Sleeper Performance Packages for a 6.0L in a GMC Rollx Explorer van conversion?

[WarWagon]

Well if you have to get a van one may as well get a nice one. The main question is about dropping a roots type blower on GM's 6.0L V8 or other performance options. Not 100% clear how they maintain the GM powertrain warranty as claimed by Explorer Vans, but, keep in mind GM will paint the van in other colors for Explorer vans because they buy enough of em or something...

I imagine some my age are also dealing with aging parents that claim the Golden Years ain't so Golden.

So building a mobility van with a wheelchair lift for a Vietnam Veteran. We were surprised that someone makes a 6" drop floor in a GMC/Chevy van. The drop floors were common in the Ford E series, but, now the E series is discontinued. (1500 1/2 ton GM vans are also discontinued.) The 6" drop floor allows one to ride their powerchair, wheel chair, into the van without banging your head on the door frame cutout. The VA helps pay for the mobility equipment. This said it's a GMC van that has the Explorer Conversion done than gets torn down by Rollx Vans and has the entire floor dropped 6" and then put back together again.

"You just got your ass handed to you by a Wheelchair van."

So starting out with:
341 hp @ 5400 rpm
373 lb-ft of torque @ 4200 rpm

Explorer offers (see PDF) a 385HP Sport (+45HP) computer upgrade option. I have questions about the high flow air filter and intake of course. SST muffler: yes.

Then $hit gets real as the decimal place moves over for a 525HP 2.3 Liter High Efficiency Intercooled Magnuson Supercharger system. Ported throttle body... 91 Octane fuel required, period.


In our hot weather I am not sure it will do so well supercharged. A 2002 5.3L I put a blower on didn't do so well until a cold morning. The owner put it sideways with the sudden power increase. It wasn't intercooled however. How much trouble am I asking for in the carnage thread?


Magnuson Supercharger:

2014-2019 Chevrolet Silverado HD, GMC Sierra HD 6.0L V8 TVS2300 Supercharger System

www.magnusonsuperchargers.com

Rollx wheelchair-vans.

New & Used Handicap + Wheelchair Accessible Minivans for Sale

Your Life. Your Ride

www.rollxvans.com

Explorer vans:

Chevy/GMC Builder - Explorer Van

This text area is not displayed.

www.explorervan.com

 

[MrMarty51]

Depending on the prices, it might be good to go with the GM 6.2 gas engine. I dont know the numbers on them for TQ and HP. My step son has that engine in his newer GMC pickup, I believe a 2015 or some such, that critter really scoots. LOL

 

[BIGR]

Depending on the prices, it might be good to go with the GM 6.2 gas engine. I dont know the numbers on them for TQ and HP. My step son has that engine in his newer GMC pickup, I believe a 2015 or some such, that critter really scoots. LOL

Might have mentioned before that my uncle has the 6.2 Liter gas engine in a late model GMC Denali. He says it has plenty of power, he kind of laughed at me when I suggested GM needed a bigger more powerful engine. He is a man that has always had fast cars and trucks all the way back to the 60s. Years ago he tuned up the engine on a 238 Detroit that was in a 1965 GMC truck tractor If I remember correctly. If I recall it correctly it was said that you could about see flames coming out of the stacks. He got caught running over 105 mph one night In that 65 GMC, by the Highway Patrol. I have often wondered how he has survived all these years he is about 76 now, but has calmed a bit on his driving. If he says the 6.2 Liter gas engine is strong I believe him.

 

[WarWagon]

The engine choices for vans are not that great. The 6.0L is a lone choice aside of an extremely light duty econo diesel and V6 gas econo engines. They don't put a V8 Duramax in vans anymore. Vans are more fleet driven thus watching TCO and MPG is a big part of that esp. with econo engines others offer in vans. I scratch my head over these engines asked to work too hard in 2500 and 3500 rigs.

Van Engine Options:

The standard 4.3L V6 engine with Direct Injection and Variable Valve Timing offers 276 horsepower and 298 lb.-ft. of torque and is paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission.

The available Vortec 6.0L V8 and an available 6.0L V8 alternative fuel option offer 341 horsepower and 373 lb.-ft. of torque. When towing or hauling, the available 6-speed automatic transmission that includes convenient shift controls and Automatic Grade Braking can automatically slow the van via the engine. Max towing 10,000 lbs.

Paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission, the available 2.8L Duramax® Turbo-Diesel 4-cylinder engine offers 181 horsepower, a robust 369 lb.-ft. of torque and maximum towing power of 6,300lbs

@BIGR Has your uncle tried any good and long Rocky Mountain Grades towing with his 6.2? Then he might understand why pickup diesels have reached the 1000 Ft lb mark and some still want a/the 8.1L big block gas engine alternative. The AC on and cooling fan sucking power is part of the desire. "Drinks gas" as the press or some others say is "Whining" over blew a diesel or replacing it's expensive emissions/injectors. At the speed some RV's pass you clearly MPG is NOT a concern to some. The PO of my 5er put 100K on a 8.1L pickup dragging the 5er all over the USA and warned me it was a heavy trailer because they couldn't pass a gas station. Something an in bed aux tank could have solved. No complaints about "power" with their 8.1L GM pickup...

