With DoD 5.3L V8's getting better milage than the 4.2L 6cyl. (15/20 vs.15/19 mpg) whats the point of having a DOHC V6/I6? DoD V6 is another story, but what advantage does the 4.2L have over the DoD V8.

HP/tq, mpg of the DoD V8 are better, the aluminum V8 can't weigh much if any more, and the V8 doesn't cost any more to build than the DOHC I6

I would have liked to seen the Colorado re-engineered to handle the I6, but now I think "why bother" The DoD V8 already fits, gets better milage, and beats that pants off every V6 and V8 in the compact/midsize truck market.

I even be willing to bet the DoD 5.3L & A6 combo would put out the same milage as the current 3.5L & A4 combo in the Colorado.

 

The DOHC V6 and I6 will stay around because the public has been bombarded by marketing fools and magazine idiots telling them it is so superior (which it is, in some ways, but the pushrod engine is superior in many ways too). Kinda like the insane obsession with 3 mm vs 5 mm panel gaps on the outside of the car (one of the reasons Lutz has not backed Saturn's plastic panels)...

EDIT: I'm not saying all cars should have a small block and V6s should die; variety is cool, plus remember that not only the small blocks are getting six speed transmissions. And not every vehicle needs 300 hp or more. A smaller engine with a six speed (or DoD AND a six speed) will do even better than a small block with DoD and a six speed...

 

You'll get no argument from me, and I think most buyers, particularly truck buyers, would always take a v8 over an OHC v6 if MPG is held constant.

 

Pushrod V8's over-take DOHC V6's in today's market? Ha! Maybe in some dream world where all cars are RWD and powered by the 7.0L LS7, and all trucks have a DoD 5.3L making the same torque as a diesel, and mini-vans don't exist anymore, but not in the market we have today!

.....heck, I'm surprised that RWD survived the 90's, let alone V8's!

 

V6 and I6's still have some packaging advantages.. And they are more refined than the the pushrod V8's (although the current pushrod engines are pretty civil now)

Plus the rest of the manufacturers, simply don't believe in pushrods.. And they are doing just fine.

Perhaps if GM can actually release DoD out, in class leading cars, then we can argue about it some more.

and about body panel gaps.. If the competition can do it, so should GM.

 

I'm not so much talking about the auto market in general since cars like the 300 get better mileage with the DOHC V6. But in GM trucks the DoD V8 is doing better than the 4.2L I6 when it comes to fuel consumption and power output. Factor is cost and weight, and it is hard to justify using this otherwise great 6cyl. over a DoD V8. Perhaps we will see a bigger I5 in the future as a base engine for GM trucks, that or the 4.2L I6 needs to get DoD quick.

 

True. The v8 IS the one that has been replaced throughout the years, and i don't see a reversal anytime soon. 40 years ago, they were the norm, and now they are a rarity.

Regardless of Dod, the masses will STILL think the smaller Dohc 6cyl is more fuel efficient, lighter, higher-tech, smoother, more refine and reliable. Gotta understand, the public is very dumb when it comes to cars and they base most of their decisions off perceptions rather than facts.

I can't believe the number of supposed "car enthusiasts" who are more knowledgable than the general public telling me how the Ls1 v8 is a heavy gas-guzzling pig, and their jaws drop when i tell them that my ls1 is lighter, smaller, and more fuel efficient than their ultra-High-tech 6's in the NSX, M3's, Skylines, etc...

Perceptions will always haunt the v8.

 

The V8 has become a luxury not a necesity in cars. The HP of any given displacement has almost doubled since the 80's. You now have 4cyl. putting out the HP of what used to be V6's and V6's putting out old V8 #'s. The fastest Ferrari in 1989 only did low 13's.

...but now with GMs new DoD V8 they are getting better fuel economy than high end 6 cyls. yet still out performing them in HP/tq. This kind of makes 4.2L I6 obsolete unless it also gets DoD doesn't it?

Did you expect everyone to be rolling around in fullsize FWD V6 pickups buy now?

 

How come someone on here wright MT or C&D about how dumb they are and show them the light?

The reason everyone thinks that the OHC V6s are better then the pushrod V8, or even the V6 for that, is bcuz of the imports. They are suppose to be better, more refined, and have new technlogy. While some of it is true, most people think this also goes to the engine. Also, I think it has a little to do with the fact that OHC motors rev higher. Don't ask me how, but when I knew little about cars, I remember thinking that the car that reved higher must be faster.

If I'm right, doesn' a OHC motor have more moving parts then a V8? Remember, more moving parts mean more things that could go wrong.

 

Aren't some SUV's (like the Honda CRV, Saturn Vue, Toyota Rav4) FWD based platforms? I think maybe they're AWD (or have AWD option) but I thought they are actually built as a FWD (motor sideways) design?

.....I may be wrong on that, but I've never cared enough to really learn about them!

 

I know the Vue and Equinox are FWD with optional AWD, but they are small SUV not full size towing/hauling trucks.

 

Yes, most car based uni-body SUVs are FWD with optional AWD, but trucks and truck based SUVs are all RWD and will/should always be RWD based (with the exception of the FWD 2006 Honda gayline or what ever it is called ) RWD = better for hualing.

Most fullsize V6 trucks are only for the purpose of being cheap work trucks. Midsize trucks always got V6's because they were cheaper and better on gas than V8's, but if a V8 cost the same and gets better milage then why would you use that V6?

Assuming cost works like this 4 cyl. < OHV V6 < DOHC V6 = DoD OHV V8 < DOHC V8 < V10

 

i do not trust DoD at all. seems to me like the potential for flooding cylinders, etc is very high. i mean look at the electronics problems people have already. maybe much later down the road once it becomes a very established technology, in the same vein as switching from carbs to EFI, but i would be too wary to get involved in the first few years.

 

I'm sorry, but this is just ironicly hilarious.

Something that would even make OHV V6's just as useless as DOHC 6's would be to simply spread out an extremely light duty and cheap "hybrid" system. The fuel savings from dead stops alone save a lot more gas than you might think. It wouldn't even really classify as a hybrid system since the electric motor isn't used to propel the car at all. Just as a simple fuel saver at stop lights or whatever. The only problem is that there is a spike of emissions when the engine starts back up when you release the brake pedal. But I think its worth 20%+ fuel savings.

 

I completely agree with you. All I was pointing out is that the manufacturer's haven't stuck with RWD in their "SUV / towing/hauling / 'truck-like'" vehicles.....they had to go ahead and build them as FWD. Maybe there are advantages, but there aren't any that would sway me to buy one.