2014 C7 Chevrolet Corvette

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by Wes B.

A ton of companies are creating a whole lot more with less. I guess it's time for GM to revert back to the engine architecture of the LT5 found in C4 ZR-1's.

Pig of a motor, way bigger and heavier than the LS, less power.

[Wes B.]

Originally Posted by ZDan

Pig of a motor, way bigger and heavier than the LS, less power.

Pig of a motor -- OK, that's your opinion.

Way bigger and heavier than the LS -- Any numbers to back that up?

Less power -- 1993-1995 LT5's put out 405hp/385tq while the comparable OHV LT1 found in all other Corvette's between 1993-1995 only put out 300hp/330tq.

[GTB/ZR-1]

It's true the LT5s are a good bit heavier than the LS motors by a pretty good margin. They do respond very well to mods & make power ALL the way to redline (and above if the limiter is bumped) . My 368ci makes ~525 HP @ the crank (461 SAE whp) with some port work, headers & cams with slightly more duration. It will match the new Z06 in the quarter in time/trap.

That being stated... It's 25+ year-old technology @ this point. If they had continued developing it to this day, I'm sure it would be lighter & more powerful than the old LT5--by a good margin, I'd bet...

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by GTB/ZR-1

It's true the LT5s are a good bit heavier than the LS motors by a pretty good margin. They do respond very well to mods & make power ALL the way to redline (and above if the limiter is bumped) . My 368ci makes ~525 HP @ the crank (461 SAE whp) with some port work, headers & cams with slightly more duration. It will match the new Z06 in the quarter in time/trap.

The 364 c.i. LS2 in my RX-7 has stock (lightly shaved to maintain CR, not ported) L92 heads (similar to LS3 but with solid valves) and a 222/230 .597" cam. The engine added about 50 lb. to my FD, which will match a new ZR1 in the quarter and beat the totally-stock ones at the Texas Mile (184.8mph vs. 178 - 183mph) in Oct.



Also averages 27mpg on the highway at 70-75mph (best tank: 29mpg). Not too shab...

That being stated... It's 25+ year-old technology @ this point. If they had continued developing it to this day, I'm sure it would be lighter & more powerful than the old LT5--by a good margin, I'd bet...

No doubt.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by LSxJunkie

The 2014 LT1 is 465lbs. I'm assuming the block and heads are the same or similar size as an LS3, even though they're new castings and supposedly nothing can be shared.

GMPerfomance lists LS3 weight as 415 lb.
http://www.chevroletperformance.com/...ineQRC2010.pdf

FordRacing lists 5.0 Coyote weight as 444 lb.
http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts...KeyField=12865

[GTB/ZR-1]

Originally Posted by ZDan

FordRacing lists 5.0 Coyote weight as 444 lb.
http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts...KeyField=12865

I'm not a Ford guy-but that's impressively light for a DOHC motor.

I got to flog the pi$$ out of a Laguna Seca Boss @ the $2011 Grassroots Motorsports Challenge (I'm one of the Pro drivers the magazine uses), and I was very impressed w/ the motor. Smooth, electric-like revs to redline & good pull all the way up.




If only GM would have continued development on that 'ol LT5... oh well... lol

[Dimman]

Think about this: for all their millions of hours of combustion modelling, direct injection and cam timing, if they hit 465 hp, it will have less specific output than a 1997 Acura Integra with no VTEC. So if the OHV setup is displacement friendly, just make it 8 liters or something and save all that development time.

These resources would be better spent making the rest of their line up not suck.

[RRnold]

Originally Posted by ottopilot

Spend most of the time driving? Make that ALL the time, unless you do some ghost ridin'

But seriously, the cheap interior has been something everyone has been saying for a long time now. GM has no excuse to deliver if they want to show that they listen to buyers, I agree it's a great performance machine and I don't think they need to prove that once again, time to refine.

Have you ever sat in the seat for hours, even sleep in your brand new car?

To me, it's the little things that can make an interior look better. The texture of the plastic panels that GM, Ford and Dodge, the size of the shift knobs, the flat and boring dash layout, the high center console, the vents, the 80's looking LED dash display and color all make it look that much more cheap looking.

IMO, the interior of the CTS is moving in the right direction and I hope GM can port some of that style into their future Chevy models w/out substantially increasing the price.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by GTB/ZR-1

I'm not a Ford guy-but that's impressively light for a DOHC motor.

Yes it is. Slightly heavier than the 6.2 liter LS3 with similar output, about the same weight as the significantly more powerful 7.0 liter LS7.

I got to flog the pi$$ out of a Laguna Seca Boss @ the $2011 Grassroots Motorsports Challenge (I'm one of the Pro drivers the magazine uses), and I was very impressed w/ the motor. Smooth, electric-like revs to redline & good pull all the way up.

It's a great engine. But I don't see any inherent torque/power curve advantages vs. the LS engines. Mine pulls like a train up to the 7200rpm limiter.

