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Dyno-might: Dragtimes gets the numbers on the LS3 Corvette
When we told you about our first encounter with Chevrolet's new 2008 Corvette, one of the highlights was the new LS3 engine. Up from 6.0 to 6.2 liters, the new base 'Vette motor promisea 430 hp, or 436 with the optional exhaust. That was a 30 hp bump over the '07s. Not content to let sleeping dogs lie, the gang over at LG Motorsports decided to strap one to a dyno to verify those numbers. And the results were spot on.
First up was the 6-speed auto. It returned a plot that showed peak horsepower of 370.8, with torque at 363.8 ft-lbs. With a drivetrain loss of about 16%, that is spot on. Next up was the 6-speed stick. It came back almost 20 hp better than the slushbox. The numbers were 389.5 hp and 377.4 ft-lbs of torque. That shows about a 10% loss for that engine/transmission combo. Even better.
And then, just for kicks, LG added "longtube headers, performance cam, ported intake, K&N aircharger, under-drive pulley and a custom tune" and got a quick boost of more than 100 hp at the rears. That car now shows 506.7 hp and 457.1 ft-lbs... at the wheels! One of the best performance for the dollar bargains on the planet, this '08 Corvette seems ready to take on the world.
[Source: Dragtimes]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
El Calor 3:59PM (7/23/2007)
The LS3 is putting down some good numbers!
http://www.Z06Vette.com
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Rambo 4:07PM (7/23/2007)
The latest Vette (C6) is an amazing car, very well done. AMERICAN PRIDE!
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bill 4:12PM (7/23/2007)
When you can add a few off the shelf mods and get 130 HP more just goes to show how backward these pushrod engines are and how much more unfilled potential GM has with them.
Put a K&N air intake on a mustang and get 20 hp.
Put a K & N air intake on a RSX type S and get 2hp maybe.
Im no Jap guy believe me you, but there is something seriously wrong when engines from detroit have so much unearthed capacity. I mean comon if Joe down the street makes the intake flow or the exhaust flow bigger by 20% and gets 10 hp then do it yourself GM!
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Adam500 4:14PM (7/23/2007)
Where have you been Bill? Detroit engines always leave the factory unfinished. Americans like it that way. It makes us happy when we do minor tweeks and get rewarded. Id rather have a crude Mustang than a finely tuned high technology S2000 engine.
The Other Bob 4:20PM (7/23/2007)
It should also be notied that the "tuning" they did on the engine likely made it emissions illegal in most states. I am sure its mileage numbers went way down too.
Bob 12:37PM (7/24/2007)
If the Corvette came with a 2.2 liter motor then you would see gains from bolt-ons in the same ballpark as the little RSX type S. A bigger engine means bigger numeric gains from the same type of improvements to volumetric efficiency. By the same token, if Honda came out with a 6.2 liter RSX you would get much more bang for your buck with the bolt-ons.
Billy Bob 4:23PM (7/23/2007)
Well Bill its not as bad as it used to be. A lot of Ford and GM engines could be upgraded to give you a lot more power just by visiting the local auto parts store but this has been changing with Detroit adopting new technologies.
For example the new Direct Injection 304hp 3.6 Cadillac engine is very finely tuned and a "finished product". Nothing more to do unless you want to turbocharge it. Air filter or header on that engine may give you 5hp max.
So it depends on the application. In the old days all detroit engines were low tech but now only 30% are. And those engines are on the high performance vehicles because people enjoy modifying them.
A DOHC 600hp 40 Valve 5.3 liter V8 on a corvette like the ZR1 (405hp) would be a cool option but I dont see it ever happening.
J 4:35PM (7/23/2007)
Your already getting 430HP what else do you want? You have to keep in mind emissions, insurance rates, fuel mileage, and reliability are factors when producing an engine.
Joe 4:42PM (7/23/2007)
Say what you will, but in all actuality, putting a cold-air intake on my Mazdaspeed3 yields about 25 flywheel horsepower based on percentage increases at the wheel on the dyno.
And I believe a K&N CAI on a GT500 yields something like 50hp for the record.
smartmlp 6:14PM (7/23/2007)
I think this is BS. The cams they added allowed the engine to breath better in the higher RPM range, allowing more horsepower. That doesn't mean that its a "poorly" designed or "low tech" engine, it was just not built to reach those numbers. You can take any engine and improve upon it to a certain degree, the LS3 is no exception. I am with J on this, there are a lot of factors that dictate what the factory rates these engines at. Please put all the conspiracy theories to rest, GM or any automaker does not design their engines so consumers can have fun "moding" them. Yes there is the concept of "over engineering" so that the engine block or the engine itself can handle a lot more horsepower, but this is more for futureproofing and reliability. As far as OHC, I would like to see a DOHC that weighs as little as the LS3 for the price.
