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Z66 Vs. Z71

T

TJthrows

GUEST
I am currently udergoing the process of ordering an 03, however i have come to a fork in the road. Do i want the z66 or z71? I live in Ohio where winters have now become mild and do not off road, except your occasional grass parking lot. I am intersted in some opinions. Saving 3K would be nice.
 
TJthrows said:
I am currently udergoing the process of ordering an 03, however i have come to a fork in the road. ?Do i want the z66 or z71? ?I live in Ohio where winters have now become mild and do not off road, except your occasional grass parking lot. ?I am intersted in some opinions. ?Saving 3K would be nice.

I also just ordered a 2003 and went through the same question as to Z66 or Z71. I went with Z66. One thing is that only the Z66 has Stabilitrak for 2003, not the Z71. You can read about Stabilitrak at the gm avalanche site. It is a very sophisticated system which detects wheel slippage and emergency maneuvers such as fishtail, and helps correct them. Living in S. CA, I feel like I will use that more than I would need 4 wheel drive, so why not save $3,000.
 
you may want to go with the z-71 over the z-66 for a few reasons, one it's resale value stays greater during it's life. two you never know when you'll need that 4 wheel drive... and that added height. but then again you can get better gas milage with the 2-wheel drive... but if you ask me... i'm getting better mpg in my z-71 then most 2-wheel drive avalanches. :rolleyes:
my 2 cents


~BIGRED
 
The Z71 option would also handle the occasional time that you need to drag the boat or jet ski up a slippery boat ramp, or when you need to help recover your drunken friends car from the creek or ploughed field.

Skidd 7;)
 
Hey TJthrows, welcome to the club!

Where do you live in Youngstown? I live in Canfield, by the fairgrounds. Finally another member from our area ;D

I went with the Z-71 and love it. Besides the obvious performance advantages of a 4x4, it also looks really great. But so does the Z-66 :rolleyes:
It just comes down to what your plans are and where youre going to be living while you have the Av.
I don't do any real offroading in mine, and have used 4x4 less than a dozen times.

Hopefully we can get some more members from our area. I see lot's of Av's but they've all been stock, and when I hand out a CAFCNA brochure they just don't seem to excited - not really enthusiasts, just owners.
 
Get what you can afford and get what you need........

Remember the Z71 presents more components that could break.....Hubs, Transfer case etc....

But Mudding is kinda fun >:D
 
If offroading is not in the plans, the Z-66 is a really nice choice. I'm not a heavy duty off-roader, but here in Colorado the urge hits every now and then, and it's also nice in the snow - hence mine's a Z-71
 
I went with the Z66 because off-roading was not in the plans. Some times I wonder if I made the right choice. But, I've never regretted the AV itself. But with the locking rear dif of the Z66 package I think I'm covered in most situations.
 
IMHO The Z-66 has everything the Z-71 has except 4-wheel drive, including the 17 inch wheels. According to several reviews about the Z-66 they state it does evrything the Z-71 does except you can't truly go offroad. With the positraction rear, tow-haul mode, stabilitrak etc. you really won't need a 4-wheel drive (at least in most places you might go in Ohio). As long as I'm not in 2 or more feet of snow I would probably never use the 4 wheel drive which is why I got the Z-66. I love my truck and the options on it and, as someone already pointed out (ygmn), it has fewer parts to break down. ;D

Welcome to the club and I hope you love your AV as much as the rest of us. Good luck with your choice.
 
Even if you do not go off-roading in your AV, there is another advantage to going with the Z71.

Yesterday, I had pulled off on to a sloping shoulder in front of a coastal business. The shoulder was made up mostly of grass with the top edge being loose gravel. No problem getting in there in 2wd. When it came time to back out to leave, the rear tire spun a 1/4 turn before I pulled my foot off the gas. I could have just punched it and thrown gravel all over the nice porche in front of me, put it into 4hi and maybe thrown a little less gravel, or go straight to 4lo. I choose option 3. I smoothly and gracefully backed up and out on to the road.

Nothing to draw attention over, nor make a big deal about. Just got up and out of about a 30" deep ditch cleanly. Bonus for not tearing up the lawn either.

