V6 power upgrades

2019 Sierra Me · July 27, 2019

Is there anything that one can do to these little engines to get even more

HP than the stock GM set up. ???Seams pretty close already to the old 4.8 in my 2008 Silverado. ????

Dmscarfd57 · July 27, 2019

Swap the motor for a 6.2!

2019 Sierra Me · July 31, 2019

Imcrazy · July 31, 2019

Yes, check the 5.3L box on the option sheet, it's much cheaper than messing around with mods on the v6... Not sure what the up-charge is on the T1's but, the K2's it was only $800 BEFORE incentives....

I've had two K2 trucks, first one was a 4.3L Sierra, I looked at quite a few options for performance upgrades and eventually realized there just wasn't much out there for the 4.3 in the way of performance mods... If you think about it there is no logical reason to offer perf. upgrades for the engine when it's intended to be strictly a fuel economy mill... It's like asking about a CIA, headers & Exhaust for your Prius, there is no demand so there is no supply...

UncleDave · August 8, 2019

I think the V6 is plenty for 90% of the use a typical half-ton pickup is going to see. You could always add a supercharger, but that would cost way more than the $1000 premium for a 5.3, and a boosted engine may not last as long as an NA. One reason why I wouldn't buy a turbo'ed truck if I intended to work it hard and often (diesels excepted).

I've always been a V8 guy, with very few exceptions. Other than my old heavily modded Grand National, I would only buy V8's in any new vehicle. I've had two 5.7 Hemi 6sp Challengers, 5.7 Hemi Ram 1500, 4.6L Mustang GT, etc etc. Then I grew up (well, not completely, LOL). I borrowed a friend's 2008 Silverado 4.8 whenever I needed a truck (until I got the Ram), and that thing handled every task with no trouble at all.

One car that changed my perspective on things was the Gen 1 Chevy Volt. I live less than 5 miles from the office, there is free charging in the parking garage, and at the time gas was well over $3/gal. The Volt made perfect economical sense and it payed for itself; I never used gas during the week, and my fuel savings over the Ram were enough to make the car payments! That left more money available for fun things. But the biggest surprise was that, even at a rated 140HP, the max torque on an electric begins at 0 RPM. That heavy little golf cart of a car could outpace my Challenger 0-30, at which point the Challenger would rocket away into the sunset. But as life continues and needs change, I find myself wanting/needing a truck again, and this time economics are the main factor. I wanted the least expensive 4x4 with back seat that I could find.

When I was researching the 2019's I saw that the 4.3 EcoTec3 had only 10HP less (285 vs 295), and exactly the same torque (305), as that old 4.8. My typical use will be commuting, hauling around household items, and maybe towing a small utility trailer on rare occasions. If the old 4.8 could handle everything with ease, the V6 should be perfectly adequate for my use.

Bottom line is, if you rarely if ever need to work the truck to its capacity, the base V6 should be more than adequate. But if there's a possibility you might need to work it near capacity more than a few times, you'd probably be better off with a more powerful V8 to begin with. JM2C.