Recently, the peak output figures of General Motors’ new 6.6-liter L5P Duramax truck engine were leaked, revealing that the turbocharged diesel mill will be capable of producing up to 445 horsepower and 910 lb-ft of torque when it finds its way into the automaker’s Heavy Duty (HD) truck models for 2017.
Why Should Ford Fans Care?
For those who’ve hitched their carts to Ford’s F-Series Super Duty, the leaked numbers are relevant because they mean that the 2017 Chevrolet Silverado HD (and mechanically-identical GMC Sierra HD) won’t quite be able to touch the class-leading 925 lb-ft of torque made by Ford’s 6.7-liter Power Stroke turbo-diesel, even after the Duramax’s fresh redesign. The Ford Power Stroke may be short 5 horsepower relative to the GM mill, but torque is generally the more important number for those looking to use their trucks to do “truck” things – towing and hauling, and such.
GM’s new L5P Duramax, like Ford’s new 6.7L Power Stroke, is a turbocharged V8 diesel engine built for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. GM’s design partner for the Duramax family is Japanese company Isuzu; the new Power Stroke is the first to be designed and built by Ford, with support from Austrian automotive consulting firm AVL.
The Ford Power Stroke’s 440 HP/925 lb-ft and the GM L5P Duramax’s 445 horsepower/910 lb-ft relegate the Ram 2500/3500 HD and its available Cummins diesel I6 to third in the medium-duty segment in terms of both power and torque. The Ram diesel previously let the pack in torque output with 900 lb-ft.
(Source: GM Authority)
Comments
The new Duramax has the peak torque at 1600 rpm and that is 200 lower than the Power Stroke. It also is equal to the PS in lb/ft per liter. 138 on both.
Soo, the lower rpm peak torque means a more raw power. And as Gale Bank is writing on FB.
“There’s some head room on these power numbers, we’ve been getting serious with this engine for more than a year now and the foundation is there for much more. This L5P, she’s built !”
Will have to wait and see how both trucks compare head to head. It’s the whole package that matters.
For the past few years, the Duramax has performed slightly better in towing tests than the Powerstroke, despite it’s lower displacement and hp/torque ratings. It will be interesting to see how the two stack up now.
Please observe that only GM LP5 is certified according to the standard SAE J1349
This is the best standad to compare with normal driving conditions. Ford is not certified according to this and may exclude servopumps a s o in their testing. I think that´s why GM shows better results in bumper to bumper tests.
I didn´t call Ford a cheater but high figures sells.
The fact that the LP5 peak torque comes already at 1600 rpm means “Raw power”