2020 Chevy Silverado Diesel vs World's Toughest Towing Test - Can It Get The Best Ike Score Ever? 

This Silverado was only towing 7600 lbs but the Ecodiesel towed 8700 lbs. Is that a fair comparison? How is this Silverado even eligible for the contest when it's towing over 1,000 lbs less than the the other trucks?

@@yogiyoda What does it even matter. It is what it is...not everything has to be a Brand compition. I enjoy the videos for what they are. 🙂

Bob Allen I would like to see the difference in sport mode and normal with the same run 🏃‍♀️

@@deltadcrouse interesting thought but not applicable for towing. I'd like to see it for everyday driving thou. Plus more fuel mileage comparisons. These guys do make the videos entertaining. 🙂

Bob Allen um, seems like scoring things and giving medals makes it a competition. They even mentioned the ecodiesel’s score in this very video.

Not just cruise. You have to use the brake pedal. The software is trying to make you not have to think about it and so you have to use the brake pedal. I can get mine to downshift and you can feel the exhaust brake kick in. The way TFL does their test (60 to 50), won't always activate it. But once it's active, it will keep the RPMs high until you touch the accelerator pedal again. I think it probably works for most people (grocery getters + towing on the weekend) but I would really prefer to have more control over it like they offer on the HDs.

Or all manufacturers for that matter.

I think that is to help the dealers sell us stuff we don't want, often only a specific optioned truck will have the max advertised towing capability. It is all to easy to get lost on the confusing endless options lists; meaning usually the ugly single cab dually only available in white.

The weight is the gvwr minus the payload, it's nice to have but you really don't need one

I agree. Sure is a nice looking truck too.

There's more to that sticker than that. My 2019 Silverado has one and I think it's a great idea that should be emulated by every other manyfacturer. And I'm sure it will be within the next few years.

Thanks

PAY ATTENTION!!! This is not some subject assessment. Whenever I tow downhill (GMC 6.6 DMAX) using the cruise control has a definitive and positive impact on engine braking. This Needs To Be Done!

Agee, I pulled my 8k lb camper over this pass w/ my 2014 5.3 and didn’t have to touch the brake by running the cruse. Use the cruse on the downhill!

But, is the cruise control then applying the breaks as well?

@@fifthcircle1 No it only uses engine, transmission and exhaust to slow the truck.

Great feed back!

Right. This Silverado was only towing 7600 lbs but the Ecodiesel towed 8700 lbs. Is that a fair comparison? How is this Silverado even eligible for the contest when it's towing over 1,000 lbs less than the the other trucks?

I thought the Ram had better numbers on the sound and more trailer weight. Guess the had to give the Chevy a break??😂😂😂

03 SVT Cobra I would also be interested in the ten to see if it is shift happy

Not liking the next generation that's why I bought a 18 High Country 6.2L. The 10 speed did absolutely nothing to improve MPG and apparently has issues already like the 8 speed. I test drove both seen no difference. GM pull your socks up please.

Anthony Macneil My 2017 LTZ Z71 6.2 got slightly better fuel economy then my 19 does. I had zero complaints with my 2017 but my new 19 seems to tow better with the 10 speed and the infotainment is leaps and bounds better. Hoping this one will be trouble free like the last.

The newer 8speeds are a lot better since they reformulated the trans fluid at the beginning of the year.

This or using cruise control. I can tell judging my 3.0s behavior in a downhill vs what they show on here they aren't even getting the exhaust brake and related down shifts to engage at all.

Or its a perfect excuse to stretch your legs and check your load.

I agree. 30-35 gallons would be about right imo.

@@danatkinson6698 I'd rather choose when I want to stretch my legs, rather than have the truck tell me I need to when that might not be the case (or when a better gas station, vista point or notable landmark are just another 50 miles to go).

@@TheMEXICANBEEF agreed. My Tacoma has a 21.5 gallon tank. For a full size to only eek out another .5 gallons is pretty sorry. I'd at the very least was 25-27 at a minimum. 30+ would be great.

@@ALMX5DP that's when you trip plan for these things so you can choose where you want to stop.

