2004 3/4 ton Suburban with the Big Block 8.1

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

Nomadac wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

Actually, the small block puts out more HP than the big block.

Yes but less torque and lower Max. trailer weight capacity and a 1500(1/2 ton) vs. 2500(3/4 ton) model. Bigger suspension, brakes, tires, etc.
If I recall the 6.0L only had a 9,000 towing rating vs. my 12,000 rating.

I always felt that torque was a key vs HP in towing. For ex. my Cummins ISC is 350 HP but 1080 ft. Lbs.torque w/Allison 3000MH 6 spd. moving my 29K MH.

You might feel that torque was the key vs HP in towing but Caterpillar disagrees with you. And when Caterpillar disagrees with you, so will I. :B No truck or tractor maker in the world talks about torque to the wheels. They talk about HP.

If you think about it, it's silly to say torque is the key to a good towing experience. I can take a Briggs 5 horse power engine and make it put out pretty much any amount of torque to the wheels I want with gears. If the engine puts out 10 ft/lbs of torque at the crank and I want to make 20 ft/lbs at the wheels I just put a 2 to 1 gear on it and wala, 20 ft/lbs of torque to the wheels! If I want to go from 5 to 10 HP, then there is a problem. No way to make more HP with gears.

I have a truck with factory 200 HP and 425 ft/lbs of torque (more torque than most of the super towing gasoline engines of today.) It tows great on the flats; in the mountains............errr........... not so good; unless you think 30 MPH with a 7 K trailer at WOT is a good towing experience. :R

What does make for a good towing experience is good to great HP with a flat torque curve. Fortunately for us RV'ers that pretty much describes a lot if not most engines made today for towing.

BTW, for those of you that talked about a 6 speed Allie in a Burb. They never put an 8.1/6 speed Allie in a Burb. It didn't fit.

From what I remember the Chevy trucks with the big block had a higher tow rating than the trucks with a small block of any year. HP of these two engines were generally close, but the torque numbers is what set them apart. Perhaps GM disagree's with you as well?

A lot of things go into the tow rating of a truck Troy.

Tell you what. You take my 200 HP diesel with 425 ft/lbs of torque and I will take a 360 HP LS. We will put a 1000 bucks on who is going to be at the top of the hill faster.