 

[BIGR]

@WarWagon , my uncle is not towing much with that 6.2 Liter, GMC, mostly its a travel vehicle for interstate travel down south in Bama and Florida. His truck has never towed much more than a small trailer. He said once on a while he hauls some construction materials when he was building a house. He was not insinuating that there shouldn't be 450 hp, 1000 ft lb. Torque diesels, I think he was saying that the 6.2 Liter gas engine was plenty strong enough for a daily driver, lite towing truck. He has been in trucking and truck sales for over 50 years, he always liked to have the strongest truck when pulling grades.

Trust me, he could buy a fleet of diesel pick ups, he is a smart business man that's made a few dollars over the years, he busted his butt and earned it.

 

[WarWagon]

Anyway wondering about warming up a 6.0L. Although it's more a DD use, the "cargo" of a motorized wheelchair is significantly heavy. It's over the 1/2 ton range when family and stuff is loaded up.

@BIGR That makes sense. I have said before we managed a oilfield fleet of 600 1/2 ton pickups and most had the GM 4.3L V6 in them. Great for fleet low cost and good MPG. Great in reg cabs, but, a Dog in extended cabs. I won't even touch CAFE and how it limits our engine choices today.

 

[Will L.]

I can’t imagine you going wrong with the 6.0 - there is always turbo kits for it too that don’t kick in until under a load demanding it.
You have enough experience to know when a Big diesel is worth it,

 

[JayTheCPA]

Perhaps I missed this in the conversation, but what is the goal? Grocery getter / Dr's appointment shuttle? Or looking to combine mobility to the ability to haul for this veteran?

If hauling, focus on a v8. I have a friend with the 6.0 gasser / 6 speed in a Class B and is reporting 12 mpg when limiting speed to 55 mph on flatland's. I have used a 6.0 3/4 ton Burb to easily pull my ~8K# RV up / down 6% grades. While the 4-banger diesel might look appealing from a torque perspective, the small mill is going to make slowing the load a challenge.

If the goal is daily driver and *not* hauling, might look into a MV-1, but cannot tell whether AM General is going to make any more.

 

[WarWagon]

Again just entertaining ways to put a little excitement in a "van" and questioning if the 6.0L is something to leave alone or warm it up.

As it is GMC with the Explorer conversion will make it nice over a similar Chevy and way above the other FWD krap now out there. We even sat in a used under vehicle lift equipped RWD Mercedes Sprinter. Um... the (PC word: fuel efficient bus) Short Bus may be smaller than a Sprinter Van. Forget it for underground parking and for fitting in the garage. Big space for the AC to not work so well cooling out here. Mercedes be proud of their expensive parts and frankly it's not as nice as an Explorer conversion. (Explorer does, in fact, offer a Mercedes conversion, but, this used van wasn't one of them.) It was also black a really really really bad color choice for Phoenix in the summer.

@JayTheCPA A good question. This will be a DD, but, the passengers and their wheelchair "cargo" are significantly heavy. Eh, it likely will tow something at some point given our history... The MV-1: A very good suggestion. We have sat in one. Used, they are all used now and used is a concern as we can't work on our own stuff at this time. It lacks a passenger front seat. The powertrain is a spark plug spitting FORD. It's not in production and we are still "raw" over the lack of good parts for a "common as dirt" GMC Yukon let alone 6.5/6.2 engines. The powerchair doing a "burnout" hung up at the top of the MV-1 ramp into the van was a final nail...

Minivans do not have enough room for the family and all required accessories.

@Will L. Word is Explorer will build what you want including turbo on the 6.0L V8. Could be a use for a couple GMx turbo's...

 

[Will L.]

What price range does this go into?
Have you given thought to a model X tesla? The rear doors opening the way they do, remove the middle seats and plenty of room for wheel chair. Still have 4 seats (they seat 2+3+2).
The mpg and power are not even fair to compare. Cost is high up front, but money saved in fuel and maintenance offsets that over a few years.
Do regular 120v or better 240v charging at home and the free supercharger when convenient.

The triangle truck would probably make more sense, but really aren’t going to be available any time soon because the wait list is so high.

I have a sister with a couple rare medical problems, one of which her blood vessel don’t restrict right. So vibration makes her whole body feel like a waterbed with a 3 year old jumping on it. Her riding in my hummer is out. The suspension and overall ride is far better than any pickup or suburban Ive ever driven- but the 6.5 rattle and vibration of ends it for her in short order. Ex husband wanted a cummins while they were married but she couldn’t ride in it from the shake. The idea of getting her a tesla is dream theory except for cost -but would be ideal. She often goes between walking vs mobility chair, so her options are more on that aspect. I can’t say 100% a person could ride wheelchair into back of tesla, but sure looks big enough if 2 of the 3 middle seats were gone.

 

[JayTheCPA]

How about a Nissan van? The full-sized passenger ones with the V8. The passenger variant is the same as the cargo variant, but with windows. The cargo variant was designed specifically with the ability to load a pallet via forklift from either the rear or side doors and am not seeing why the passenger variant will not accept the same thing. The passenger variant allows for individual removal of 2nd row and rearward seats.

Prices of the Nissan van are reasonable and it can tow a little as well. Toward towing, it is a trade-off of payload versus trailer as the combined weight is the limiting factor.

Only possible downsides to the Nissan van are that it is RWD only and it has a relatively small fuel tank. The RWD issue is fixable by Quigley. Have yet to see where anybody came up with a solution to the small tank.

 

[btfarm]

....Only possible downsides to the Nissan van are that it is RWD only and it has a relatively small fuel tank....

And the fact it is butt ugly...

 

[JayTheCPA]

Like the 6.5 is in a bunch of glamor machines???