Chevy Silverado Medium Duty Trucks: Gasoline Engine Option Coming Soon
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When GM first announced its new 6.6L V8 L8T gasoline engine for the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD and 2020 GMC Sierra HD, we wondered whether the automaker will offer the new motor on its Silverado Medium Duty Trucks. And now, we have some details regarding when that will happen.
According to sources familiar with the future product plans of GM and Navistar, which developed the Class 4, 5 and 6 trucks in conjunction with GM, the Silverado Medium Duty Chassis Cab trucks will get a gasoline engine option in the very near future. This will also be the case for the International CV, which is Navistar’s version of the truck.
The gasoline engine in question will be a variant of the 6.6L V8 L8T motor debuted on GM’s 2500HD and 3500 trucks. In those applications, the naturally-aspirated eight-cylinder makes an SAE-certified 401 horsepower at 5200 RPM and 464 pound-feet of torque, while being mated to GM’s heavy-duty 6-speed 6L90 automatic transmission.
We hear that the variant of the motor planned for the Silverado Medium Duty will make slightly less horsepower and torque when compared to the Silverado/Sierra HD trucks.
Exact timing for the introduction of the gasoline engine wasn’t clear, but we’ve told be sources to expect it either for the 2020i (2020 interim) or for the 2021 model years, with the 2020i being slightly more likely.
A gasoline engine option on the Silverado Medium Duty line, which includes the Class 4 Silverado 4500HD, Class 5 Silverado 5500HD and Class 6 Silverado 6500HD, would expand the trucks’ powertrain range, which is currently offered exclusively with GM’s 6.6L Turbo-Diesel V8 L5D. The Duramax engine is rated at 350 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque, while the L5P Duramax on which it’s based and which is included in the 2020 Silverado HD and Sierra HD is rated at a more potent 445 horsepower and at 2800 RPM and 910 pound-feet of torque at 1600 rpm.
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It should do fine, but I’m really disappointed that there’s no word of a big gas engine. This will likely prove to not be an upgrade in performance from the 8.1/Allison combination of the GM mediums of 10 years ago.
There is a bigger truck coming… the MDs are perfect for what they aim to do.
What if I don’t want a bigger truck, just one with competitive power output?
Correct. The current Chevrolet Medium Duty conventionals are Class 4, 5, and 6.
There is a Class 6 and 7 in the works at Navistar with the Durastar replacement. Chevrolet may be involved with that.
member12, You are very late to the party. The Medium Duty 6500HD, 5500HD and 4500HD Silverados are not made by GM. Navistar builds them for GM in their Ohio factory alongside their own branded trucks. In fact, since GM contracts out the body work for some parts, the Silverado mediums may have the least amount of GM parts in the trucks ever. Under the body, the only GM part is the diesel engine, which Navistar uses in their branded version of the identical truck. GM may or might not let Navistar use the gasoline engines in their own version.
I think member12 is right. There may be ANOTHER GM/Navistar joint venture truck coming in ADDITION to the new Silverado 4500 5500 6500/International CV truck.
It would be no problem to move up to a Class 7 version, from the existing 6500HD Silverado. Its only a matter of bigger brakes and a heavier suspension, with different rear gears with all else remaining the same. The Ford F-650 and F-750 already beat GM in that department. Ford is bringing out it’s 7.3 liter gas engine for both of those models. GM could stroke the 6.6 liter gas engine to bring it closer to the Ford 7.3 power output, which is still a secret. Or GM could use the newest big block 8.0 liter ( not the 8.1 liter ) which has full water jackets between each cylinder, so it will run cooler on propane and when under extreme loads. The torque on the 8.0 liter can be set to be about 500 lbs feet. We shall see what shakes out soon enough.
aMark Smyth
I thought the engines AND cabs were GM and some transmission offerings. It was first reported Navistar was supplying the frames. Has something changed?
GM really needs a Ram/Ford killer. It seems they are just creaping up on it. What are they waiting for. Too, completely loose out to the competition. It’s getting harder and harder to see the light at the end of the Chevy truck tunnel. Plus, no solid axles in the 2500HD or the 3500HD, 4×4 versions. They need to get going now! Just sayin’.
If anything, Ford needs IFS on the 250 and 350 4X4’s. Look on the Ford truck boards and see all the front end problems they have.
That’s because Ford is using Dana 50 axles with a mongrel “unit” wheel bearing assembly. JUNK. Instead of Dana 60’s. If Ford goes to IFS, just think how many more problems they will have. If you really use your GM IFS, the tie rods, etc, wear out super fast. The after market has replacements, but they are very expensive. I’ve been driving Chevy 4×4 trucks since the first full production year Blazer, in 1970. Been around awhile and seen an awful lot in that time. Just sayin’.
I have been around a while too, in utility and municipal fleets. GM’s IFS on their HD full size trucks had a lot of issues before 2011, but since that new design came out I have seen very few problems. In certain conditions IFS does give up some ground clearance to SFA, but other than that IFS is superior in all other respects if it’s engineered correctly. You bring up a real good point about Ford designing an IFS for a HD full size truck. Remember ‘Twin Traction Beam’?
When the put a pickup box on the 4500 with a crew cab configuration, I might give them a look.
Gary, You can buy a brand new pickup truck box for about $800 in just about any color you want. The companies that sell them are those who put special equipment boxes on the back of a chassis cab. The reason they are so cheap, is because if you order a new pickup and get the dealer to tick the box to delete the box, the factory only gives you a credit of about $300 for the delete. So these companies order a pickup truck with the box, then remove the box and make an additional $500 profit. Those special commercial equipment companies are located all around North America, so pick the one that is closest to you. The $800 price i mention is from 2 years ago, it could be more or less today. Of course, most of the boxes are white as it is the standard color for commercial trucks, but shop around for the exact color you want. The question is, to have the right color one shipped to your location, is the freight cost more than the white one that is closer to you, which you repaint?.
So a standard 8′ box from a 2500 or 3500 will bolt right on a 4500 cab and chassis?
If so, I’d check them out instead of waiting for the 2020 3500HD.
Sometimes cab and chassis trucks have a slightly longer C.A. (cab to rear axle) dimension than pickup trucks. Usually all that means is a bit more gap between the cab and cargo box if you mount a box on a cab and chassis truck. Long bed pickups have an 8′ bed, the shortest cab and chassis trucks are usually configured for a 9′ bed.