Why Chevy switched from Detroit Diesel to Duramax – Motors – Jalopnik

When General Motors decided to turn a diesel engine into a permanent part of his light truck-line-up in 1982, it worked together with Detroit Diesel for a 6.2-liter V8 with a rated on 130 hp and around 240 pound-foot couple. And while the engine was upgraded in the years that followed, GM thought it could be better if it was time to develop a new generation of trucks at the end of the millennium.

In fact, the market actually forced the hand of GM. You see, GM took more than half of the full-size truck market in the early nineties. However, the sale started behind the newer Ford F-150 and RAM 1500 in the second half of the decade, and some people blamed that Detroit dieselpower plant for its relatively matte performance. At its peak, the 6.5-liter version of the Detroit diesel engine maximized to 215 hp and 430 pound-foot torque. Ford’s 7.3-liter Power Slag V8, on the other hand, pumped 225 horses and 450 pound-foot torque at that time.

So, GM ingenuurs turned to Isuzu for what the Duramax engine would become. The legendary Duramax 6600, a 6.6-liter turbo diesel V8, first appeared in the Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra-Pickups of 2001. Nowadays Duramax motors still prove in journeys such as the Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD trail forest.

The first Duramax engines (LB7) distinguished themselves in a number of important ways of their Detroit diesel predecessors. Firstly, the Detroit diesel was an old-school unit designed with mechanical fuel injection and cast iron heads, both dumped in the Duramax engines. With the modern electronic fuel injection, the Duramax engines were able to walk more efficiently, deliver more power and require less maintenance. Switching to aluminum heads helped to save weight, which contributed to the performance of performance.

GM continued to update the Duramax family to keep pace with the competition, whereby improvements such as variable geometry turbo veins and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) Systems (2004), Diesel particle filters (2007) and B20 Biodiesel Capability (2011) (2011) are used. Of course the power outputs were raised on the way. The current generation of Duramax Engine (L5P), which premiered in the Chevrolet Silverado 2017, can now make 470 hp and a couple of 975 pound-foot. It is enough for a maximum towing assessment of 36,000 pounds, depending on model options.

The Duramax trolley tree grew a few new branches when Chevrolet began to offer four and six-cylinder Duramax engines in its light trucks and SUVs. The Colorado was available with a 2.8-liter, four-cylinder turbo diesel from 2016 to 2022, while a 3.0-liter i6 turbo diesel debuted in the Silverado in 2019 in the Silverado and in the Tahoe and Suburban in 2021, however, the engine had not been reported with the owners of the owners.

Although diesel engines are not so common in light trucks, Chevrolet and GMC are rising in this respect. The Chevrolet Silverado, Tahoe and Suburban from 2025 can all be ordered with the latest edition of the 3.0-liter Duramax turbo diesel i6, as a result of which they (and their GMC contraders) the only domestic light vehicles that offer diesel engines.

The engine flows 305 hp and 495 pound-foot torque to help the Silverado show a maximum trailer rating of 13,000 pounds. That is 500 pounds less than the top classification for the Ford F-150, thanks to the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 of the Ford. However, it beats the RAM 1500, which maximizes with 11,610 pounds of pulling power.

On the other hand, Chevrolet follows his Ford and Ram rivals at the top of the heavy tow spectrum. As mentioned, the Silverado 3500 HD can pull up to 36,000 pounds by using its 470 ponies and 975 pound-foot torque. But Ford and Ram both offer dedicated versions with high output from their large turbo diesel engines, while Chevy doesn’t. The 6.7-liter Cummins turbo diesel of the RAM 3500 makes 430 hp and 1,075 pound-foot torque, with a maximum sear plimity of 36,610 pounds. For comparison: Ford’s Power Stroke sets 500 hp and 1,200 pound-foot torque, so that the Ford Super Duty can drag up to 40,000 pounds.