At the end of the day, a 4.8L super/turbo charged motor would probably work for a lot of us in a HD DOT Class 2 rig, ie 8401-10,000 lbs gvwr. This would pull upwards of 10K at speeds many of us would be happy with. There is always those that if you can not go 80 mph on a 5% grade you do not have enough hp....but if one is going 45-50-55 in a 60 mph mtn pass region, we are happy!
Fit this with a 6-8 sp tranny, you have more than enough gearing to keep the motor in a decent rpm range. Decent fuel mileage when empty. For those in construction "JUST" moving the truck around with 1.5-2 tons of tools or equal in the bed. PLENTY of power. In fact many of the non inducted larger V6 motors have plenty of power with 250-275 hp and 300-350 lb ft of torque if geared properly between the trans and rear axel.
For those of you pulling 15-20K lbs. Engine will be too small, low in power. I'm quite happy with my vortec 350 that is 255/330 in hp torque specs. In fact, the 81 GMC I had with a 105HP 292 I6 for the most part, was ample for what that trucks purpose was.
Lets get off the high horse of one needs 350-400+ hp in a >8600 gvwr rig. Who cares of forced inducted vs non. BOTH styles of motors have a place in peoples lives that used this style truck.
Marty
