The Chevy Silverado is one of the most popular full-size pickup trucks made in America. The model comes in various trim levels with a variety of options. One option you may want to consider is a Chevrolet Silverado Duramax to take advantage of the benefits of a diesel engine.
If you’re thinking of buying a Chevy Duramax as your next diesel truck, here are five things you should know.
When you look at the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado options, you’ll note that the configurations with the 3.0L Duramax Turbo-Diesel I6 engine all come with 10-speed automatic transmissions. This is important to be aware of, as some drivers may have a specific preference for a manual transmission. This, unfortunately, won’t be an option.
However, if you’re happy with an automatic transmission in your diesel truck, you’ll be satisfied with this option.
The 2021 Chevrolet Silverado has three configurations with a Duramax diesel engine:
Read about: The difference between Duramax vs Powerstroke vs Cummins
You’ll want to consider how much passenger space you need and how much bed space you want. It must be noted here that if you’re looking for a regular cab and long bed, your only options are gas-powered engines.
Diesel engines tend to get higher fuel economy due to the way the fuel combusts. While gasoline is a light fuel that must be mixed with air and ignited with a spark, diesel is heavier and can be ignited through compression alone.
The Chevy Duramax Silverado is no exception. While the fuel mileage will vary depending on which specific configuration you choose, the 2WD with Duramax gets an estimated 23 MPG highway and 33 MPG in the city.
The Duramax diesel engine gets a lot of miles between refills. On a full tank, you can expect to get up to 682 miles of fuel range for highway travel. For perspective, this means you could drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco (633 miles) on a single tank of diesel.
Read about: Should I Rebuild Or Replace My Blown Diesel Engine
Aside from the size of the tank and the general fuel efficiency of diesel, the Duramax has precision fuel metering and improved exhaust tuning, which help the engine operate more efficiently.
The Chevy Duramax engine is a result of precision engineering and a focus on performance. The well-balanced inline-six-cylinder design and the hypereutectic aluminum pistons allow for smooth operation. In short, this thing performs well because a lot of thought was put into developing the best 3.0L diesel engine possible.
While the Duramax is well-engineered, there are always tweaks you could do to make it even better. For example, high-quality aftermarket head studs are a great upgrade over the factory head bolts. TrackTech offers a variety of racing fasteners and head studs, including a good selection for the Chevy Duramax.
The Silverado is Chevy’s most popular pickup truck for good reason. It offers a great everyday driving experience, while still having plenty of hauling, towing, and passenger capacity. Paring the Silverado with the Chevy Duramax diesel engine will allow you to take advantage of superior performance, efficiency, and fuel economy.