Okay currently the Silverado SS has 345 HP which is 35 less than the current 380 HP Lightning. Also it offeres Extended Cab and AWD and can haul and tow more than the Lightning. Basically i am saying that although the SS isn;t faster it is an adequte performer and far more useful than the Lightning. The $39K sticker is high, but most full sized trucks are outragous now anyway.

But I was surfing the media site a while back and this engine caught my attention....

I hardly think that GM would develop a 525 HP 8.1L V8 just for crate and boat sales. Plus I have at times been hinted to about this going in the Silverado. Think about it.....when the 500 HP trucks finally do arrive all GM has to do is bold this big boy in and go. I really think the odds are good we will see it in a few years, especially since we know how GM likes to not show thier hand untill the last minute.

 

I dunno... I cant see Chevy slipping a 500hp low compression motor into their top of the line truck. It seems like more of a marine application motor. Anything could happen, but I would be reallysuprised. If Chevy watned this kind of power they could use a less agressive cam'd, higher compression smaller displacement engine.

 

They have done it before...remember the 454 SS? Also the same engine is available as a crate motor. If Dodge can use a huge V10, why not use a huge V8 in a Chevy?

 

I remember looking at a 454SS back in the day with a friend...

Milage was 9/10 or something close to that.

 

The newer Lightnings are really 400+hp trucks. But i agree with your comment on the SS being an "adequte performer and far more useful than the Lightning".

I think they'll do something with the SS to stay competitive. If not that 8.1L crate engine, then a S/c or something else.

 

The 8.1 and the Silverado would be a perfect match.

Unfortunately, the Silverado SS's AWD system is not compatable with a big block. Both from a packaging and torque rating perspective.

 

Ya, another thing the big block would do is add more weight... something people are already squawking about.

 

No more weight than a 4 cam supercharged Ford 5.4L with intercooler and all the plumbing or a V10 powered Ram SRT10. Matter of fact I think the current SS is considerably lighter than the SRT-10. The Ram is heavy ****.That thing is amazingly heavy. Also I am thinking the Big block version would be RWD.

 

And if they are gonna put up 525hp and claim "top-of-the-hill", they better do it dayum fast! We already have every reason to beleive the new ColdShot Lightning will see production for 2004, with 500 conservative horses - not counting the extra 50 the ColdShot throws on.
And Dodge is rambling too about upping the SRT-10 output to 550.

The Silverado does offer more utility with the AWD, but who drives a truck like the L or SRT for utility? Those trucks are really nothing but a LS1 Camaro or Cobra that sits higher, has better room and visibility, even more rear hatch area, and is a little faster to boot!

I'm sure there will be some super quick Silverados out there soon, but I don't see GM putting that mega-8100 into a driveline made to handle 400 or so horses. Tuners on the other hand... hmmm.

 

The new Lightning is supposed to be a year or two behind the 04 F150

 

Perhaps (I do not have engine weights readily available), but people are complaining about Silverado SS's weight in particular, apparently because of the Extended Cab format and the weight of the AWD system.

Adding a big block puts even more weight on it.

 

Well, in that case, drop the AWD and go regular cab. It could be the spiritual successor to the 454SS.

 

A logical conclusion... but that would require an 'about face' by Chevy on some of the basics ideas of the Silverado SS...

I like the AWD idea. It makes it unique in it's class... so does the Ext. Cab, I suppose...

I can see them offering it in both EXT and Reg Cab before they drop the AWD though.

 

My guess is that it's the regular cab SS that they were showing in a mag that would the 8.1L.

Also have you seen how much the Ram weighs? I think it's over 5000lbs for a base 2wd model.

 

Well, honestly, sport trucks aren't my thing, so I really havent read a ton of other stuff about them... the only reason I really brought up the weight issue is that in just about every Silverado SS thread we've had here, it gets labeled an overweight pig, and the AWD feature gets overlooked by most, which truely baffles me.