Which would have better power? I have a 6.2 non turbo and have never drove a 6.5 td. Would they be equal at highway speeds and going up hills?





Eric

what year of 5.7 are we talking about here? my grandpa's '88 is quite old but still runs good, but doesn't have the power of my 6.5. he pulls a 25' camper down to florida every year though. i used to have a '95 5.7 in a half-ton and this was still throttle body injection. very simple system, but lacks the power and economy of the '97 and newer multi-port injection. lots of power let me tell you. but a good running 6.5 turbo diesel with some mods should outperform a stock mpi 5.7. but there are some good mods for the 5.7, too.


my old '95 only got 10-11 mpg in a half-ton 4x4


my buddies '97 gets 16-17 mpg in a half-ton 4x4

The 6.5 has roughly 50+ more HP than the 6.2 depending on the year 6.2. The 6.5 produces it torque at much lower RPM's than the 5.7. In towing with a 5.7 you will have to wrap up the engine to get the power to pull the hills. For my money I would rather drive and tow with a Diesel than a gas engine now after having a 6.5 for 8 years & 170,000 miles.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif

I currently have both. My '91 2wd Suburban has a 5.7 and 3.42 axle. I don't like how it tows my 1,800 lb popup camper. Not that it's overloaded but you can definitely tell it's back there. I have towed the camper with my truck and I can't feel it at all. Now in a race the Suburban will smoke my truck but it weighs less than 6,000lbs. Unloaded both get almost identical milage, right around 17mpg.

My dad and I have almost identical blazers, his a 350 gas, mine a 6.5 and one year model difference. Mine blows his out of the water in every aspect, accel, take-off, mileage, towing power. both trucks have upgraded hi-flow exhaust and K&Ns on the intake, after that, there is no comparison.

race a 97 or newer 5.7 and you will have a much harder time. it is hard to believe untill you drive one of how different the old tbi 5.7 is compared to the mpi 5.7. i have a hard time keeping up with my buddies half ton, and i cant keep up with my other buddies 3/4 ton, but his is 2 wheel drive so that helps him alot. but a 6.5 will be a much better puller imo.