The light-duty Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is offered with a wide variety of powerplant options to satisfy customers, including the turbocharged 2.7L I4 L3B gas unit. Making its debut on the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2019 GMC Sierra 1500, the L3B is a modern, power-rich four-cylinder that delivers not only efficiency, but surprising performance as well. In fact, the Silverado turbo 2.7L I4 will sprint to 60 mph a full second quicker than the 4.3L V6.
As GM Authority covered previously, it was already known that a gas-powered Silverado turbo would hit 60 mph in under 7 seconds. Now, however, GM Authority has uncovered the more specific 0-to-60 mph acceleration figure of 6.8 seconds, which means the boosted four-banger can complete the test a full second quicker than the same truck with the base naturally aspirated 4.3L V6 LV3 gas engine.
Turbocharged 2.7L I4 L3B
Offered as standard on LT and RST trim levels, the turbocharged 2.7L I4 L3B gas engine produces an SAE-certified 310 horsepower and 348 pound-feet of torque, with peak twist coming online between 1,500 and 4,000 rpm.
Highlight features include an innovative double overhead cam valvetrain, as well as Active Fuel Management (i.e., cylinder deactivation) and continuously variable valve timing. The turbo comes with a dual-volute housing that sharpens throttle response and boosts low-speed torque figures, and the engine represents Chevy’s first application of Active Thermal Management technology.
“The new 2.7L Turbo engine represents a clean-sheet design for Chevrolet and was developed from the outset as a truck engine,” Chevy explains.
In order to help it make plenty of low-end torque, the turbocharged four-cylinder was designed with a long piston stroke of 4.01 inches (102 mm), improving combustion and enabling a higher compression ratio.
“Typically, a long stroke can increase the load of the pistons against the cylinder walls, generating more friction,” Chevrolet explains. “That’s alleviated in the 2.7L Turbo with an offset crankshaft. It is slightly off-center of the cylinders, allowing a more upright position for the connecting rods during their movement.”
Combining efficiency, clever technology, and plenty of power, the 2.7L I4 L3B gas engine in the Silverado turbo has a lot to offer customers – including extra scoot to 60 mph.
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Comments
Performance usually has some cost as this article doesn’t talk about what is the mileage between the turbo 2.7 4-cyl and the 4.3L V6.
TURBO 4.3 and 10 speed!!!!!!!!!
What the 4.3 really needs is all the other tech in the 2.7, variable cam geometries, active thermal management and electronically controlled oil pump. The problem with the 4.3 is its tuned super anemic, to push the sale of the V8’s. Hot rod tested a 4.3 with a head and cam change and got 350 tq out of it, then opened up the rpm band past 9000 rpm and got right under 500hp. At that point you are trading fuel economy. Adding the neat cam profile system would allow it to rev! The.then adding DFM and there won’t be a need for the 2.7 turbo, and is probably exactly why Chevy won’t do that.
I’d love to see the big, pushrod, 90-degree, American V6 caught up in spec to the V8s. And be way more widely used. I’d choose it every time over a EU/JDM-style engine no matter the performance difference.
I’d love to see it paired with the 10 speed or even 8 speed and given DFM. An e-boost like on the ram pentastar, the same one used on the e-boost Silverado in 2018 would be nice as well. It could help the 4.3 be a competitive engine at a great price and great efficiency.
Another reason why you won’t see a high output big v6 anymore is because GM needs a good reason for the 2.7’s existence. In other words by having Silverado volume GM won’t take a financial bath offering the 2.7 in smaller Chevy and Cadillac cars and 5.3s in trucks, besides if a 2.7 Silverado can take Ike Gauntlet loaded and run hundreds of thousands of miles that make the potential CT4 buyers confident in owning one.
I think a low boost S/C 4.3 about 365 hp is an nice alternative..
They should probably concern themselves more about the Silverado being one of the least reliable trucks, as reported by consumer reports…
Patrick, CR is reported by the owners. It doesn’t measure actual reliability. In fact Chevy as a whole brand has a long history of the lowest lifetime cost of ownership. They win that more than any other brand per vehicle. If CR is a measure of anything, it shows that Chevy attracts highly competitive and decerning buyers, which is actually a merit! It means you are not just pleasing your fanboys and winning the hard to get buyers.
Fine at the drags. But, how is the engine doing in the real world?
That 2.7 T hwy / city mpg suck! The cylinder deactivation is crap so many engines are smudging up The reason is the dead cylinders create no heat, with no heat condensation can form in the oil creating sludge. GM in general needs to put more emphasis into those under the dash actuators! The company that has been making them the past 25 years needs to be fired. I owned a 2009 Silverado The entire dash had to come out just to replace one of those for the defroster it rattled !! That truck went back 84 times to the dealer, I lemon lawed that truck and won! I was all GM But after that truck I went to F250 and I LUV MY TRUCK I HV NOW! 2015 6.2
Great truck. Hermann Ford in Hermann, MO IS THE BEST BEST BEST DEALERSHIP !! Ever
The big advantage of a turbo engine is that you can run a higher octane fuel and get a significant increase in power. For example, if you ran a dual fuel propane/gasoline aftermarket conversion, the ultra high 104 octane of propane will give an increase in power of about 12 percent. This is based on GM tests showing that using E85 gasoline, adds 8.5 percent increase in torque and HP. E85 has about 93 or 94 octane. Of course you can add some methanol, say 50 percent split between gasoline and meth, and get a huge power increase with that blend. Methanol has about 1 or 2 octane points below pure 100 percent ethanol, but meth has a lower BTU content than ethanol, so a 50/50 ratio still gives you an almost perfect balance when the two fuels are mixed and an octane of about 92 or 93 if you use 89 or 91 octane gasoline base. If you buy methanol buy the drum, the wholesale price for the whole month of December in North America is $1.20 a gallon which is 3.7854 liters.
