GM Silverado/Sierra 1500 2.7 GTDI Inline 4?

I have zero idea how they are/how they’ll do longterm, but I’ve driven one. Pretty peppy. I owned a 2018 Silverado with the 5.3 AFM...that had good power and believe it or not, I averaged 25 mpg in that thing when I owned it (52,000 miles). I’m talking averaged, not once in a while on the highway. Now, my commute was a lot of highway, easy driving, no towing, no city, no stop and go. Lot of backroads and highway doing 68-70 mpg, but I thought 25 mpg was fantastic. And I swear I could have averaged 26 if I didn’t have to drive through cold freezing weather five months out of the year. The cold weather always hurt my mileage.
 
Looking at the specs, it appears that it would feel much like transplanting a Ford 2.3 from the Mustang (3,600 lbs.) into a 4,900 lb. truck, as a reference. What most people probably won't consider is that this is all they really need to do what I always see them doing....slugging back and forth to work, and picking up the kids from school. Much like most Mustang fans, there's going to be the "trucks gots ta have a V-8" crowd. I'll be interested to see the take rate on this engine.
 

Attachments

  • 2.7.JPG
    2.7.JPG
    56.2 KB · Views: 40
It's a cool concept IMO. I don't know anyone with one and I don't really understand what the advantage would be unless it was a bargain to buy or can average ~30mpg tank to tank. That's a lot of power being wrung out of a 4cyl engine, so I'm sure it's not going to last forever nor be cheap to fix.

Like said, from a fuel economy standpoint, today's V6 and V8 pickups do phenomenally well for the size, configuration and weight of the vehicle.
 
Looking at the specs, it appears that it would feel much like transplanting a Ford 2.3 from the Mustang (3,600 lbs.) into a 4,900 lb. truck, as a reference. What most people probably won't consider is that this is all they really need to do what I always see them doing....slugging back and forth to work, and picking up the kids from school. Much like most Mustang fans, there's going to be the "trucks gots ta have a V-8" crowd. I'll be interested to see the take rate on this engine.
I see the horsepower and torque numbers at 5600rpm. Whats the number comparison at say 2500-2800 where you are towing in top gear?
 
So, Id like to see this engine succeed. The low end torque of a turbo engine really is a delight to me for truck work, towing. Ya figure, the crank and the bottom end is the same as it would be in a v8.... five bearings and 4 conrod journals. The conrods and the pistons obviously have to be beefed up, but it shouldnt be that hard... diesels handle this kind of pressure every day. Bean-cutting would be a problem but hopefully the engineers prevail.

i do hear the 4 cyl ecoboost explorers on the road, so theres hope for the chevy 4T. One thing ford did right, which i think would be key, is that ecoboost 4 felt insanely well balanced. Like, when it needed to rev to make power, it absolutely did, but it was so free of drama to be fun, rather than a nuisance. It would spin up, do what it needed to do, then get out of the way. Smooth, precise, no fooling around. Ive ridden in hondas that were not nearly as refined, and thats saying something. if chevy can pull that off, IMO that will be key. Its got to work, and work well, or people will be immediately polarized against it- it already has an upfill battle in a full-size truck.
 
I have zero idea how they are/how they’ll do longterm, but I’ve driven one. Pretty peppy. I owned a 2018 Silverado with the 5.3 AFM...that had good power and believe it or not, I averaged 25 mpg in that thing when I owned it (52,000 miles). I’m talking averaged, not once in a while on the highway. Now, my commute was a lot of highway, easy driving, no towing, no city, no stop and go. Lot of backroads and highway doing 68-70 mpg, but I thought 25 mpg was fantastic. And I swear I could have averaged 26 if I didn’t have to drive through cold freezing weather five months out of the year. The cold weather always hurt my mileage.
I currently own a 2018 Silverado-and the mpg figures that can be obtained by that motor (on the highway)are really quite good-and best almost all other trucks.
 
With equivalent fuel economy, I'd still opt for the 5.3 just to avoid the complexity and potential problems of a turbo (rebuild, heat/coking, etc). The small block Chevy is a great engine and will last nearly forever with basic care. Sorry to say that I doubt a 4-cylinder turbo will last so long with so few problems. Newer is usually better but not always. My brain wonders what is the difference in emissions between the two.
 
I see the horsepower and torque numbers at 5600rpm. Whats the number comparison at say 2500-2800 where you are towing in top gear?
Gratuitously stolen from TFL. Or google for a different one.

Looks like you have all the torque you could want. Looks like it is tuned to be 348 from 1,500 to 4k. So 348 would be 165hp -- but of course, at WOT it won't be lugging down, not sure how much hp would really be available at 2,500rpm while going down the road, the transmission is going to downshift.

i4.PNG
 
With equivalent fuel economy, I'd still opt for the 5.3 just to avoid the complexity and potential problems of a turbo (rebuild, heat/coking, etc). The small block Chevy is a great engine and will last nearly forever with basic care. Sorry to say that I doubt a 4-cylinder turbo will last so long with so few problems. Newer is usually better but not always. My brain wonders what is the difference in emissions between the two.
I dunno. Didn't we all say the same thing when Ford came out with the 3.5 EB? And then wrung our hands twice more with the 2.7's?
 
Yes those EB engines have held up well, but still they are much more complex than a regular V8. And while the 2.7 and 3.5 V6 EB engines are overbuilt for longevity purposes, they are not 4-cylinder turbos doing the work of a V8. All else being equal, the V6 platform has much more performance potential. Not a fair comparison to the GM 4cyl turbo in the original post.
 
Looking up the fuely.com data, it shows 17MPG as the average for the Chevy 2.7L 4 cylinder over the last 3 years. A similarly equipped 2wd Crew Cab Ford 150 with the EB 2.7 shows 19MPG.

I have a 2018 F150 the 2.7EB engine in a crew cab 4x4 and get 19MPG if I beat on it. 21 being easy on it.
 
Back
Top