New Chevrolet Silverado Getting Cylinder Deactivation

ChevroletChevroletUnited States of America, 1911 > present82 models
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is introducing a new V8 with cylinder deactivation on the SilveradoChevrolet Silverado Gen.2United States of America, 2007 > present115 versions
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pickup truck. The V8 can drop to running on four cylinders during low-load situations. 

Chevrolet says that 85% of Silverado drivers tow or haul with their trucks at some point, but very few are towing or hauling loads constantly. By employing cylinder deactivation, Chevrolet is taking a different stance than Ford's Ecoboost engines. Where Ford is using a turbo V6 instead of a big V8, Chevrolet is using the same size V8 but with cylinder deactivation. Both methods have their pros and cons, but they allow North American consumers to buy the truck that is right for their needs. 

“Rather than adding turbochargers or multi-valve cylinder heads to increase the power of smaller engines, we chose to keep the proven capability of our larger V-8 truck engines, and save fuel by switching off half of the cylinders when they aren’t needed,” said Jordan Lee, global chief engineer for small block engines.

The V8 uses 21mpg on the highway, and the new XFE trim uses 22mpg. Power is the same as the current 5.7-liter V8 with 315hp and 335lb-ft of torque. 

Ford'sFordUnited States of America, 1903 > present92 models
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Ecoboost F-150Ford F-Series Gen.12United States of America, 2009 > 201499 versions
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also get 21mpg highway and produces 365hp and 420lb-ft of torque. 

Chevrolet's cylinder deactivation system uses hydraulic valves controlled by software to decide when power is needed. It calls the system Active Fuel Management. 

“For millions of people who depend on their trucks and expect them to last, we believe our V-8 engines with Active Fuel Management are an excellent solution," said Lee.