Silverado Diesel Half-Ton Promises More Power Than Ever

It has been a most unusual year for the diesel pickup market. Demand for diesel powered trucks remains high, but chip shortages have produced hiccups in fulfilling demand. This was followed by other shortages and news of a halt on production for Duramax-powered GM trucks.

Nevertheless, despite these temporary distractions, there's light at the end of the tunnel and plenty of buzz-producing stories circulating right now. Just yesterday Motor1 published this story titled "2023 Chevrolet Silverado HD Could Get Diesel With Over 500 HP: Report."

As is well-known, Ford F-Series trucks have been the top selling pickup for years. Ram Trucks have had a fairly secure hold on second place based on both reputation and performance. Chevy, however, has not been sitting idle and with the "reveal" of their 2022 Silverado last week showed that they are making an intentional move to displace the Ram to move up the ladder in the half-ton truck hierarchy.

Last week Chevy unveiled its 2022 Silverado, and this week has revealed its plans for the 2023 season. That's what yesterday's report at Motor1 was about.

The article begins by Chris Bruce begins by noting that the largest pickups in the family are still under wraps. GM's spotlight is on the half-ton, calling the Silverado ZR2 "the new flagship off-roader in this model's lineup." The focus is not on styling here. Leadership in the realm of horsepower and torque is the target for Silverados of the future.

Bruce begins with details about how comfortable the truck is before giving us a look under the hood. Here you will find a naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 engine that has a lot of gumption, producing 420 hp and 460 lb-feet of torque. This is hooked up to a 10-speed automatic transmission with extra features to assist in maximizing traction. It also has a "Terrain" driving mode for crawling.

The writer details aspects of the "new look" on this machine as well as tech upgrades and interior improvements, including a fully customizable instrument display. There are gizmos galore. The Safety Assist Suite has collision alerts, lane keeping assistance, automatic emergency braking, and other technically advanced safety features. We've come a long ways since Ralph Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed over 55 years ago.

It's the powertrain upgrades that most interest us here. There are actually four engines available for the 2022 Silverado. They are the turbocharged 2.7-liter four-cylinder, 5.3-liter V8, 6.2-liter V8, and 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder diesel. Describing their capabilities, Bruce writes, "The turbocharged 2.7-liter four-cylinder now makes 310 hp (231 kW) and 420 lb-ft (569 Nm), rather than 310 hp and 348 lb-ft (472 Nm) for the current version. This lets rear-drive versions of the truck now tow up to 9,600 pounds."

And then there is this surprise: a Silverado with a rear-drive 3.0-liter inline-six turbodiesel that can purportedly tow as much as 13,300 pounds. Over six-and-a-half tons. That's a 28 percent increase in towing capacity, achieved in part by a strengthened chassis, improved cooling and 3.73 drive ratio (as opposed to the standard 3.23 ratio.)

The article goes into greater detail than we're providing here, and there are plenty of photos to whet your appetite for more.

See the full story here at Motor1.

The Silverado Trail Boss Steps Up to Diesel

Silverado Trail Boss now available in diesel.

Some people might be surprised at how long the Chevy Silverado half-ton went without a diesel engine. When you go to performance diesel competitions, the Big 3 are always well represented. But for a while the diesel option was absent in recent years. So it was that in 2020 that the Silverado stepped up its game with a turbo diesel inline six.

At the time, automotive columnist Len Ingrassia wrote last year, "The new turbo diesel inline six cylinder promotes high fuel economy, performance and a plethora of configurations to match your pocketbook and penchant for creature comforts." 

We find it interesting that GM is now adding a diesel option to the Chevy Silverado Trail Boss. As reported earlier this year, GM has its sights set on going all electric by the middle of this century. Needless to say, they obviously do not want to abandoned the diesel enthusiasts among us. Hence, GM Authority last week announced this new move for the 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 Limited LT Trail Boss.

According to a story by Caleb Jacobs in The Drive, the Trail Boss is currently considered the most off-road capable truck in Chevy's half-ton lineup. 

Jacobs notes that "the 3.0-liter Duramax diesel inline-six that hasn't been available on the Trail Boss to this point, and it'd be great to pair that 4x4 prowess with nearly 30 mpg on the road. Now, it seems like General Motors will make it happen."

The 3.0-liter Duramax produces 277 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. That's equal to GM's potent 6.2-liter gas V8. The V8 can't compete on fuel economy though. Off road in 4x4 mode, Duramax numbers are 25 mpg. Running down the highway you get 29 mpg.

We applaud the move, especially since Ford is discontinuing its half-ton diesel after this month. Ram will no doubt pick up the slack with its EcoDiesel V6-powered half-ton trucks, including the Rebel 1500.

Special thanks to the industry journalists who work at keeping us informed of all the latest developments in our industry as they happen.

