The Power Behind The Pickups: PTOTY Engines
Dodge Ram 5.9L V-8
Producing 245 hp at 4,000 rpm and 345 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm, this 360 is still one of our favorite truck V-8s. At the dyno, we recorded 215 hp at 5,000 rpm and 294 lb-ft of torque at a very useable-for-the-trail 2,500 rpm. While mileage wasn't great, the fact that we drove with lead feet and the big beast weighed 5,640 pounds might have had something to do with it.
Toyota 4.7L V-8
The Tundra's V-8 is based on the 4.7L mill that comes in the flagship Land Cruiser and Lexus LX 470 SUVs. This aluminum alloy head, 32-valve DOHC brute has direct ignition, individual ignition coils for each spark plug to produce 245 hp at 4,800 rpm and 315 lb-ft of torque at 3,400 rpm. At the dyno, we measured 198 rear-wheel horsepower at 4,500 rpm and 245 lb-ft of torque at 3,000 rpm. Amazingly, this engine produced the fastest acceleration times as well as the best mileage numbers. Kudos to Toyota.
Dodge 4.7L V-8
Borrowed directly from the Jeep Grand Cherokee, this new 16-valve SOHC 287ci V-8 has aluminum alloy heads and 9.3:1 compression. It produces 235 hp at a relatively high 4,800 rpm and 295 lb-ft of torque at a more useable 3,200 rpm. On the dyno, we measured 218 hp at 5,000 rpm with 246 lb-ft of peak torque coming online at 3,500 rpm. The torque peak was more like a torque plateau for this motor, because it made more than 225 lb-ft from 2,500 rpm all the way to 5,000 rpm.
Nissan 3.3L V-6
Although this was the smallest motor in our test, it was bolted to the smallest and lightest pickup. This SOHC mill is rated at 170 hp at 4,800 rpm and 200 lb-ft of torque at 2,800 rpm. At the dyno, it produced peak rear-wheel horsepower at 4,500 rpm with 121 hp. Torque numbers were extremely flat from 2,500 rpm to 5,000, producing a peak 150 lb-ft at 3,500 rpm. This was a nice motor for the application, and the average 15.8 mpg made it that much better.