As GM Authority covered back in March, the 2021 Chevy Express gets one very important change under the hood – the addition of the heavy-duty 6.6L V8 L8T engine, which arrives as a replacement for the archaic 6.0L V8 L96 and 6.0L V8 LC8. The Express’ corporate cousin, the GMC Savana, also gets this change for the latest 2021 model year. However, although the new L8T packs more power and more torque than the L96 / LC8 which it replaces, the tow ratings for both full-size vans goes unchanged.
One would think that with more power and toque, the tow ratings for the 2021 Chevy Express and 2021 GMC Savana would go up. However, this is not the case, thus suggesting that the limiting factor is in fact the frame, and not the engine.
Naturally, it’s worth pointing out that both vans are built primarily for hauling and payload, rather than towing. Nevertheless, the static tow ratings for the latest 2021 model year is definitely noteworthy.
| 2020 Chevy Express/GMC Savana | 2021 Chevy Express/GMC Savana | |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | LC8 / L96 6.0L V8 | L8T 6.6L V8 |
| Axle Ratio | 3.42 | 3.42 |
| Power (hp / kw @ rpm) | 341 / 254 @ 5,400 | 401 / 299 @ 5,200 |
| Torque (lb-ft / Nm @ rpm) | 373 / 506 @ 4,200 | 464 / 629 @ 4,000 |
| Transmission | 6-speed automatic | 6-speed automatic |
| Maximum Tow Rating (lbs. / kg) | 10,000 / 4,536 | 10,000 / 4,536 |
The 6.6L V8 L8T was introduced in the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD and 3500 HD, producing 401 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 464 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm when equipped in the 2021 Chevy Express and 2021 GMC Savana.
By comparison, the L96 / LC8 produce 341 horsepower at 5,400 rpm and 373 pound-feet of torque at 4,200 rpm, a difference of 60 horsepower and 91 pound-feet of torque next to the L8T.
A six-speed automatic transmission is used across the board, including both the 2020 model year vans, and the 2021 model year vans.
First introduced for the 1996 model year, the Chevy Express and GMC Savana arrived as replacements for the Chevrolet van and GMC Vandura, respectively. Both received few changes until 2002, when the 2003 model year introduced a revised front fascia.
Both vehicles are produced at the GM Wentzville plant in Wentzville, Missouri.
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Comments
Clearly GM needs to give this 17 or 18′ wheels and give it larger diameter brakes. That should be able to be done for little cost.
Not surprised, my 6.6 duramax van has same rating too. The old van platform can only do so much.
How does your Duramax perform and fuel mileage?
How does your Duramax perform and fuel mileage?
its a 2007 model and sees highway use with mixed load and returns 18.5-19 mpg most tanks. If your driving for economy 20 is possible but i have places to be.
The new 6.6L gasser is a great motor.
I think the Express 4500 cutaway would do well with a de-tuned 6.6L Duramax diesel option with a similar output as the medium duty trucks. They sold these vehicles with that motor for at least 5-6 years.
Bring back the all wheel drive!
They would look good with 22” wheels.
lack of towing change might have more to do with the lack of transmission change, the old 6 speed can probably only handle so much. Also, with no change in the grill, no change in cooling ability, either, which is very important for towing rating.
Still has the highest towing rating of any van on the market. More power, highest tow rating. Win win.
yea, that “weak frame” can haul 2x its biggest competitor, the Transit. It probably could be optimized to be rated for more, but as other said, towing isn’t the main reason people buy these, so there’s really no incentive for GM to push it to the limit.
The Transit’s tow rating maxes out at 7,500 lb while the Express and Savanna’s maxes out at 10,000. Not exactly 2x…
Interestingly enough, the Transit cargo van has a higher max payload capacity and GVWR than the Express/Savana cargo van.
Transit payload varies greatly on configuration, but it doesn’t really matter because all the numbers are pretty high. For example the heaviest load i ever hauled in my van was fully loading it with rolled used carpets, totally full. 1500 lbs was all it scaled out to. Another load, totally full again, of drywall and stud demolition, again about 1500 lbs on the dump scales. It would be hard to overload either van for most users.
I think you’d have to haul a pallet of concrete to even hit capacity. Or a crazy amount of tools/metal parts. Its really hard to put 4,000lbs into a van realistically.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but even if capacity hasn’t changed, wouldn’t the increased horsepower and torque make it an EASIER pull, especially from start-up? It just seems to me that even if the capacity is limited by the frame or transmission, that it would make for an easier and better get-up-and-go. But, maybe I’m wrong. Thoughts?
How much can a 2021gmc savana explore conversion van package tow? It would be the 2021 gas v-8.
The reason that tow rating didn’t change is because they didn’t bother to update the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR). In fact, it seems to have actually dropped from 16,000 lbs to 15,000 lbs for 2021. Towing was never an issue for these vans; it was always the issue of running up against the GCWR. These vans have a claimed 10,000lbs rating, but the only way to get that is if your van weighs 6,000 lbs or less (including weight of driver, fuel, and gear). So for most of us who might have say….1000 lbs worth of family and gear in the van, that means the van weighs 7000 lbs. and the 16,000 GCWR would limit us to 8,000 lbs of legal towing ability. Now, with the 15k GCWR, the only way to legally tow the full 10k lbs is by getting the cutaway van since that’s the only configuration that weighs 5000 lbs or less. Or….you get the most bare bones Cargo Van in short wheelbase configuration.
Now….does that mean this Chevy is weak? No…..it just means that Chevy seriously de-rates this van. In my opinion, it’s WAAAAY too de-rated, likely to get you to consider their HD trucks (which makes more profit for them). Want proof? Consider that this vehicle, which has 1-ton truck chassis, axles, and suspension, on full Heavy Duty components, somehow has a LESSER GCWR than even a Silverado 1500 or F-150. This van is truly capable of a 20,000 lbs. GCWR. How do I know? You gotta compare that to Ford’s E-350 van, which in its extended wheelbase, passenger van with the V-10 engine and 4.10 gears, had a 20,000 GCWR back in 2012-2013 before the Transit took over. And as far as I know, the E-350 van used a similar spec trans as the Chevy Express of today. So if Chevy were willing to once again more gear ratios than just the 3.42, the GCWR would be better, which means towing ratings would improve.
I’m really hoping they put the 10 speed in it soon, because even if the only gear ratio on the axle remained a 3.42, that 10-speed would allow for a better GCWR (which means more towing).
So far, the engine transmission and frame have been mentioned for limiting factors of the tow rating. Couldn’t it also be bracing and/or suspension? You might be able to get that load going with the 6.6 easy enough but you have to stop it too. If all it is is brakes, that’d be easy enough to remedy, even by the end user. If it’s the frame, maybe not so much. That said, I never understood why full size pickups get these stroud tow ratings and 4wd but not the full size vans. It’s why I’m not driving one today.