The 4.3L engine is mated to a 6 speed automatic with different gearing from what the 2.7T engine comes with making this an apples to oranges comparison and yet GMauthority doesn’t bother to mention this. They are using facts in order to create a false narrative because ok yes those trucks as equipped should perform as stated however the narrative that is being created is that the 2.7T engine is much better then the 4.3L V-6 so the 4.3L V-6 should go in favor of the 2.7T engine. After all this is where current trends are going anyways, the engine is only one part of a vehicle and you have to look at other aspects of the vehicles to get the whole picture.
What is the gearing on the 6 speed transmission vs the gearing on the 8 speed transmission as well as rear end, while yes the 2.7T is making more horsepower and torque the gearing is also going to have an impact. Also I personally would still rather have the 4.3L V-6 over the 2.7T engine if I were to buy one of the low end Silverado.
The 1st gear of the 6l80 is 4.02, the 8l90 is 4.56. Of course the real difference between the two is the shift speed of the 8l90 tranny. It has significantly shorter pressure lines that allow for wicked quick shifts. When it fist came out in the C7 Z06, it shifted faster than the current generation Porsche DCT. It would have been an incredible transmission had it not had the “Chevy shudder” recall. There is very few advantages of the new 10 speed over the 8 speed in terms of gear spread and shift speed, and for me the main reason for the 10 speed is the reliability of the transmission, and active fluid control to reduce friction by a measly 3%.
Ok on the 0-60, but what about reliability seeing that the 4.3L has proven itself time n time again.
What elevation did they do their 0-60? It would be much closer at sea level.
My current Silverado runs great at over 330K miles. No information I have found supports turbocharged gas engines lasting this long. Owners I have talked to report turbo problems as early as 100K. I think the added stress on cylinders, pistons, etc. will show other problems well before 300K.
My new truck will not have a turbocharger.
No way this 4 banger will outlast the 4.3…
It might get better mpg and 1 sec better acceleration..
But when it comes to longtime, turbos have not proven to last in a gasoline engine.
They already have a recall on the water pump,pos
if i recall correctly there was only 1mpg. rated difference in a full size gm truck between a 5.3 and the new 2.7 so i am going to find it hard to believe that the new 2.7 in a colorado will get as good or better mpg highway driving than the current 3.6 v6 …. YES i know the 2.7 will have more available h.p and torque so why all the the big hype about the 2.7 i really think it will be a mistake to delete the 3.6 in colorado …the 2.7 should be a added engine option NOT the only one
Yeah. What happens when it is used as a truck? Put 700 pounds of potatoes in the box and see how they compare.
Totally agree. But at the same time I don’t carry potatoes all the time. So the load frequency is a side thought. But I had a 5.3 in my 2018 LT. Crewcab 4×4. 342 rear Got 16 town. And 25/26 hi way at 70 mph. I only get 21/22 now in the 2020 crew cab 4×4. 323 rear 8 speed trans. Wonder why that is. Both no load.
The 4.3 time has come and gone. The trouble is this engine will struggle to meet future emissions. The future of all larger displacement two valve engines is nearing the limit.
The small displacement turbo engines meet the coming regulations and often with a totally flat torque curve.
Also the 4.3 is a 90 degree V6 that is still not the smoothest engine made. I have owned two of these and they both remain two of the most lack luster engines I have owned.
For nearly two decades most buyers looked at the engine with distain. The engine was designed to save money nothing more. It has been engineered to make it better due to the short comings it was born with.
It has done its job but time and regulations have moved on.
The bottom line is most full size truck buyers are going to buy the V8. The Turbo 4 will expand the numbers for the mid size truck and it will add more low end torque. The Full size 4 sales are just add on sales as this engine is more for the mid size next gen that is to come.
It will do better with emissions than a turbo will. Already these engines produce no NOX, and of you look at future emission requirements, it’s the same requirements plus additioal sales of EV’s. That’s all. There’s way more to go wrong on a turbo. Ford only does turbo boosts because they do well on epa dynos for fuel economy.
As for it being a lackluster engine, you do realize it is the base engine right? Despite this, still get both better power and fuel economy than the new ford ranger turbo.🤦♂️ Imagine what the 4.3 would do with the 10speed.
LOL and that is if the over complicated POS water pump doesn’t crap out on this over complicated mess of an engine. Give me a 4.3 hitched to the 10 speed and the same 3.42 rear gears as the 2.7 and I’ll bet 0-60 times are much closer. And the EPA needs to re-test the 4.3 V6’s mileage because it does far better than the way underrated 15/20 numbers they are quoting. I know 2 people at work with 2019 extended cab 4X4 models with the 4.3 and they are seeing 20 MPG combined and over 24 on the highway!
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