What’s the temperature inside? Need to cover the rad to get more heat? Any city mpg?

Untill you hook it to a trailer and get 250miles on a tank #fail

If you can get 12 mpg towing.

@@brentvance3958 that's exactly what they got on there towing loop on flat ground.

@@jamespenner1412 Well for 3 mounts of the year towing, still not an issue!

Trevor Lahey he's not! Just bought mine on Tuesday. Has 146 miles on it today. It blew green crap all over the engine. It blew out the engine dip stick and is leaking oil. It's also smoking and has to be towed to the dealer. 🤷‍♂️

indeed

Almost certain that GMC has far more engine braking (especially in Tow mode) when tied to the Cruise Control. I do wish these guys would address this. It's almost unfair to evaluate something based on how you use it and not how it was designed to be used.

They do have other videos on this truck that show that. They just don’t show that in every video.

The Chevrolet is quieter than the ram

Dan Atkinson - I’m liking this Chevy! I never keep a personal pickup long enough to care about the longevity,,,,,,,,,,, means I like almost everything! Haha

This engine is very quiet. You have to be outside the truck with the hood open in order to tell the difference between it and a direct injection gas motor.

Also if you are using a tablet or your phone to watch the video, put on some good headphones (Bose etc. ). You can hear the engine note at 3 to 3.5k rpm. Sounds really nice.

Agreed, my diesel Canyon has the same tow rating. Although I'd rather pull that amount of weight on a full size. It's surprising that adding 4x4 increases the towing capacity on this one by 1700 lbs

@@BrandonHughes This might be the effect of the tall rear axle on the test truck. A shorter axle ratio would help overall towing capacity.

It’s because it has 3.23 gears in it.

This Silverado was only towing 7600 lbs but the Ecodiesel towed 8700 lbs. Is that a fair comparison? How is this Silverado even eligible for the contest when it's towing over 1,000 lbs less than the the other trucks?

GM doesn't currently offer their max tow package on the 1500 diesel. The 5.3L and 6.2L gain 2500-3000lbs to their rating with it.

Tahoe and Suburban would be amazing with this engine/trans combo.

@@trp2413 All 3.0L I6 Duramaxes have 3.23:1 axle ratio and 10-speed transmission, for 2020 model year anyway. I too am wondering why the 4WDs have so much higher tow rating and GCWR than the 2WDs.

@Zesty Meatballs The max tow package comes with lower axle ratio. The 2wd currently has 3.23 ratio but the 4x4 3.0L diesel has 3.42 and can already tow 2000lbs more than this truck they tested. Max tow also has larger coolers which I'm sure the dodge already is utilizing to get a higher tow rating. Power wise the dodge has 260hp@3600rpm and peak torque 480lb-ft@1600rpm dropping off from that point. It's also backed with an 8 speed auto. The 3L duramax has 277hp@3750rpm and 460lb-ft from 1500-3000RPM with 95% of that available at a low 1250rpm. Backed by a 10 speed auto. So you somehow think 20lbft of torque gains 4000lb+ to the tow rating for dodge?

@Zesty Meatballs The GM 6.2l gas engine is only rated to tow slightly more than 9000lbs with the same gearing as this truck. With the max tow package installed with its included lower gearing, it tows 12,000lbs.

closer ratios certainly do effect towing, less rpm change between gears keeps the engine more in its sweet spot. still haven't addressed any reason the dodge can tow more than the Chevy with dodges less useable power? Just a claim chevys somehow engineered for mpg, even though it clearly makes its torque over a much broader rpm range. Only thing possible that's different is cooling.

Reason why it tows much less is because of too much heat. The reason was to chase MPG over max tow. They chose to alter emissions exhaust architecture to achieve this! Emissions equipment was packaged very small and close to the exhaust manifold. This allows exhaust to run hotter than conveniental designs, specifically reducing the need for post fuel injection which slips fuel pass the compression stroke to burn off soot build up in the DPF for a hotter exhaust will reduces soot build up, thus mpg improvent can be made since fuel wasting is reduced over standard emissions intact configuration. Duramax EGT's can't go over 1560F before it de-rates via de-dueling to protect the engine from too much heat. High temps can literally melt pistons. If they stick with their exhaust emissions design they will have to drastically cool intake temps much greater than normal to tow the same weight. I'm not sure if larger intercooler can do it alone... Most address high EGT's with deleting which they can't do, or pairing higher capacity intercooler, compound turbos, and high flow intake elbows. These approaches drop EGT's by ~300F. Making max power for a Dyno certificate is not the same as sustainable max towing power with acceptable heat tolerance. This is the same issue with Dyno/Dragstrip bragging rights vs real world work!

