Difference between 5.9 & 8.3 300hp ??

[supercub]

What's the difference between a 300hp Cummins 5.9 and 8.3 engine? My sister is looking at an 1999 Dutch Star and it has the 8.3, 300hp engine. Is this a good engine..........what's the torque on it? Anything we should be looking out for? Thanks
Brian

[Cat320]

I'd rather have the 8.3 than the 5.9. The latter was the same engine they put in the Dodge P/U truck...the 8.3 will have lots more torque. We have friends with an 8.3 with over 220k on it, still going strong.

[dons2346]

The difference between the 2 motors is torque.

[SteveLevin]

To be slightly more detailed, the 5.9 will likely be 300hp and 660lb/ft of torque, and the 8.3 will be 300hp and 850lb/ft of torque (both figures approximate). So there should be a noticeable difference climbing hills.

I think everyone fundamentally wants more power That said, both engines are quite rugged and reliable and for me, at least, would not represent a dealbreaker.

Steve

[Ray,IN]

My way of explaining HP versus torque is: HP gets you to the hill, torque gets you up the hill - faster.

[FleetMan]

Remember that old hot rod adage, "There's no substitute for cubic inches!"

[spike45]

Quote:

Originally Posted by supercub What's the difference between a 300hp Cummins 5.9 and 8.3 engine? My sister is looking at an 1999 Dutch Star and it has the 8.3, 300hp engine. Is this a good engine..........what's the torque on it? Anything we should be looking out for? Thanks Brian

The Cummins C series are very good and have high reliability. As another post indicated, it will have likely more torque but could be the same as the smaller ISB. The difference is that the C will produce that torque with less stress to the engine design. For instance, the current ISL is sold in RV ratings of up to 450 HP. That is flogging it a bit as the next step up engine is the ISM (not currently in production). Getting 450 HP from an ISM was much less strain on it as it is an 11 liter vs the ISL at 9.2 liter. Long term the reliability of the larger displacement C vs the smaller B, ISB is that the engine will not "sweat" so much in doing the work.

How's that for a Cummins guy answer?!

[Skip426]

Chassis weight to torque ratio is the consideration. If the DS is a 38' you need the 8.3. You could check with Cummins on the torque #'s I think the 5.9 might be lower than the # from the other poster and the 8.3 higher.
Ditto the poster on the "no substitute for cubic inches."
Get any service records you can !