If only GM would have continued development on that 'ol LT5... oh well... lol

I'm glad they stuck with OHV cam-in-block architecture. A Corvette built around a massive DOHC engine would be a bigger, heavier car, with a much higher more bluff and bulbous nose.

[Wes B.]

Originally Posted by RRnold

Have you ever sat in the seat for hours, even sleep in your brand new car?

To me, it's the little things that can make an interior look better. The texture of the plastic panels that GM, Ford and Dodge, the size of the shift knobs, the flat and boring dash layout, the high center console, the vents, the 80's looking LED dash display and color all make it look that much more cheap looking.

IMO, the interior of the CTS is moving in the right direction and I hope GM can port some of that style into their future Chevy models w/out substantially increasing the price.

The 2013 Ford lineup has some great interiors. My father just bought a 2013 Taurus SHO, and it's got a rockin' interior. Long story short, the reason why American sports cars are so cheap in comparison to their European counterparts is because of the lackluster interiors.

Originally Posted by ZDan

I'm glad they stuck with OHV cam-in-block architecture. A Corvette built around a massive DOHC engine would be a bigger, heavier car, with a much higher more bluff and bulbous nose.

Not necessarily...

[SkullWorks]

Originally Posted by ZDan

Yes it is. Slightly heavier than the 6.2 liter LS3 with similar output, about the same weight as the significantly more powerful 7.0 liter LS7.

It's a great engine. But I don't see any inherent torque/power curve advantages vs. the LS engines. Mine pulls like a train up to the 7200rpm limiter.


I'm glad they stuck with OHV cam-in-block architecture. A Corvette built around a massive DOHC engine would be a bigger, heavier car, with a much higher more bluff and bulbous nose.

Apparently you have experienced a 5.0 outside of publications, having baselined several on the dyno I can tell you the factory rating is there for insurance purposes only, where as Chevy rates a tad bit high, like right on the edge of believable drivetrain loss high on everything they sell that is N/A.

Let's also let us not forget that the Coyote motor has not yet started using the DI that ford said was in the future for the architecture...the 5.0 is a teaser motor...the best is yet to come,


***don't forget you also are trying to compare a motor that has ~50 years of development behind it to a first release of (mostly) new architecture...and the new motor still makes the same HP with ~80% of the swept volume***

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by SkullWorks

Apparently you have experienced a 5.0 outside of publications, having baselined several on the dyno I can tell you the factory rating is there for insurance purposes only, where as Chevy rates a tad bit high, like right on the edge of believable drivetrain loss high on everything they sell that is N/A.

They typically report hp per the modern SAE standard, right? Can't really lie about horsepower any more (like Ford used to do...).

That said, it does appear that at least the Boss 302 LS is pretty severely underrated. From the back of R&T, 117.2mph in the 1/4, at 3690 lb curb weight. That should be ~489 flywheel hp. Not bad!

Mustang GT convertible they tested did 110.7mph, 3745 lb. curb, for ~418hp, pretty close to the rated 412.

Corvette: 116.9mph, 3325 lb., ~439hp vs. rated 428
Corvette Z06: 124.1mph, 3310 lb., ~524hp vs. rated 505

It doesn't look to me like GM is overrating their hp numbers.
Based on the Boss test, and the one that was running in the 116s at the drag strip against my RX-7, I would say that Ford is indeed underrating the Boss 302's horsepower by a considerable amount. But apparently not the GT.

Let's also let us not forget that the Coyote motor has not yet started using the DI that ford said was in the future for the architecture...the 5.0 is a teaser motor...the best is yet to come,

OK, we'll see how it develops. As we'll see how GM develops its engines. Here's to success for both of them

***don't forget you also are trying to compare a motor that has ~50 years of development behind it to a first release of (mostly) new architecture...and the new motor still makes the same HP with ~80% of the swept volume***

The LS was a new engine compared to the SBC that preceded it, but that's neither here nor there anyway.

Of course greater power/liter is to be expected from a DOHC 4v engine vs. an OHV 2v engine.

The advantage of the ohv 2v engine is smaller physical size even with much greater displacement.

Hey, I love all kinds of engines, the 5.0 included. But making more power/liter doesnt' make it "better", any more than it makes the 255hp 1.3 liter turbo rotary that once resided in my RX-7 "better" than the 515+hp 6.0 V8 that's in there now.

[RRnold]

Originally Posted by Wes B.

The 2013 Ford lineup has some great interiors. My father just bought a 2013 Taurus SHO, and it's got a rockin' interior. Long story short, the reason why American sports cars are so cheap in comparison to their European counterparts is because of the lackluster interiors.

I had to google it to see what you were talking about. Not bad but the exterior looks boring.




It'll be fair and say 'not bad' but whats up with that Star-Trek-warp-speed shifter!

[switchlanez]

I did a quick skim through the last couple pages and didn't notice this posted. Sorry if this is a repost:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...enderings-news