Harlan Durant I bet so. The 10 speed learns your driving habits and it changes shifting a lot.

It doesn't make sense to use a timing chain up to the cams and a belt down to the oil pump. Why not use a chain? belts are typically used to make a quieter engine, but all of that is lost when your using a chain in the same location. Besides being mounted on the backside any noise they create is much closer to the cabin. At least it has 150,000 mile service intervals. Probably beyond what most people will even own the truck.

@@hogrod , definitely don't buy a higher mileage used one.

Why not skip the chains and use gears like a Cummins? 🤔

True, It’s crazy, but if the price is ~$600 or less then I don’t mind paying since i will perform all the routine maintenance myself! If it is priced at $1k or higher then forget it!

craig contofalsky all I know is whaveter you critical dicks say that is a huge problem is never actually a problem. Are you saying chains are perfect without flaws??

I can tell you exactly why it was such a poor showing. I have a 3500 Duramax and the exhaust brake will not engage unless two criteria are met. 1.) The brakes are pressed. 2.) The cruise is set. If they would set the cruise at 50mph, the truck will try to maintain that speed by downshifting and exhaust brake engagement. Simply trying to coast down the hill will not engage the grade holding algorithms.

@@genek121973 They've tested the GM HD pickups on this test without cruise, and the truck was able to hold it's speed on the slope. I have a GMC Canyon with an exhaust brake, and it works just fine without cruise as well. It also holds the speed well going down hill. Applying the brake pedal it does more for sure, but with no brakes the exhaust brake and grade shift does a good job holding speed for me

@@BrandonHughes you're correct that the HD was able to hold the load on the test but, that was after one brake application. Once they hit the brakes it downshifted and set the exhaust brake. Not to mention the HD trucks have a much larger turbo and more aggressive exhaust brake. Do me a favor next time you're towing and on a downhill. Set the cruise and see what the difference is. I haul for a living with my Duramax and have tested every scenario you could think of. With the cruise series by far the best results.

@@genek121973 I believe you. I use cruise all the time and see it holding it's speed well going up and hills . They never use cruise on these tests though, and some trucks have done very well holding their speed without cruise. Maybe it would better with cruise, but I'd hate to rely on cruise for effective speed hold going down hill, ya know?

@@BrandonHughes I understand your apprehension at depending on cruise but, it seems to work best. I've been doing it for over 750k miles in my current 2011 Duramax and have never had an issue. It was a little nerve wracking the first time my rpms went all the way up to 4500 though.

I would say an issue with the trucks computer for the trans. My ‘04 Dmax with Allison down shifts aggressively with one or two brake applications, sometimes just touching the brakes with no actual brake action. One or two gears depending on where it started. Actually downshifts shifts past redline when needed, near 3800 rpm. So the trans didn’t look like it downshifted at all. Steep angle down and brake applications should command a control shift. Some issue with the TCM parameters is to blame.

The colorado is the minimax, this one is more like the middlemax

@@fc3sluis thanks man!

Does that mean that if Ford put a small diesel in the Ranger it could be nicknamed the mini-stroke? Hehe😁

Salty Steel Ok

Good choice,to bad the rust will eat the body away

No need to shift. First, I don't think they turned the brake on. It doesn't turn on with tow haul mode, there is a separate switch. Either tap the brakes to engage it or set the cruise at 50 and the brake will handle the rest.

Break? What broke? They didn’t have a clue on how to use the exhaust brake.

drvncw drvncw We bringing it back, same with the Mullet

Gretchen Roach So I need an instruction manual to do something that should be automatic? No thanks.