Truck Wars: Who Has the Most Powerful Heavy Duty Diesel

Last week, TheFastLaneTruck.com published an article by Andre Smirnov comparing the latest and greatest details of our 2021 heavy-duty diesel truck offerings from the Ford, Chevy and Ram families. It includes a video, billing itself as Heavy-Duty Diesel Truck Wars! 

Smirnov takes the approach of a conscientious private detective, patiently assembling data and making useful comparisons. When all is said and done, will it be the 2021 Ford Super Duty, 2021 Chevy Silverado HD / GMC Sierra HD, or the 2021 Ram HD?

The starting point for his analysis is a straight up comparison of power output and torque. The highest horsepower was generated by the Ford Super Duty, its 6.7L V8 turbo-diesel cranking 475 hp. The torque monster, however, turns out to be the 2021 Ram HD, edging the Ford with 1,075 lb.-ft. of torque. Here are the numbers:

	2021 Chevy/GMC HD	2021 Ford SD	2021 Ram HD
Engine	6.6L V8 turbo-diesel	6.7L V8 turbo-diesel	6.7L I6 turbo-diesel H.O
–Power	445 hp	475 hp @ 2,600	420 hp
–Torque	910 lb-ft	1,050 lb-ft @ 1,600	1,075 lb-ft
Transmission	10-speed auto (Allison brand)	10-speed (Ford)	6-speed (Aisin)

It's interesting to see the places where these power plants differ. Note the slightly smaller Chevy/GMC engine. It's also interesting how the Ram has a 6-speed transmission whereas the competitors utilize a 10-speed setup.

When it comes to towing and payload ratings, Smirnov notes that this is where the manufacturers are digging down, fighting for your dollars. That's because at the end of the day you want a work truck that can work.

The first comparison is of the maximum tow ratings for diesel-powered one-ton dually trucks with a regular two-door cab, rear wheel drive only. A follow up chart provides max payload ratings for gasoline-powered two-door 2WD trucks. The conclusions he draws are surprising:

While the diesel-powered trucks have the torque and power to tow great big trailers and the exhaust brake systems to slow them down, the diesel engine itself adds weight to the truck. As such, if you want maximum payload from your heavy-duty truck, you need to choose one that is powered by a lighter gas engine.

This is first place where Smirnov dons a Sherlock Holmes twist, comparing not just the trucks but the method of trailering, either gooseneck or 5th-wheel. 

Then like a sidewinder he throws another curveball, suggesting that many people prefer crew cabs and 4WD so they can carry more people. And what about a 2021 dually crew can with that 4x4 configuration? Shouldn't we compare these, too?

After laying out the numbers for these he continues still further to the 3/4 ton diesels, and by the time he gets to the end what have we learned? That the verdict is still out, sort of. The author states that they will be updating data as additional information comes in.

The article ends with a video designed to make us hungry for more diesel action in person than what we could share in 2020. HERE is the link for Truck Wars.

One Reason Why We Love Diesels: More Torque

Why do we see diesel pickups competing in sled pulls and we don't see Mustangs or Ferraris doing the tug of war? Well, it has to do with torque. Hot cars can master the horsepower game, but when it comes to raw power in a pulling competition, you need to bring in the big dogs for that.

A 2016 article in Car & Driver helps explain what torque is: "Torque is a rotating force produced by an engine's crankshaft. The more torque an engine produces, the greater its ability to perform work." 

You don't need to understand the science to recognize the difference. If you've ever been to a tractor pull, you can see it is a very different experience.

I mention all this because even though diesel engines are far cleaner and quieter than they were thirty years ago, they still get a lot of bad press. Diesel owners have a target on their backs. That's why it is important to remind folks once in a while why half the vehicles in Wyoming are pickup trucks and why diesels still have a function. 

The article that caught my eye is titled, 5 Reasons Why Diesel Engines Make More Torque Than Gasoline Engines. The 2018 Motor Authority story by Jeff Glucker begins, Horsepower is fun in its own way, but torque can be just as entertaining. If you want to rip stumps out of the ground, you'll want a whole lot of torque. That also means you'll likely prefer a diesel engine. Compared to their gasoline-swilling counterparts, diesel engines are the torque kings. Why is that?

Glucker then turns to Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained to get the answer.

According to Fenske these are five of the reasons diesels are Torque Monsters. 

1. The compression ratio

2. The speed of combustion

3. Bore and stroke size

4. Turbocharging

5. Diesel fuel packs more energy density

Fenske explains each of these five points in language that is relatively easy to grasp. For those unfamiliar with these things it is quite eye-opening. I strongly encourage following this link. It's a relatively short article and you will learn a lot.
https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1116200_5-reasons-why-diesel-engines-make-more-torque-than-gasoline-engines

For more, check out the article Torque vs. Horsepower: What's the Difference? (Car & Driver)