Future Vette Engine? 5.5L V8?

apolloGT · #1 (**permalink**) 01-03-2010, 02:03 AM

Corvette Racing boss Doug Fehan confirms new 5.5L V8 for Sebring debut — Autoblog

Speculation? Opinions?

I'm sort of shocked that GM is getting rid of some cubes, especially since that was what always set them apart from the crowd... then again, could be a Government move unfortunately. We'll see!

cyberwaste · #2 (**permalink**) 01-03-2010, 02:57 PM

maybe there gonna go even cheaper

haha

i think we will have to just wait and see what comes out of the woodwork

mesarius · #3 (**permalink**) 01-20-2010, 04:44 AM

You know, in my opinion the old addage "No replacement for displacement" has always been a bit of a farse. For example, my old 2-litre DOHC Turbo Mitsubishi kicked the crap out of my 3.8V6 OHV Monte in every respect except fuel economy. In a world where a 7.0 OHV V8 in the Corvette Z06 makes 505hp when the Europeans are pulling almost 700hp out of a smaller engine than that, I always felt like American engine designs where behind. Displacement gives you torque, but torque is also a product of ultimate horsepower. I would actually like to see a smaller displacement, higher reving engine, more modern engine design in a Corvette. Seeing as how you can already get nearly 30mpg on the highway with a Corvette using the standard engine set up, just imagine how much GM could improve that with a more efficient engine design.

kendallcschm · #4 (**permalink**) 01-20-2010, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mesarius

You know, in my opinion the old addage "No replacement for displacement" has always been a bit of a farse. For example, my old 2-litre DOHC Turbo Mitsubishi kicked the crap out of my 3.8V6 OHV Monte in every respect except fuel economy. In a world where a 7.0 OHV V8 in the Corvette Z06 makes 505hp when the Europeans are pulling almost 700hp out of a smaller engine than that, I always felt like American engine designs where behind. Displacement gives you torque, but torque is also a product of ultimate horsepower. I would actually like to see a smaller displacement, higher reving engine, more modern engine design in a Corvette. Seeing as how you can already get nearly 30mpg on the highway with a Corvette using the standard engine set up, just imagine how much GM could improve that with a more efficient engine design.

yea but it was cool to hear the sound of those huge V8s.. im depressed.. everything keeps getting smaller.. im a 6'3" guy... im big... i want a big car with a big engine to match me.. its what i liked about the GT500... its 5.4L V8.. it was awesome.. and the euro cars are using turos and such.. american cars are all motor... cept for things like the new LS9 and the GT500... i have more respect for all engine horsepower.. just how i am

apolloGT · #5 (**permalink**) 01-20-2010, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mesarius

You know, in my opinion the old addage "No replacement for displacement" has always been a bit of a farse. For example, my old 2-litre DOHC Turbo Mitsubishi kicked the crap out of my 3.8V6 OHV Monte in every respect except fuel economy. In a world where a 7.0 OHV V8 in the Corvette Z06 makes 505hp when the Europeans are pulling almost 700hp out of a smaller engine than that, I always felt like American engine designs where behind. Displacement gives you torque, but torque is also a product of ultimate horsepower. I would actually like to see a smaller displacement, higher reving engine, more modern engine design in a Corvette. Seeing as how you can already get nearly 30mpg on the highway with a Corvette using the standard engine set up, just imagine how much GM could improve that with a more efficient engine design.

I have to disagree here to a point. No offense intended here, but of course your Mistubishi engine was better than the GM 3.8. The 3.8 is by no means a performance engine, it's an economy engine.

What Euro car are they pulling out 700hp all motor? They aren't. Use forced induction on the LS7 and you're pulling out 4 figures of hp, and torque to match. American engines, for the most part, have proven technologies. They work, and honestly, they kick the crap out of other cars. Look at the ZR1, in Car and Driver's "lightning lap", the ZR1 out ran the Lamborghini 670SV Murcielago by over 2 seconds... the Lambo is 4 times the price of the Vette.

Torque adds drivability and wins races. My brother has an AWE Audi TT, and it's definitely fun to drive. However, you have to beat the crap out of it to get performance. My Mustang, or any car with a solid torque curve, allows you to accelerate rapidly without revving very high at all.

Smaller displacement doesn't necessarily equal mpgs.You could bring up electric cars like the Tesla, or cars like the Ariel Atom, and so on, but these cars get slapped on the track by Vipers and Vettes all day.

However, American engines use proven designs, they're still pioneering and creating new technology every day. The Ecoboost Ford engines have dozens of patents awaiting approval, and Americans have truly perfected the V8 from 4.6L (see 03/04 Cobra for forced induction, Mach 1 for NA), to 7.0L (Z06).

mesarius · #6 (**permalink**) 01-22-2010, 01:20 AM

Quote:

What Euro car are they pulling out 700hp all motor?

If you note I said almost 700 HP. Case in point: Lamborghini Murcielago LP670 SV, 661 Hp from a 6.5, all motor. The Z06, with an additional 0.5 liters of displacement puts out over 150 hp less. The Ferrari F430 for example makes 483 hp out of a 4.3L engine. That may be 20hp less than a Z06, but the engine itself is almost 3 liters less than the Z06 as well.

My whole point is that they are getting more power out of a smaller package, and a smaller engine means less moving mass, so higher engine efficiency. On top of that, a smaller engine means less mass to be moved, thus less power you actually need to move the weight of the car. If GM can make a 5.5 Aluminum Engine with Overhead Cams that puts out the same sort of power as today's 7.0 LS7, the Corvette will in fact improve as a vehicle. The cars would be lighter, the engines more efficient, they could rev higher (and of course, since Torque is a product of engine speed as much as anything else, Torque would be higher), the whole character of the car would improve with a smaller, lighter powerplant.

apolloGT · #7 (**permalink**) 01-26-2010, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mesarius

If you note I said almost 700 HP. Case in point: Lamborghini Murcielago LP670 SV, 661 Hp from a 6.5, all motor. The Z06, with an additional 0.5 liters of displacement puts out over 150 hp less. The Ferrari F430 for example makes 483 hp out of a 4.3L engine. That may be 20hp less than a Z06, but the engine itself is almost 3 liters less than the Z06 as well.

My whole point is that they are getting more power out of a smaller package, and a smaller engine means less moving mass, so higher engine efficiency. On top of that, a smaller engine means less mass to be moved, thus less power you actually need to move the weight of the car. If GM can make a 5.5 Aluminum Engine with Overhead Cams that puts out the same sort of power as today's 7.0 LS7, the Corvette will in fact improve as a vehicle. The cars would be lighter, the engines more efficient, they could rev higher (and of course, since Torque is a product of engine speed as much as anything else, Torque would be higher), the whole character of the car would improve with a smaller, lighter powerplant.

But how much more does the Lambo and the Ferrari cost over the Z06? Hundreds of thousands. You can't pull that card out without mentioning price.

More power out of a smaller package = more stress on the engine and internals. The rotating mass can only take so much, and when you have to get the rpms even higher to make power, over a period of time, you could be asking for trouble. In fact, that's why the Ford GT40 beat Ferrari at LeMans... higher displacement. The engine didn't have to work as hard, and the GT40 won while the Ferraris broke down.