2011 GMC Sierra Denali 2500 Review

. If you need a truck for those Sunday garage sale outings, to bring home that oversized wicker rocking chair, get yourself a GMC Canyon. Need to trailer a bass boat, or a pair of Jet Skis, or pick up some plywood at the local Home Depot, get a Sierra 1500. If you want a truck with some styling attitude that rides like a luxury car with luxury amenities, and yet can tow or haul some heavier items, get a Chevy Avalanche. But if you need to haul a load of gravel, or tow your 65-Ft. Cigarette Boat – or haul a load of fresh cut logs down to the sawmill, you get yourself the GMC Sierra 2500 4WD Crew Cab. This is an HD truck, and the HD stands for Heavy Duty, not High Definition. This is a work truck, and it is built to work hard. 

BIG TRUCK, BIG NUMBERS

It’s about the numbers. The 6.6-liter, V8 turbo diesel engine boasts 397 horsepower at 3000 rpm, and an eye-popping, mother-lovin’, stump pulling, 765 lb-ft of torque at only 1600 rpm! And if you want bragging rights at the drag strip, you can reach 60 mph from a dead stop in just over 7 seconds and cross the ¼ mile in just over 15 seconds. All that power is put to the pavement via an Allison 6-speed Automatic Transmission that keeps the engine pulling in it’s power band, yet somehow manages to shift smoothly all the way up through the gears. A manumatic feature is standard with a small toggle switch on the gear shift lever for up and downshifts.

EPA Fuel Economy Estimates are not required on the window sticker of trucks of this weight, but we managed 12-mpg around town and 17-mpg on the highway doing mostly 75 to 80 miles per hour. So with a 36 gallon fuel tank, you’ll have a range of over 600 miles. Of course with diesel fuel currently selling for $4.20 a gallon, you’ll also get chest pains from the cost if you need to fill the tank all at once.

The next set of working numbers includes the maximum payload capabilities, and those numbers are also impressive. You can haul 3,200 lbs in the truck bed, (which is 78.8-inches long x 62.5-inches wide) and pull 13,000 pounds with a conventional trailer. If you use the truck as a fifth wheel, you can tow up to 17,000 pounds.

NEW FEATURES MAKE TOWING EASIER

To help you keep that trailer going straight down the road, there’s Trailer Sway Control and an Integrated Trailer Brake Controller, which work in conjunction with the StabiliTrak to identify if your trailer is swaying, and then uses the engine, brakes and even the trailer’s brakes to keep the trailer under control. Also standard is the Hill Start Assist which holds the brakes for 1.5 seconds, to give you time to move your foot from the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal, without any backward movement of the vehicle if you’re starting out on an uphill incline. Automatic Grade Braking helps slow the Denali on downhill grades by using the engine and transmission to your advantage, giving the driver increased confidence and reducing brake wear.

6.6L Duramax Diesel Engine For Sale | GotEngines.com Auto Engines ...

The Duramax engine is Chevrolet’s trade name for their diesel engines for light duty pickup trucks and medium duty. First used by GMC and Chevrolet in 2001. Called the RPO [regular production option] LB7 [engine code1], Listed as one of Wards 10 Best engines in 2001 and 2002, GotEngines.com has General Motors 6.6L Duramax Diesel Engines For Sale .

Duramax is produced by DMAX , a joint venture between GM and Isuzu in Moraine, Ohio.

Being an L-Series GM engine means every variant has it’s own particular code. The code matches the engine to the rear axle ratio, transmission, GVW [gross vehicle weight] load rating and other options.

This is a list of all of the Duramax L-series 6.6L engines; LGH

There is no need to get into the specifics of each engines particular details. The point I’m making is that every application is somewhat different, so GM makes different versions of the 6.6L L-series V8 diesel for each separate vehicle.

For instance, the LBG variant would reside under the hoods of; The Chevrolet Silverado HD, Chevy Kodiac, GMC Sierra HD and the GMC TopKick. The LLY variant went into the Chevy Express Van and the GMC Savanna van, both of which are full sized maxi vans.

Chevy and GMC truck and van owners are very discriminating about their trucks and the same holds true for the replacement parts they use. I own a GMC pickup truck, and while it has a gasoline engine in it, I’m very sensitive and picky about who I buy parts from. Like GotEngines.com, I’m not interested in cutting corners, all that does is set me up for failure and cost more $$ in the long run.

Speak with the professionals at GotEngines.com , no need for any information other than your VIN [vehicle identification number], which is on the registration, and we can identify your engine easily. Our reps are trained to educated you in the area of remanufactured Duramax engines , used Duramax engines and new engines, allow us to help you decide. Call GotEngines.com Now.