I reco pausing it and studying the slides for the valuable info.
Some of the cliff notes:
GM wanted to keep the LT6’s overall weight down and they succeeded. Consider these stats.
- The LT6 is only about two pounds heavier than the LT2 in the regular Stingray while making 175 more horsepower.
- Compared to the LT4, the LT6 is a whopping 30 pounds lighter while making 20 horsepower more.
- The forged titanium connecting rods in the LT6 weigh about half as much as the rods used in the LT5 from the last ZR1.
- The forged aluminum pistons used in the LT6 come from the same supplier that provides the pistons for the race engine.
- The crankshaft in the LT6 is 33 percent lighter than the LT2’s crankshaft.
This team took weight savings very seriously.
GM Kept the LT6 a Secret for 7 YEARS!
Building a world-beating engine is not done overnight. Here’s a rough timeline of the engine’s developement.- 2014: The LT6 project starts
- September 2015: First prototype engines
- February 2017: Project Gemini Team build refined prototypes with production materials
- October 2018: First production-intent engine builds are ready. Time for the next testing phase
- March 2020: COVID forces all engine reviews to become virtual
- March 2021: Excercise production build process begins
The Rumors Were Right; The LT6 is a Race Engine
The LT6 and the LT6.R are basically twins… Except the LT6.R in racecars makes LESS power. The cylinder block, heads, valvetrain, and fuel system are shared between the street and race engine. However, due to racing regulations, the race car makes 150 fewer ponies thanks to a restricted air intake. These engines were co-developed and if you ever say that your Z06 has a race engine in it, you are not really that far off.The Z06 Can Run All Day On a Track with the A/C On and Ambient Temps at 100F
LT6 Vehicle Systems Engineer, explained that the Corvette Z06 has a 50 percent increase in engine cooling capability over the Stingray Z51. To keep the LT6 cool there are five radiators. This includes a new center radiator and an additional auxiliary radiator. The front fans are 50 percent more powerful, and the larger side opening makes for a 20 percent increase in airflow. If you drive this car on the track as it is intended, you can even remove the front aero panel. This will increase the center radiator grille opening by over 75 percent. All these improvements do not come at the expense of customer features. The size of the frunk is the same as the Stingray. And thanks to a 20 percent larger AC compressor the air conditioning in the Z06 is even better than in the base car.Fun fact. The engineering team was tasked with making the Z06 capable of running all day at the track with ambient temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit with the air conditioner on. Both the engine and the driver need to stay cool.
First-Ever Continually Variable Exhaust Valves
The sound of the LT6 is critical to the experience. As such the exhaust on the Z06 features the first-ever use of continually variable (as opposed to just open/closed) valves. These valves can be tuned in 2-degree increments for varying positions within each drive mode. The exhaust was tuned to sound aggressive at startup. It needed to have a bark to it when it was fired up. Global Chief Engineer Jordan Lee said that when he first heard it startup, he thought it was almost too loud even for him. There is a mode to control this if you don’t want to get into fights with your neighbors. And as good as the system sounds it is also about performance. There is a 21 percent reduction in back pressure compared to the system in the C7 Z06. And the muffler is 25 percent lighter than the two-mode “suitcase” exhaust used with the C8’s LT2.
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