You cant compare horsepower increases on this motor with a 4 cylinder, because horsepower increases are exponentially tied to the size of the engine.
why not the LS2/LS7? 7:33PM (7/23/2007)
You're not going to get a lot of HP out of an air filter, no matter what the car, and no matter what anyone tells you.
Now, as to the ZR1 motor, why would anyone want that?
The LS3 is already smaller, lighter (25%), cheaper, more fuel efficient and more powerful than the V10 in the BMW M5.
Yes, it has a large displacement, but it has a small physical size. If you go to a DOHC motor like the ZR1, you are going to reduce your displacement a lot, or else increase the physical engine size a lot.
In short, why would I want a DOHC motor to just make less power in the same space? Is that what high-tech means?
If you want to make an OHC motor make sense, you need a LOT of revs. In short, you're going to add a lot of heavy, expensive parts, and the only way to make up for that is going to use them as often as possible. That is, maximize the revs. When OHV motors revved to 5,000 or 5,500 rpm, you only needed about 6,500 or 7,000 rpm to make the OHC motor overcome its complexity advantage and internal friction. Now that the LS motors are making 7,000 or 7,250 rpm, you need a lot more revs, like the 8,900 of the S2000 or even more.
You're simply not going to get ahead of the LSx by putting in a run of the mill DOHC motor. You're gonna need a rather high strung motor, and that means a lot of money invested, well, unless you want to supercharge it. But then again, GM seems to have that covered soon too...
Yayaja 4:13PM (7/23/2007)
Awesome awesome awesome! Anyone know the cost of the LG Motorsports upgrades? I wonder if after the upgrades this thing was faster then the current Z06??
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Jeremy 4:22PM (7/23/2007)
Probably not. The Z06 sheds a LOT of weight with the carbon fiber fenders and other light weight components. It would be faster, but not quite there unless you started to reduce weight on the base.
iamhoff 4:26PM (7/23/2007)
500+ hp at the wheels? Out-freaking-standing!
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TriShield 4:32PM (7/23/2007)
LSX engines are truly Godly.
Expect to see the LS3 available in the upcoming Pontiac G8 GXP and the next Camaro Z/28.
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Ted 4:41PM (7/23/2007)
Bill, you do realize that by releasing these engines with less than optimal tunes, GM is guaranteeing not only that they will consistently deliver their advertised power over a very long life span, but that you, the consumer, can also go to your local speed shop, drop a few bucks on some mods, and walk away with an extra hundred or so ponies.
I love that Honda will put out a 2 liter 4 that makes 240 HP from the factory. That's seriously pushing the limits of production power, but if you want to make some serious gains with your S2K, you're going to have to turbo the piss out of that motor, and lose all that lauded Honda reliability and durability.
Finally, putting a K&N on a Mustang won't give you 20 horses, and putting one on an RSX won't give you 2. The fact that you think a K&N counts as a performance mod discounts your stupid bench racer opinions off the bat.
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bill 4:45PM (7/23/2007)
you totally had me there with respect and all until you called an after market airfilter designed for performance not a mod. You also called me stupid.
Idiot.
Ted 5:08PM (7/23/2007)
A K&N filter is a mod for sure, but you're fooling yourself if you think it adds real performance. You probably think your GReddy oil cap also adds performance.
Also, I didn't call you stupid, I called your opinions stupid. You could be a pretty smart guy for all I know, but considering your reading comprehension skills, well...
Ted 7:49PM (7/23/2007)
Say what you will, but you're talking cold air intakes. If you are confusing those with simple drop in air filters, you have no place touching your engine.
"Anyone thinking a aircleaner makes 20 HP more then a clean stock one should stick to shiny mods and carshows."
K&N advertises horsepower gains just like Tornado advertises MPG gains. The only reason why K&Ns don't get laughed at like Tornadoes do is that the K&N filter won't get stuck in your throttle butterfly.
dan 4:48PM (7/23/2007)
Waiting for the tolerant liberals to hit this thread crying about too many horsepowers and not enough hybrids etc.
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