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4.5L Duramax to launch?

BoostN

BoostN

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http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/06/gm-ponders-reviving-45liter-duramax-v8-diesel.html

Last year, General Motors shelved plans to offer a 4.5-liter V-8 Duramax light-duty diesel engine in its half-ton pickups as the market for personal-use pickup trucks shrank, the U.S. economy nosedived and GM went into survival mode by shedding brands and restructuring.

Now, with signs that truck sales and the economy have turned a corner and GM refocused on its smaller product portfolio, some at GM wonder if the 4.5-liter Duramax could be revived to play a broader role, not just in light-duty pickups but in the automaker’s revamped heavy-duty trucks, too.

“The 4.5-liter V-8 is fully developed and ready,” said Mark Cieslak, GM’s full-size truck chief engineer. “[If we decided to offer it] we could launch it in a heartbeat.”

Also driving the decision to possibly pull the 4.5-liter Duramax off the shelf are tough new EPA fuel economy regulations for light-duty cars and trucks that are being phased in between now and 2016, and a new push to create fuel-efficiency standards for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks – including pickups over 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight – that would go into effect starting with the 2014 model year. Medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks aren’t required to carry EPA fuel economy ratings today.

“Fuel economy is top-of-mind in every vehicle discussion we have today inside GM,” Cieslak said. “Every powertrain discussion, we are breathing fuel economy.”

That has GM’s truck team wondering about using the 4.5-liter V-8 in GM’s HD pickups.

“The 4.5-liter V-8 is a legitimate contender for the 2500 segment, but are customers and [the economic environment] ready for it?” said Cieslak and Gary Arvan, Duramax chief engineer.

GM’s newly launched 2011 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Heavy Duty pickups feature an updated 6.6-liter LML Duramax V-8 diesel, which GM says is rated a best-in-class power of 397 horsepower and 765 pounds-feet of torque while returning 11 percent greater highway mileage compared with the outgoing LMM model.

The 6.6-liter V-8 can tow up to 21,700 pounds and haul up to 6,635 pounds, but all that power isn’t necessary at the lighter end of the HD market, in the three-quarter-ton 2500 segment.

“[The 4.5-liter Duramax] could get a few miles per gallon more [than the 6.6 Duramax],” Arvan said. “It’s a high-performance diesel with a high level of work capability and fuel economy.”

The 4.5-liter V-8 might be a better choice for those who don’t need maximum capability from an HD pickup but still need a truck that’s tougher than a half-ton. It wouldn’t necessarily be compromise. It’s as strong as HD diesels were just a decade ago and more sophisticated.

“[The 4.5-liter Duramax] would have launched [with power ratings] about where the Duramax was in 2001 when it was introduced,” Arvan said.

Like the all-new 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 diesel that Ford introduced in the 2011 F-Series Super Duty lineup, the 4.5-liter Duramax was designed by GM entirely in-house with reversed intake and exhaust relative to a conventional diesel, so fresh air would enter the cylinders from the outer edges of the cylinder heads while exhaust gases would be dumped between the cylinder heads directly into a turbocharger. The design eliminated the intake and exhaust manifolds and other related components, saving weight, reducing size and lowering costs by up to an estimated $600 per engine compared with a conventional diesel. GM promised power ratings for the 4.5-liter Duramax would be more than 310 hp and 520 pounds-feet of torque with up to 25 percent better fuel economy than a comparable gasoline engine.

Even if the 4.5-liter Duramax cost less than the $8,395 6.6-liter Duramax (including Allison 6-speed automatic transmission), it would carry a higher premium over the standard 6.0-liter V-8 in GM’s HD pickups. Offering the 4.5-liter in GM’s light-duty pickup trucks too (as originally intended) might help make the business case that finally brings this engine to market.

What do you think? Would you opt for a lower rated, more fuel-efficient engine in your heavy-duty pickup?
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I would be all over one in a 1500, since that is all I really need!!

The price difference between it and the Big max would be the factor in an HD. If the Big Max is not much more, I would get it. :)
 
From the way that reads, they're going to be offering it [if they decide to release it] as another engine option in the HD's.
 
saratoga said:
From the way that reads, they're going to be offering it [if they decide to release it] as another engine option in the HD's.
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As well as an option in the 1500 series.

"Offering the 4.5-liter in GM’s light-duty pickup trucks too (as originally intended) might help make the business case that finally brings this engine to market."
 
This motor in a Suburban/Tahoe makes even more sense! Better power and fuel economy. I just don't understand the thought processes of some of the executives.
 
If you could get a 1500 LTZ with the 4.5 for about the same price as the LBZ's sold for new (mid-high 30's), I'd buy one.

God only knows what a 2500 with the LML is going to sticker for in 2011 and in the future... the majority of the people that have 2500's today won't pay $79k for a daily driver IMO.
 
RI Chevy Silveradoman said:
This motor in a Suburban/Tahoe makes even more sense! Better power and fuel economy. I just don't understand the thought processes of some of the executives.
Click to expand...

Makes you wonder sometimes. I believe there's an overall distaste for small diesels in our country by people in political power connections/positions. Destroys their plans to destroy the country.

I don't care for diesel engines, but a small SUV with a small diesel getting over 35mpg and not costing a fortune to buy. I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I'll live with the smell that I can't stand.
 
I really hope they do build it. The media up here will still do nothing to endorse a diesel, no matter how good it is. And I really thing GM needs to build it regardless of the old school media thought.
 
The politicians of the liberal side want ALL large SUVs and pickups to go away so everyone can drive a micro whatever (except, of course, them). They will keep harping about the evils of petroleum. Even though the public demands this, the algoreasshats will not let up... until they are removed from office and forced to back off.
 
it needs to be offered in both the 1/2 and 3/4 ton segments, at a cheaper price than the 6.6L dmax in the 3/4 ton, for those not looking for as much power. in a suburban or tahoe with the 4.5L, excellent setup.
 
I think GM and the 350 chevy diesel really really caused a ton of backlash. It's become ingrained in American history that diesels are smokey, and unreliable. Yet, my 1978 300 D still runs perfectly.
 
I agree. For those who want the diesel efficiency and more torque than the gasser, there will be the little diesel, and for those who need to pull stuff, there will be the big one. Just like GM having the 350 and 454 in the trucks, just the opposite, lol.
 
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