Need Advice: OBS Suburban 2500 7.4L vs NBS Suburban 2500 6.0/8.1L

[Diggerdan11]

My whole driving life I have had trucks, but for the last couple years I have had a car as my daily driver. Its a fast little fun car, but sometimes a really miss having a larger rig. My wife has an 07 Yukon Denali and we love it, but its not a vehicle I can take hunting easily and I want to get back into that. My biggest complaint with the 07-14's is the way the second row seats dont fold flat like the previous generations use to. Makes it more of a pain to haul stuff, and my dogs cant stick their heads out the window. I want to keep my car, and my wife loves her Denali. So I was thinking about buying another vehicle that I could use for Hunting/Fishing/Hauling/Etc...

I have been thinking about this coming spring buying a Suburban. I was originally thinking about buying a CC truck (like the one I sold last year), but for how little I ever used my previous truck beds I think that a Suburban might be a little more practical. It will give me the ability to haul dogs and my son at the same time, plus If I need to make a Home Depot run, I can fit most things in the back of a Suburban with the seats down. And If I desperately need a truck bed, I can just go rent a pickup at U haul.

I do know that I want to get a 2500 Suburban. I want the extra power and towing ability, but I am trying to decided between an OBS (GMT 400) or a NBS (GMT 800). And I am looking for advice about the pros and cons of each body style, and what you guys might recommend. Im sure there are plenty people on here who have owned both GMT 400's and 800's so you can probably list the pros and cons of both.

I have been just browsing for several months now and have noticed that nearly all the 400's I have seen for sale have the 7.4L and its about 50/50 on the availability of the 6.0 or 8.1 on the 800. When it comes to choosing between the 6.0 and the 8.1 I am kinda torn. The 6.0 is a great engine and should have enough power for what I need, plus it gets better MPGs. The 8.1 sucks gas, but man that thing is a beast, but I am not sure if the tuning potential is as good as the 6.0.

Just and FYI I am not a newbie to either the GMT 400 or 800. The first vehicle I ever drove was a 94 Suburban 1500 with the 5.7, and my dad had a 99 CC 3500 with the 7.4L, both were great vehicles that never had any issues. My parents also had an 03 Suburban 2500 with the 8.1 that I drove many times. I have also owned several GMT 800's (01 Silverado 5.3L, 03 Tahoe, 03 Silverado 1500HD 6.0L, 05 Silverado SS ** 6.0L). If i get an OBS I want to get a 96-99 because of the interior and the more powerful vortec engine.

I want to spend less that $5000 so these will be fairly high miles. What should I worry about with high milage Suburbans (Especially the 400's)?


Some questions I have:

With the 7.4L (96-99) what is the tuning potential? I have previously had a custom tunes on all my GMT 800's (except the Tahoe) and it did not matter if it was the 5.3L or the 6.0L or the ** 6.0L the tune really woke up all of them. Is it the same with the 7.4L? Is a custom tune on a 7.4L worth it?

Also with the 8.1L it seems like there are not as many options for performance upgrades as with the 6.0L? I know that I can get a custom tune for the 8.1, but will it increase the fuel economy any?

It also seems like there are more options for level kits on the 800's. I would like to level it in order to run larger tires.




Pros and Cons I can think of (Will update when I get advice):



96-99 2500 Suburban

Pros:
Can get a better deal on a 96-99 but It might have higher miles
I actually think the GMT 400's look more "trucky" which I like

Cons:
Ususually have higher miles
I know from experience the GMT 400's have fairly crappy headlights (compared to the 800's)

00-06 2500 Suburban

Pros:

I have lots of experience working on 800's
Both engine choices have more power (except the 6.0 has less torque than the 7.4L)
More choices for leveling kits?
I love the Auto 4wd option

Cons:
May have to pay a little more to get one in decent shape since they are newer



So what do you guys think? I am looking for any advice you have, pros and cons and experiences you have had with these tow different body styles.

 

[YukonandtheHOE]

Go for the GMT800,
better trucks in every sence.. dont get me wrong GMT400's are super solid! I allways keep 1 or 2 around.. but they are just getting dated.. and parts are getting more expensive. Sure you can update them and yadda yadda.. but at the end of the day the 800 platform is more comfy and have alot features the 400's lack.