@@mikek5298 no manual is needed, you just learned it from my comment. It's pretty simple. Your welcome

Doesn't the 3.0 Duramax make peak torque (460 lb-ft ) at 1500 rpm?

What "GM V8 diesel" are you referring to which makes 160 peak HP at 3,600 rpm from 285 lb*ft peak torque at 2,000 rpm?? The old 6.2L Detroit from the late 80s? The new 3.0L I6 diesel being reviewed in this video has 460 lb*ft peak torque at 1,500 rpm making 277 peak HP at 3,750 rpm.

TheGreazmonky I agree especially being 2wd. Was hoping a little better $.

Stephen Zerfas and it’s only extended cab not crew! You’d be around $55,000 easily. Yikes!

Great a perfect built in catastrophic failure a belt drive oil pump.

80f250 when I saw that I shit a brick Toyota has the same engine layout in their new Supra but used a chain to drive the oil pump. GM screwed that bit up

@Joey Rossini you clearly don't know what your talking about the new Chevy diesel straight six oil pump is belt driven !

@Joey Rossini  2020 CHEVROLET SILVERADO’S NEW, ADVANCED 3.0L DURAMAX TURBO-DIESEL REDEFINES EXPECTATIONS No-compromise engine delivers refinement, performance and efficiency 2019-06-03 Print| Email| Word| Add This| DETROIT - The all-new 2020 Chevrolet Silverado’s available 3.0L Duramax inline-six turbo-diesel engine adds choice and versatility for full-size truck customers, offering class-leading torque and horsepower in addition to focusing on fuel economy and capability. It is the first-ever inline-six turbo-diesel offered in Chevrolet’s full-size light-duty trucks. Chevrolet engineers started with a clean-sheet design and developed an all-new engine that leverages the efficiency and refinement advantages of the inline six-cylinder architecture and incorporates advanced combustion and emissions technologies to optimize performance and efficiency. It is priced identically to the 6.2L V-8 as a $2,495 premium over a 5.3L V-8 model or $3,890 over a 2.7L Turbo model. “From the moment the engine is started, to its idle, acceleration and highway cruising, the 3.0L Duramax performance will change perceptions of what a diesel engine can offer in refinement,” said Nicola Menarini, director for Diesel Truck Engine Program Execution. “With advanced technologies that draw on global diesel expertise, it’s a no-compromise choice for those who want the capability and driving range of a diesel in a light-duty truck.” Available on LT, RST, LTZ and High Country models, the 3.0L Duramax diesel rounds out the new Silverado’s range of six propulsion choices, each tailored to suit customers’ needs for performance, efficiency, technology and value. It is rated at an SAE-certified 277 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque delivering 95 percent of peak torque at just 1,250 rpm. Peak torque is sustained from 1,500 rpm through 3,000 rpm, providing a powerfully smooth and satisfying driving experience. The 3.0L Duramax is paired with GM’s 10L80 10-speed automatic transmission, featuring a centrifugal pendulum absorber torque converter that reduces vibrations to improve smoothness, reinforcing its performance, efficiency and refinement. This combination also offers exhaust braking, which uses the diesel engine’s compression to help slow the vehicle, requiring fewer brake applications by the driver when in Tow Haul mode. Innovative Engine Technologies The inline six-cylinder architecture offers inherent efficiency and refinement, but the team expanded with smart technology choices to help improve efficiency and weight while optimizing the truck experience. A lightweight aluminum block and cylinder head reduce overall mass, and Active Thermal Management enhances efficiency and cold-weather warm-up. Ceramic glow plugs also help with shorter heat-up times and a quicker cold start, meaning the engine block heater is not needed until -22 degrees F. Towing is an important part of owning a truck, and customers can gain additional confidence thanks to the exhaust brake available in tow-haul mode. The water charge air cooler, coupled with low pressure EGR, reduces time to torque. The variable geometry turbocharger helps provide a greater balance of performance and efficiency, and an electronically variable intake manifold helps optimize performance across the rpm band. Inherently efficient and balanced Compared to a DOHC V-6, the inline-six architecture offers greater efficiency from the reduced friction of operating only two camshafts and their associated valvetrain components. The I6 configuration offers the perfect balance of primary and secondary forces, without the need for balancing shafts. “In addition to reduced friction, the architecture enables smooth operation,” Menarini said. “The new Duramax 3.0L elevates the 2019 Silverado with one of the most refined and efficient diesel engines in the segment.” Along with supporting elements such as a tuned air induction system and other noise-attenuating elements, the 3.0L Duramax delivers exceptional quietness and smoothness at all engine speeds. All-aluminum construction and tough rotating assembly The 3.0L Duramax cylinder block is made of a cast aluminum alloy that provides the strength required to support the high combustion pressures that occur within a diesel engine, while also offering an approximately 25 percent mass savings over a comparable cast iron engine block. Iron cylinder liners are used within the aluminum block to insure truck durability. There are seven nodular iron main bearing caps that help ensure the block’s strength under those high combustion pressures, while also enabling accurate location of the rotating assembly. A deep-skirt block design, where the block casting extends below the crankshaft centerline, also contributes to the engine’s stiffness and refinement. It’s complemented by a stiffness-enhancing aluminum lower crankcase extension attached to the main bearing caps. The rotating assembly consists of a forged steel crankshaft, forged steel connecting rods and hypereutectic aluminum pistons. The alloys in the respective castings for the rods and pistons make them lightweight and durable. Silicon is blended with the aluminum for heat resistance and tolerance within the piston cylinders, which enhances performance and makes the engine quiet. A thick piston crown - the top of the piston - and reinforced top ring add strength to support the tremendous cylinder pressures enabled by turbocharging and the engine’s high 15.0:1 compression ratio. DOHC Cylinder Head and Rear Cam Drive Overhead camshafts offer a direct, efficient means of operating the valves, while four valves per cylinder activated by maintenance-free finger followers with hydraulic lash adjusters increase airflow in and out of the engine. This arrangement is integrated on the Duramax 3.0L’s lightweight aluminum cylinder head, which is topped with a lightweight composite cam cover that incorporates the crankcase ventilation and oil separation systems. A pair of lightweight, assembled camshafts actuates 28.35 mm diameter (1.12-inch) intake and 24.55 mm diameter (0.97-inch) exhaust valves. The camshaft drivetrain is uniquely located at the rear (flywheel side) of the engine, for greater refinement and packaging considerations for the comparatively long inline-six. A crankshaft-driven chain drives the high-pressure direct-injection fuel pump, while a chain driven by the fuel pump drives both intake and exhaust camshafts. A smaller belt drives the variable flow oil pump from the crankshaft.

