most likely moving from an h3 to H3 Alpha got some questions

[3Hummer]

for those of you have done this, what are the advantages (besides the obvious more speed) and the disadvantages? and how much worse is the gas mileage really?

[3Hummer]

Anyone???

[Ed G.]

The Alpha is the way to go! I've been getting 14mpg in town and 17 on the highway. The rear locker (2008) is also a big plus!

[HumbleAg]

Gas mileage difference minimal, I get about 16 with the V8, got steady 17 with both the I5's I had.

I can imagine that would be different if I kept my foot in it.

Acceleration is nice when you need it, and if you are going to tow anything the V8 power is worth having. Other than that, probably not much more to say.

[3Hummer]

Question about the locker...is it standard in the Alpha... i dont think the one im looking at has the adventure package, so my question is does it have the locker anyway?

as for gas mileage i get about 15.5-16 with my I5 so hearing that ill get about 14-16 sounds great to me

[jman_in_minnesota]

I thought the rear locker only came with the adventure package? This is what I have.

The Alpha is great. I had an '06 3.5L and let me tell you, I was scared to get on the interstate as the acceleration was terrible. No more worries with the Alpha. Plus I like its scarcity, not sure of the exact numbers but the number of Alphas sold must be a fraction of the total 3.5/3.7L sales.

Congrats on the good idea!

[Dave92270]

3Hummer, good luck finding that Alpha.

..I wish I could find one too - but our Hummer dealer doesn't have a single Hummer anymore, neither new or used... they had a few couple of months back, some Alphas and H3t's, and all priced really high, well over $45k. So looks like I'll have to stay with my truck forever. Not a bad thing, I have still under 10k miles on my '07. I wish I had v8, but the i5 feels actually adequate, not too lazy at all.

[3Hummer]

Originally Posted by Dave92270

3Hummer, good luck finding that Alpha.

..I wish I could find one too - but our Hummer dealer doesn't have a single Hummer anymore, neither new or used... they had a few couple of months back, some Alphas and H3t's, and all priced really high, well over $45k. So looks like I'll have to stay with my truck forever. Not a bad thing, I have still under 10k miles on my '07. I wish I had v8, but the i5 feels actually adequate, not too lazy at all.

i did find it! its the canyon metallic with the cashmere interior....its getting trucked down to me so hopefulyl have it by the end of the week

[Dave92270]

Originally Posted by 3Hummer

i did find it! its the canyon metallic with the cashmere interior....its getting trucked down to me so hopefulyl have it by the end of the week

sounds great - congrats! BTW, how much $$$ for the Alpha you have to come up with? These that our dealer had were all really expensive. No discounts, steep prices - I guess because H3's (and H2's) are getting scarce..

[3Hummer]

i dont wanna jynx anything so im gonna hold off on answering that question till i have the keys haha...........as for h2's are there even any new 2010 left? (did they even make 2010)?

[Dave92270]

Originally Posted by 3Hummer

i dont wanna jynx anything so im gonna hold off on answering that question till i have the keys haha...........as for h2's are there even any new 2010 left? (did they even make 2010)?

well good luck, hope the deal will go fine for you. let us know!

[HumbleAg]

Originally Posted by 3Hummer

as for h2's are there even any new 2010 left? (did they even make 2010)?

Nope, didn't make 'em.

[Nips]

I switched up to a 2008 H3 Alpha with 24,000 miles a few months ago. Averaged 15.5-17 MPG before mods. I added my 35's, UCP, and Sliders. Mileage is now around 14.5-15...Acceleration is much better and of course towing is alot easier. I'm not too crazy about the shifting of the auto trans so I am going to have PCMforless tweak all of those parameters. Adventure package in 06-08 MY contains rear locker, 09-10 MY adventure packages have front and rear locker.

[Frisco Ken]

I had a 2006 H3 and in December I was hit head on going 35 by a Dodge Ram 2500. I broke my hand and Sternum but I came out OK. The vehicle was totaled. I purchased a 2010 H3 Alpha in January and I love it. I live at 9,100' elevation and I travel over 12,000' mountain passes weekly and the I5 did not have the power for the high mountains. The V8 is a much better engine and the gas difference is around 5 miles per gallon. The vehicles are pretty much the same but the V8 is the only way to go especially in the mountains. I heard that for every 1,000' you go up in elevation you can lose 3% of your horsepower. 27% with the I5 was tough living in the mountains of Colorado

[HummerJim]

My son in Dillon, Co had my old '06 H3 with 111,000 miles on it when he traded it in on an Alpha in October. He LOVES the Alpha, especially up in the mountains and says the fuel consumption difference is minimal. I still like the room in my H2, but love the way the Alpha performs in the mountains. Living near sea level, I never had many problems with the power in the original '06 H3 and the power difference in the '07 I5 is noticeable when they gave me one for a loaner once. If I got a used H3 for our cabin, I'd lean towards the Alpha or an '07 or later I5. The late year '07s 08s and 09s, didn't have as much of the cylinder head problems as the '06 and early '07s, although we had no problem with the '06 I5 with 111k miles on it. In March they came to St. Louis and looked at the V8 '09 Championship Edition Demo with 6900 miles on it at Lynch for $34,000 and almost bought it for a second Hummer (it's still there I think), but his wife nixed the idea of two Hummers and I think they both regret it now. She wanted to keep her soccer mom van and use his H3 in the winter, but now that they both don't work together in Denver anymore, they're looking at Hummers and Alphas again and finding new ones very difficult to find. He's had no problems with his '09 Alpha (he had it painted the color of my old 06 - Shadow Green Metallic - might be one of the only Shadow Green Metallic Alphas in the US) and plans on keeping it forever!