2019 Chevrolet Silverado 3.0 Duramax Makes 277 Horsepower And 460 Pound-Feet

The 3.0 liter Duramax inline-six turbodiesel engine found in the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and 2019 GMC Sierra is rated at 277 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque.

General Motors had been playing coy with the new output figures of the new 3.0L Duramax LM2 turbo-diesel, but a reader noticed the engine’s horsepower and torque figures listed on GMC’s website and sent a screenshot, unearthing GM’s well-kept secret.

These figures make the Duramax-equipped 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and 2019 GMC Sierra the most powerful half-ton diesel trucks on the market. The 2019 Ford F-150’s 3.0 liter diesel makes 250 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque. Fiat Chrysler has not announced the EcoDiesel engine for the new Ram 1500 yet, but if the engine does return in the truck, it will probably make the same amount of power it did before – 260 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque.

3.0 Duramax LM2 I6 Engine

GM will begin taking orders for the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and 2019 GMC Sierra with the 3.0 Duramax LM2 engine in the near future, with deliveries expected to commence in the summer. The diesel is the last variant of the trucks to arrive. Crew Cab models with V8 engines were first to go sale in the third quarter of last year, while Regular Cab and Double Cab models with the 4.3L V6 LV3 and turbo-charged 2.7-liter I-4 L3B engines were launched in the fourth quarter.

GM wanted to offer customers more variety with its new generation of pickups – particularly with the mass market and more affordable Silverado. It offers eight trim levels and six engine/transmission combinations for the truck, with Silverado chief engineer Tim Asoklis saying the automaker placed a “major focus,” on expanding the trucks range of choices for this next-gen model.

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Sam loves to write and has a passion for auto racing, karting and performance driving of all types.

Sam McEachern

Sam loves to write and has a passion for auto racing, karting and performance driving of all types.

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  • "Not by much"? Funny, that's never been used when another automakers vehicle is rated better then a GM vehicle in some category!

    Is this website hanging onto its integrity?

    Not by much!!!

  • That by a 10% increase, and I imagine that it can be tuned up easily for future models. if it can weild that power without being a slug like fords v6 it would be all the difference. Still no torque advantage over the 6.2, id still take the 6.2

    • The difference is the 6.2 is 460 at like 4000 rpms and the diesel is at 1500 rpm. that makes a huge difference

  • Same price premium over the 5.3 that the 6.2 is. Going to be a tough decision for people to make. Especially with common diesel prices in the US close to the 91 octane price that 6.2 needs.
    At least in Canada diesel is usually cheaper than even 87 octane.

    5.3 RST with custom PCM/TCM tune is still what i would go for.

    • ANDREW, what's with you? You know little about diesel fuel prices in Canada. Each city and market area is different. I suggest you go to the website Gasbuddy dot com to get the real hour by hour fuel prices for both gasoline and diesel fuel. For example, in London, Ontario, the price of diesel is more than gasoline today as off 2:30 PM today, but in Toronto, up until this past week, diesel was more than gasoline prices. That all changes next week. Remember the Justin Trudeau carbon tax starts on April Fool's Day in Canada and the extra cost at the pump will be 5.99 cents per liter including the 13 percent HST for diesel fuel. The Trudeau carbon tax is bit lower by about 1.5 cents for gasoline including the HST.

    • The 6.2 doesnt need 91. It can run on 87 octane. Where i live, 87 is about $1.00 less per gallon than diesel.

      • I have a 2018 Yukon with the 6.2 engine,..it is an awesome powerplant, but it requires 91+ octane. I've tried 87 in a pinch, but I could hear a knock under heavy acceleration.

      • MATT, I notice that you said "per gallon". That means you don't live in Canada, as we don't use gallons for the last couple of decades. You are trying to compare oranges to apples. Did you vote for Hillary or AOC??? LOL

    • I don't believe the 2019s can be tuned yet, to tune a 2017-2018 tcm (8 speeds) require far greater costs and effort than most will deem worthwhile.

  • I see this going into the refreshed Colorado and Canyon and should go into the full size 1/2 ton SUV's and cargo vans.

  • LT Trail Boss: priced $6k-ish more than the LT and $4k-ish more than the RST, but doesn't get the Duramax.

    WHY does the really cool "aggressive off road" trim not get more power? The "Rally Sport Truck" should be getting the 6.2 as well if we're talking trim levels again.

    Complaints aside, I'm still excited for this engine. Fingers crossed the Tahoe and Burb get it right off the bat!

  • GM says for year aluminum is too weak for a truck bed, then they make their Duramax diesel head aluminum. I would never buy an aluminum head diesel, what a joke

      • In 2001 We bought a new gmc 2500 HD duramax which we still have and has been a wonderful engine except for all new injectors replaced under warranty. Still runs like brand new and with those nasty aluminum heads , it just passed 503000 kilometres.

    • Yep, that's what the Ford guys used to say, and then they decided that the Duramax was right and used aluminum heads when they made their own Powerstroke.

      • Ah, but I don't have a POS blow-up Ford diesel. I have a real Diesel, one without weak aluminum heads, a Cummins 6.7. Remember you and your GM guys all say aluminum is too weak for a truck bed, so it sure as hell is too weak to be used for a diesel head, no question about it. Google it- tons of GM an Ford guys with alum head problems.

  • If GM would please pair this little beauty to a 6 speed manual transmission and plop it into a Colorado/Canyon I'd happily go into a dealership and start signing papers tomorrow!

    • Ah, but I don't have a POS blow-up Ford diesel. I have a real Diesel, one without weak aluminum heads, a Cummins 6.7. Remember you and your GM guys all say aluminum is too weak for a truck bed, so it sure as hell is too weak to be used for a diesel head, no question about it. Google it- tons of GM an Ford guys with alum head problems.

    • You are wrong- the 6.7 Cummins in the RAM is all iron. There may be some baby 3.0 Cummins made for baby trucks that has some aluminum.