GMT800's are at the tipping point now, a 180k mile 2500 yukon or suburban with a 6.0 is only worth like 5-8 grand now and ebay has all the aftermarket stuff one could dream about for cheap.kinda makes me want to go out and get another 04 Tahoe or burban

If you go the 8.1 route thats gonna cost more, but you get the allison tranny.

 

[Diggerdan11]

Go for the GMT800,
better trucks in every sence.. dont get me wrong GMT400's are super solid! I allways keep 1 or 2 around.. but they are just getting dated.. and parts are getting more expensive. Sure you can update them and yadda yadda.. but at the end of the day the 800 platform is more comfy and have alot features the 400's lack.

GMT800's are at the tipping point now, a 180k mile 2500 yukon or suburban with a 6.0 is only worth like 5-8 grand now and ebay has all the aftermarket stuff one could dream about for cheap.kinda makes me want to go out and get another 04 Tahoe or burban

If you go the 8.1 route thats gonna cost more, but you get the allison tranny.

I agree the 800's do offer a lot of options the 400's dont which is nice.

I have seen several Suburban 2500's with the 8.1 for under $5k but they usually have 220k+


As far as the Allison goes, based on research I have done on other sites I think the Allison was just an option on the Suburban 2500 but came standard in the trucks. So I wil have to look for an Alison. I know they are an amazing transmission, but the 4L80 is no slouch

 

[Tiki]

6.0 03+ unless you find a low mileage/excellent shape version of your other options.

 

[YukonandtheHOE]

No doubt the 4l80's are stout! But they de-tuned the 8.1 for the 4l80, ive burnt them out with 5.7's and 6.0's ,but they were never intended for shit and abuse i give them.

What are you after, a pulling machine i take it? Why not find a Dmax Burban?

 

[Diggerdan11]

6.0 03+ unless you find a low mileage/excellent shape version of your other options.

Is there an issue with the 00-02 6.0? Or with the 8.1?

No doubt the 4l80's are stout! But they de-tuned the 8.1 for the 4l80, ive burnt them out with 5.7's and 6.0's ,but they were never intended for shit and abuse i give them.

What are you after, a pulling machine i take it? Why not find a Dmax Burban?

I would love to have a duramax suburban but those are impossible to find, and way too much money.

I would do a little towing with it, but not so much that I would need a duramax. What I would be towing would be easily towed behind a 1500 with the 5.3, I just ant the 2500 so I can have access to the bigger engine.

 

[YukonandtheHOE]

Sounds like you need a Denali! Haha
Half ton with a 6.0 and a 4l65. Then again a big price jump..

03+ gen 3 vortecs have more refinement on some key powertrain stuff.

But like you said. You want a truck!
Ive only ever owned 3 half tons and they feel like driving a car

 

[Diggerdan11]

Sounds like you need a Denali! Haha
Half ton with a 6.0 and a 4l65. Then again a big price jump..

03+ gen 3 vortecs have more refinement on some key powertrain stuff.

But like you said. You want a truck!
Ive only ever owned 3 half tons and they feel like driving a car

Yeah I love the Deanlis but yeah they would be out of the range I want to pay. If it was DD and only vehicle then I would probably get one, but this is going to be my workhorse/hunting rig.

I am kicking myself a bit for buying the 07 Denali. We looked at an 06 and probably should have bought it. Seriously the way the rear seats in the 07-14's fold bug the crap out of me. I would have bought an 06 just for that reason only.

 

[Tiki]

03 have the newer (better) interior, and generally are less prone to have barn doors. 8.1L is just a rarer commodity and several years have oil consumption issues. 6.0 is almost as good, extremely common, and a well rounded engine. I'm not a big MPG guy, but if you can get 2-3 mugs more out of a 6.0, that might be 20-30% (and that actually adds up over time. Again, if you come across a smoking deal on something else, I'd buy condition over options everyday.

 

[Diggerdan11]

03 have the newer (better) interior, and generally are less prone to have barn doors. 8.1L is just a rarer commodity and several years have oil consumption issues. 6.0 is almost as good, extremely common, and a well rounded engine. I'm not a big MPG guy, but if you can get 2-3 mugs more out of a 6.0, that might be 20-30% (and that actually adds up over time. Again, if you come across a smoking deal on something else, I'd buy condition over options everyday.

Yeah I agree, I did like my 03+ interior better than my 01. I would be nice to put in a double din touch screen.

Surprisingly I think I have actually seen more 8.1s than 6.0s for sale in my area. Most are 00-02s though