That all depends on what transmission you are talking about. I'll pit the hand-shaker NV-5600 behind my Common Rail Cummins against ANY stock trans ever put into a pickup truck. Upgrade the clutch and these cast-iron, 6-speed manuals will easily handle 1000+ horsepower while dragging a 60,000 lb transfer sled... in stock form!

 

that's actually a pretty big drawback, one of the main reasons I like the cummins is BECAUSE it's an inline; it's a way better design for towing and working hard. just like any piston aircraft engine, european sports car or heavy duty truck, the inline/opposed engines are the most efficient design by far.

Oh and the older Ford 300c.i.d. inline six was and still is an AWESOME little engine. comparing that 4.9L inline 6 to the oh-so-popular 5.0L V8 for a heavy car or 1/2 ton truck is not even close.

 

...Then you get into engines like Toyota's 3.0L I6 turbo from the supra....HKS has a turbo kit for that engine good for 1000hp and 988ft-lb torque, at the wheels. No V8 that has ever been produced has had a turbo kit good for that kind of power. The Viper (and the Skyline, again an inline engine) are the only other two vehicles I've seen with 1000hp modifications available aftermarket. And the Viper, that engine is nearly 3x the displacement! That's weak sauce!

 

how could I forget the Supra?!?! good call. it doesn't require a complete rebuild to get the 3.0L supra to 1,000 hp; but the viper or 'vette V8/V10 engines both need complete engine builds to hold up to that much power with twice the displacement! As far as I know, the 'vette V8's only get to the 1200hp mark on race fuel/race tune and don't do so well on the street.

even with sportbikes, I'd rather have a 1000cc inline four than my 1000cc Vtwin; but my SV1000s fits what I want in a bike.

 

you're right. I was more reffering to the auto 48Re and such. The didn't perform that well in my opinion. You can't beat a hand-shaker behind any motor though. I think the new 6spd. auto I believe it's the 68Re that dodge is putting behind the 6.7 is decent, but hasn't been out for real long. Seems to be holding up better though. The Cummins-6spd manual combo is hard to beat for just about anything though.

 

no comparison. the straight six is te most reliable best engine ever built. If the v-8s were so darn good then why did they quit trying to put them in semi's in the 80's?? 50 million trucks on the road can't be wrong!!

 

I have worked on a lot of those trucks look at an 8v92 driptroit phased out to the I6 any day of the week i would rather work on an I6 verse a v8 diesel. Hino Been in earth moving for years I would almost say its better than a cummins. But thats hard to say or even a volvo 33128 hours and never a major failure in a volvo wheel loader. That says a lot to me.

 

the 3408 cat is a hell of a stout engine. guy running one around here haulin corn a few year back got busted at over 115 mph loaded with corn heading to the feedlot. his is hot though with twin industrial turbos. i've had two powerstrokes and the cummins outpulls, lasted longer, adn got better fuel mileage than either one of the fords.

 

The cummins is also a medium duty engine, put in trucks all over the road..

 

The 7.3 is an amazing motor all around. it is reliable and yeah, it sounds really good. As for mods and power, the 5.9 is the way to go. The inline 6 is how it should be. thats why 99% of the big trucks have inline 6's, they can handle more torque. Not quite the hp that a v8 can put out for sure, but definitely better for pulling. Im a 7.3 guy at heart, but I own a 5.9 and love it.