On Sunday, I finally got to see a 2005 Silverado C-1500 Work Truck. The vehicle that I looked at had exactly the same options as my 2004 Work Truck. In my opinion, the 2005 Silverado has been degraded because it has drum brakes on the rear (instead of discs), lower-capacity tires and a lower rear axle ratio. Both trucks had these 4 options:
4-SPD automatic transmission Vortec 4800 V8 SFI gas engine AM/FM stereo W/CD player spare tire lockThere were 3 differences in standard equipment:
2004 2005 4-wheel disk brakes Front disc/rear DRUM brakesP235/75R16 tires P245/70R17 tires Max rating 2271 lbs. Max rating 2205 lbs.
Rear axle 3.42 ratio Rear axle 3.23 ratio
The other difference was the EPA rating of the 2005:
2004 2005 City 17/Highway 20 City 16/Highway 21It appears that GM has used the 3.23 rear axle to obtain the higher highway mileage in the 2005. There will undoubtedly be a decrease of
4th-gear power of around 6% and the lower city rating indicates that there will be an increase in down-shifting in the 2005. In my opinion, a big step backward.I measured the diameter of the tires on the 2005 and an identical 2004 (both specs above) and found that the diameter of both is 30 inches and the lug pattern seems to be identical. This will allow those who want to install dealer take off tires on some older trucks to do so without affecting the computer, speedometer etc.
Dealer take offs are usually a good value, particularly for those wanting to upgrade from painted rims to chrome rims. Keep in mind that the standard 17 inch tire and wheel combination of the 2005 has 264 pounds LESS carrying capacity than the standard 16 inch tire and wheel combination used from 1999 to 2004.