Because it has plenty of power, super fun and torquey off the line and I’m getting 25mpg in the city. 🤷‍♂️

Fuel economy would be the biggest factor I would think. Good to have options. I love the 6.2 10 spd combo in my Sierra AT4 and wouldn’t want the diesel but that’s just me. I’m still glad they’re are offering the diesel.

If you get the Diesel off-road package it comes with the 3.73 axle.

They could do that and it would work better... but they test every truck in full auto for an apples to apples comparison

@@BrandonHughes ya good idea

Ty for being smart... dumbasses still think diesels are the most reliable and powerful option...

@Andy Pedro pre that too since egr was required in 03... plus any diesel truck prior 03 are stupid inflated on their prices.

Get over your hatred for DEF. It allows the engine to be tuned for higher efficiency. It will have higher engine-out NOx, but the SCR system will clean that up with the DEF. Previous engines that used only EGR for NOx control were pigs.

Just delete it.

@@andyharman3022 I agree that emissions are important and its incredible how low we have gotten emissions on diesels, but using precious metals that cost a pretty penny on a truck that's just used for daily driving

1100 lbs to be exact.

The only thing I can think of is that the engine is so light that there isn’t enough weight in the front with the trailer pushing down in the back

I was actually confused about this too. Only thing I can think of is the 4wd gets 3.42's standard?

Think it’s the differential this is only running a 3.23 compared to the 4wd with 3.43. In general though most 2wd trucks will tow more due to less weight from not having a 4x4 system.

@@NWI_Steel You have to order max trailer package to get 3:42's and only available with the gas.