sharing that.
So far all I have is the MIT intake. I am planning better to get better sway bars, better tires and wheels (something more stock), longtube headers, a tune, and because I'm VERY OCD, going to have my exhaust shop do another custom true dual system like they did for my 05 Tahoe. I know the factory system is awesome, and I'm not expecting any gains, but I love true duals and the sound, and equal steam coming out in the winter.
I still am in awe that I have one of 620 made, that completely blows my mind, thanks for sharing that.
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adventurenali92
Full Access Member
Nice looking Tahoe man! That 6.2 is a beast! Cool that you have one of only 620 tahoes built with a 6.2! Sounds like you're enjoying it too! I do agree that the 5.3 is just under powered. That was one of the big selling points that made my decision on buying a Denali instead of some of the other SUVs i considered including the other gms. I love that with my 6.0 I can out drive a lot of my friends' big trucks haha. I out horsed my moms 5.7 hemingrand Cherokee limited last night. It was hilarious.
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Nice find, OP! Extremely rare. Take great care of it 
Totally agree. I test drove several Suburbans with the 5.3s before picking up one with a 6.0 L76. The 5.3 just feels underpowered for such a heavy vehicle. It might work fine for Silverados, but a Suburban is 600-800 lbs heavier than a comparably optioned crew cab Silverado. Even a Tahoe is around 300 lbs heavier.
Totally agree. I test drove several Suburbans with the 5.3s before picking up one with a 6.0 L76. The 5.3 just feels underpowered for such a heavy vehicle. It might work fine for Silverados, but a Suburban is 600-800 lbs heavier than a comparably optioned crew cab Silverado. Even a Tahoe is around 300 lbs heavier.
OP
OP
mikeyss
Full Access Member
I'm getting excited, the Tahoe will be done at the body shop on Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Spending around 3k for the door repair, and all the other small areas that needed touched up. From what the body shop told me, the color is really hard to match, so almost the entire Tahoe, minus the roof, will be new paint. I have never spent much money on paint before on other cars I've had in my life, this one is worth it though.
Illnasty
Full Access Member
Is the 6.2 Tahoe a unicorn? I didn't even know that existed.
Trailblazzin
Full Access Member
Nice rig, I'm jealous!!
Any plans for the side trim mouldings $ ? I'd be interested in them....
Any plans for the side trim mouldings $ ? I'd be interested in them....
swathdiver
Full Access Member
Do y'all know if GM also put the L9H in the regular Suburban/Yukon XL as well?
OP
OP
mikeyss
Full Access Member
I'm sorry, but they got pretty banged up coming off. They got bent and the paint flaked off in places as I pulled them off.
OP
OP
mikeyss
Full Access Member
The Yukon Denali XL had the L9H, but unfortunately there were no L9H Suburban's. There were a few years that the Suburban LTZ came with a L76 6.0. I think the 08-09 were the only ones though. The Suburban 2500 came with the LY6 6.0 from 2007-2012.
swathdiver
Full Access Member
Thanks. So only the short wheelbase Tahoe got that motor then. I did know about the 6.0 for the 1500s but there was no higher tow rating by having that engine. I was considering a 2500 with the LY6, but every one was way over priced and plum wore out and or beat up.
OP
OP
mikeyss
Full Access Member
Progress is being made!! Should be getting painted today, and I should get it back on Tuesday.
OP
OP
mikeyss
Full Access Member
Looks like the Tahoe will be done tomorrow, they broke a door handle so they have to replace it. They sent me a few pictures through email, and I'm really excited now!!
I'll get better pictures once it's home!!
I'll get better pictures once it's home!!
OP
OP
mikeyss
Full Access Member
Finally got the Tahoe back, but I can't really wash and detail it. It looks so awesome now, here are some pictures. I will eventually get some interior shots since I took it all apart and cleaned everything square inch, and added more padding.
