Lets put it this way. I'v driven my H3 to NC and MD SEVVVVERAL times. The truck does fine in the mountains if you have cruise control on (that way you aren't messing with the pedal). But the SWEET thing about the h3 is, even with cruise control on, you can manually stick the truck into 3rd gear which is great for the mountains. No other car I've driven can be put into another gear without disabling cruise control. So on the really big hills, just lock it into third gear w/ cc on and you'll be fine. The ONLY time I really have gear searching issues is when I have a fully loaded truck with cargo. Other than that, I can cruise 6-7mph over the limit (77mph tops) and cruise with EASE. No issues. Just yesterday I payed the toll going to Grand Island, and I had to beat out traffic. I floored it from the tolls with 3 people in the car, and I chirped all 4 tires pretty damn good. The i5 really is an awesome motor. Although when it comes down to it, a 300+ lb/tq v8 is a beast too.

As far as engine mods, all I'm saying is a decent intake and tuner (the tuner will depend on which motor you get..), and these trucks make great power and get GREAT mileage.

YES, all H3's come with skidplates. And they work DAMN well. But you can also get factory undercarriage protection (which is BEEFY on these) and factory rock sliders. It's all in what you want. And if you find a truck without ucp and sliders, you can order OEM gear for a pretty damn good price.

There's nothing wrong with asking us quality questions; thats why we are here. I'd rather you make an educated decision, than come back here bitching that your HUMMER sucks *** and you hate it and didn't know what you were getting into.

33" tires with GOOD tread are fine on these trucks. But if you really wanna be a boss, go with some 35's.


Thats why I say to put the cruise control on (above). It makes hills SUPER easy. AND, with these trucks you can lock the truck into 3rd gear without it disabling cc. Which makes hills cake. YOu burn less fuel running higher rpm's, than you do continually shifting and lugging the motor out.

I feel you wanting an auto for offroad; MUCH easier to control and maintain an auto, and the way these trucks transmissions are setup, you can lock your truck into whatever gear you want and it will hold it.

Yes, the stock skids are fine. I've NEVER had an issue with my stock skids that left me thinking "damn, I wish my skids were better".

As far as long trips and mountain passes, my fully loaded down i5 (4 people equalling 760lbs or so of mass, and 600lbs of cargo in the bed/hitch carrier), I still got WAY better mileage than ANY alpha will EVER get. Going thru the hills of WV, riding 3rd gear for several miles at a time, I got a tick over 17mpg (normally I get 19.2mpg highway). An alpha will NEVER touch that mileage, even on stock tires and fully-emptied.

YES, every H3 comes with traction control and it's DAMN impressive! Seriously, the BEST tcs I've EVER used is in this H3. I can get 2 tires off the ground, teeter tottering in regular 4hi in a ditch(center diff NOT locked out), and the tcs will get my out without even a struggle. The tcs on these trucks is A MAZE ING. You just need to learn how to use it. In fact, I'm still learning how to maximize it, but once you learn it you will LOVE it. You need to keep ON THE GAS for the tcs to work; and the longer you stay on the gas, the more fine-tuned the tcs gets. For instance, I have some BALD *** tires on the truck right now. I was messing around in 4low in some really deep cat tails and a swamp. All of a sudden (and I"m crawling at 1-2mph here), I lose traction. If I were to floor it or let off the gas, I would have been stuck no doubt about it. All I did was stay on the gas at the same exact rate, and while my 2 buddies were yelling that we'd gotten stuck, I let the TCS do it's thing. The tcs was clicking and pumping away, and I just stayed on it at a nice, slow pace. Sure as sh*t, I was inching forward with every tcs/abs pump. Till I eventually caught hard-pack (or hard enough, anyhow) and I crawled out. Same thing with traversing ditches; you need to learn that when you lose traction, STAY ON THE GAS at the same rate you were on it, let tcs work, and you WILL pull right out. Its amazing.


I think you are mistaken about the 32"-33" upgrade; 33's are THE best bang for the buck on these trucks. A nice 33" tire with meaty tread will go ANYWHERE you need it to; in most cases hanging with 35" tires on H3's.

I have a sunroof, and it performs flawlessly. And if there ever were an issue, off to the dealer I would go

 

My head is spinning.

85_305 - just to be clear, your engine is still bone stock right? I'm not against engine mods, I've modded every vehicle I've owned in the last 10 years, except for my wife's Avalanche because she won't let me touch it, but I don't want to HAVE to mod it to be satisfied with normal driving.

So, who wants to trade their H3 for an '81 Corvette and a lifted, modified, '99 Cherokee?

