What Year to Buy

[Kennedy]

Thanks for the quick replies! I was leaning towards the LB7 as it seems to be getting a bit better fuel economy but maybe the 6 speed makes up for the newer engines drop like the LLY had originally? In my mind the more emission garb an engine had the more complicated it became? Maybe that's an elementary way of thinking? Is the 06-07.5 more maintenance free than an LB7? Cost is a bit of a factor, as it seems the truck market is quite hot right now. As far as modifications go, I plan to leave suspension, tires and wheels stock. I may persue mods that would enhance fuel economy as it would be a commute vehicle. That was gonna be my next question if I don't find similar posts- what modifications worth persuing to improve fuel economy/performance. I had an 01 crew cab 4x4 longbox that got 19 mpg when I bought it used. As soon as I put 255's on it and cranked the torsion bars a bit the economy dropped to a consistant 15. I love the truck with the 255's but this one won't get em.

I've found that the newer ones once properly tuned will actually do better MPG than the LB7. Both My LLY and LBZ will approach 22mpg while the best my LB7 ever did (pre Kennedy Tuning) was 20.1mpg Keep the tires shorter and the nose at a reasonable height.

Ok, Mark. Now you've got me thinking. The LBZ equipped trucks have got my attention. Doing a quick comparison the '06, '07 trucks seem to be about $8,000 to $10,000 more than comparably equipped '03, '04 LB7 trucks. I know this boils down to personal opinion but is this cost difference worth it- long term? I'd like to think so, but $10K is $10K. I don't update vehicles often and intend on keeping this next truck for years and miles to come. Anyone else who has owned both LB7 & LBZ trucks jump in.

My personal preference is the LBZ/LMM powertrain for quiet, smooth performance. They are pretty soft performance wise when stock, but respond quite well to tuning.