Now, this may not happen often. But when it does, it is nice to be able to get out without owning someone a paint job.
 
zimmsAV said:
The Z-66 package does not include the high capacity air cleaner, or skid shields, as well as the upgraded shock absorbers

Agreed, but it does have upgraded shocks that self-level.
 
In my opinion, four wheel drive pays for itself the first time you need it. It's something I won't buy an all around vehicle without.

It's unbeatable in the snow and ice. Yes, you can get around in two wheel drive, but four is not even comparable. Anytime there is more than a packed 1/2 inch of snow on the road, I'm glad I'm running a 4x4.

Even in the rain, I notice I hydroplane a heck of a lot less when I keep the t-case in the auto-mode...
 
zimmsAV said:
The Z-66 package does not include the high capacity air cleaner, or skid shields, as well as the upgraded shock absorbers

I love the ride of the Z66. Perfect for cruizin' and long trips. The locking rear, traction assist and load-leveling shocks are fine for me.

Now about the "high cap" air cleaner ... check out this post:

jackalanche said:
Now let me just put to bed the "high capacity air cleaner" fallacy that still apears in the specs - we all have the same one, I confirmed this with the General himself. Of course I went UPD/K&N anyway ;D , but I had to point that out.
 
My justification for buying the 4WD version is a 4WD will have higher resale value than a 2WD later on. But mostly I chose the Z71 because I wanted the Z71.
 
Well for us it was the Z-71 for piece of mind ... 4wheel drive in the rain helps navigation in deep water events. And is piece of mind when we are towing (boat ramps, mud trails, etc)
 
If the cost is the big factor (it was with me) then shop around a little more. I live in WV but went to Tenn and bought a Z-71 for less than I could get a Z-66 here. I may never need the 4X4 either, but it is there if I ever do need it. The resale comments are true, a friend of mine is a dealer (not Av's) and told me the same thing. The Z-71 will hold more of its value. (can't imagine selling an Av, though)
 
You could have tried starting out in 2nd gear, by putting the shifter in 2. This will start your truck out in 2nd gear instead of 1st and torque your way out.

Granted I'd take every chance I get to use the 4-wheel drive.>:D I haven't had the need for it yet.:( But winter is coming.;)
 
4WD will have higher resale value than a 2WD later on.

Remember it cost more upfront too.... >:D
 
sargenthp said:
You could have tried starting out in 2nd gear, by putting the shifter in 2. ?This will start your truck out in 2nd gear instead of 1st and torque your way out.

Granted I'd take every chance I get to use the 4-wheel drive.>:D ?I haven't had the need for it yet.:( ?But winter is coming.;)


Unless this transmission is a radical departure from the norm, "2" doesn't "start" in two...it starts in low shifts to 2nd and won't upshift beyond 2nd.
 
I'm another OHIO AV modder, I live a little south of Canton, talk to you soon Zimms and TJthrows (y)
 
digitaldiver said:
Unless this transmission is a radical departure from the norm, "2" doesn't "start" in two...it starts in low shifts to 2nd and won't upshift beyond 2nd.
I suggest you re-read the manual...

With the AVY if you put it in 2 and then start off it does indeed start off in 2....this is to reduce wheel spin and has been discussed.....IF you want more info the manual is listed on the resource page.
 
can't help myself, but just to lay one issue to bed: there is no special "high capacity air cleaner" that the Z71 alone gets - I inquired about this in Dec 01 since I have a non-7Z1 4x4, and wanted to get ahold of the "high capacity" part. Well Chevy tech told me it was a bunch of hogwash, that they had earlier decided to use the same high capaicty air cleaner for all 5.3 Avs. If anyone knows info to the contrary (like a diff air cleaner actually being found in a Z71 over another Av) I am interested in hearing about it, and a part #. Oh wait a minute, I have a UPD now, so I guess I have my high capacity unit.

As for not thinking you need 4wd in a pickup (I say pickup because we have a weight distribution Front to Rear somewhere in between a pickup and an SUV) unless you are going through more than "2 feet of snow", well all it takes is 1 inch of snow, an uphill red light, and you will come to appreciate having more than just the back wheels spinning. But, to be sure, I can cerainly see getting the 2wd Av (Z66 or base) if I lived in southern Texas or Florida and I had no intetion of off-roading or driving to ski areas (and didn't Colorado ban Texans from its ski areas a few years back? >:D ) [obvious invitation to Goo to chime in
 
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