 

Just a couple observations opinions from my side. I have an 06 I5 with sunroof. The sunroof has never given me any problems. I do blow out the drain lines periodically, but it is preventative. The I5 seems fine as far as power goes but I live in the flatter part of the country. Recently I had a couple friends in from out of town to go to a football game. I had 3 other guys in there with me that were def XXL's which made it feel a little loaded down but not too bad. On the day of the game it was 20-30 mph winds and driving into that pretty much sucked. Speed limit is 70 here so I was keeping it about 75 and there was quite a bit more downshifting going on than when I normally drive that same road. So I guess what I am getting at is with 1 variable, the engine seems fine, introduce mulitple variables and disappointment/frustration can set in. Loaded down, through the mountains, with head winds would not be the I5's strong suit, unless you are willing to cruise in the 55-60 range. I should note that mine is plain stock.
I know what people report on here but realistically you should only hope for about 18 mpgs with the I5 auto. If you expect more, it raises the likelyhood of being disappointed again. Thats not to say you cant get more, just keeping it real.
I got mine in March and freakin love it. Love it Love it Love it. Keep looking and looking for the deals out there. From reading your posts I would agree tat an Alpha sounds more appropriate for you but I ujnderstand the price difference aspect. In Michigan the Alphas are only running about 2-3K more than the 3.5's or 3.7's, with a ton of them in the 22-23K range. A couple hundred dollar plane ticket and a few days driving may be worth the 5-6K in savings for you.
Good Luck

 

Skeptic, I was at first hesitant about my H3 beforeI bought it three weeks ago now. I have had 5-6 Z71 Tahoes, P/U's, and Suburbans among others. It was time for a change and I made the plunge. I absolutey LOVE this truck. I have a 2007 Lux with I5 3.7 auto. Bone stock for the time being.
I've never had anything less han a V8... with the smallest being a 305. I have absolutely NO complaints about power what so ever. I see no point in an Alpha personally.
Get one!!

 

I must say, you guys are a friendly helpful bunch. I was half expecting a couple snide "use the search button" comments and no real help.

I'm not really keen on flying somewhere to buy a vehicle and drive back. Makes you fairly committed to something you haven't seen in person, not much time to think it over, and if it's bad enough not to buy you're stuck scrambling for a return flight. I suppose I could check the areas around where my parents live (OR) and the inlaws (AZ) and plan a vacation around H3 hunting. That's sorta how we ended up with our Avalanche. Drove our Silverado to the wife's parents in AZ for Thanksgiving last year, I got mad at the truck, and traded it in on an Avalanche for the return drive.

 

Yes right now my motor is BONE stock, down the the factory-line air filter (which is really dirty btw). I'm getting an airdock, K&N filter, possibly snorkel, and PCM4less tune in the next few weeks tho.

I agree, MOST people on here report like 16-17mpg with their i5 H3's.. but they probably drive them like Jeff Gordon. I stay neck-and-neck with semi's until I get up to speed. I ALWAYS knock out 18.8-19.2mpg highway bone *** stock tho.

The HUMMER crowd is quite extraordinary. Great guys in general. Thats pretty funny how you traded in your silverado 'cuz it pissed you off though :lol:

 

We were talking about buying one a few months down the road. On the way to her parents the fan belt broke in North Las Vegas. The fan belt was a day old, but as far as I can tell the Jiffy Lube type place that replaced it cracked the tensioner pully... Stuck on the side of the Highway, crappy part of town, tow truck guy couldn't find us for over an hour apparently due to construction even though I gave them the mile marker and next exit. Was mad at my truck, miffed at the tow truck driver, pissed at pep boys who charged us 2 hours labor "because we only go by what the computer says" for 5 minutes of work, and slightly irritated at the wife for having a Jiffy Lube place change the belt....

When we finally pulled into the town where her parents live, several hours late, we drove past a dealership and I noticed a few Avalanches on the lot. Next morning the Silverado had a nearly flat tire.. That was it, got the flat fixed then drove to the dealership and traded it in.

 

hahaha thats hilarious. I've learned in my experiences to NEVER go to jiffylube. EVERY SINGLE TIME I've gone there, they've charged me an arm and a leg for stupid stuff.

Have we answered everything you need to know about an H3? Or is there still confusion and concern?

 

im in the same dilema and i posted somthing a few days ago about helping me decide for the i5 stick or the v8, this thread has been very helpfull but i just can decide yet becasue de mpg is somthing that worries me but the lack of power too since here in my country there are no highways... only one way roads and to cross the country with a roof tent a atv and fully loaded in the mountais..... both things concern me oh and i live like 2600 mts of altitude in the mountains. so full is a concer because over here full is very expensive but power too so... i still have like 15 days or so to make the order since i have to export it...
thanks

 

Well the i5 w/ the 5spd can hit around 25mpg highway with a good intake and filter. It will have pretttty good towing power, but take it from me, putting things on the roof will slow you down BIG time and really suck gas. I put a 300lb tent on the roof rails, and going thru the hills w/ 700lbs of gear and 760lbs of passenger, I only got 14.x mpg. With that SAME exact load, going home on the way back thru the mountains, instead of using the roof-rack I used a hitch-reciever cargo carrier, and I was back up to about 17.x mpg. So putting stuff on the roof will kill mileage.

If you are gonna be carrying trailers and a fully loaded roof rack AND the interior loaded down, I'd get the alpha automatic, and do a full tuner, exhaust, and intake. That will help a LOT with power, and will help bring your mileage up some (although it wont be nearly as good as a 5spd i5 gas mileage).