Ruthless Pursuit of Power: 2008 Edition: Our In-Depth Look at the 2008 Corvette LS3

[Rob]

Ruthless Pursuit of Power: 2008 Edition: Our In-Depth Look at the 2008 Corvette LS3 Engine

© 2007 by Hib Halverson
No use without permission, All Rights Reserved

Quote:
I turned left on I-65-north on-ramp, then buried the gas.

First: exhilaration

In seconds, I was near the top of third gear, watching traffic fly backwards when I lifted. This twenty-oh-eight, six-speed–new LS3 under the hood and optional "NPP" exhaust out back–was a freakin' rocket ship.

Then: despair.

I realized that now, my '04 Z06, good old "3Balls39", can't even keep up with a base C6. The new engine–6.2-liters, 436hp@5900 rpm–makes the standard Corvette about half-a-tenth quicker than the most aggressive Vette of just 48 months ago.

"This sucks!" I blurted.

The GM guy with me almost got a word out.

"Dude!" I cut him off. "The motor's awesome! What sucks is that it took you guys only four years to make a base car quicker than my 110-lbs. lighter C5Z."

Hib Halverson takes an in-depth look at the 2008 Corvette's LS3 engine and interviews John Rydzewski, Assistant Chief Engineer for Small-Block Passenger Car Engines, Design Responsibility Engineer (DRE) for Small-Block Cylinder Heads, Lou Oniga, and GMPT's Executive Director for Engine Engineering, Sam Winegarden.

Check it out!

http://corvetteactioncenter.com/spec...ls3_page1.html

 

[JBsC5]

Excellent review! Thanks..

I picked up a 2008 C6 Z51 with NPP on Nov 15th and its cool as hell.

Your absolutely right.. It cranks out the power big time.

I enjoyed reading the link and even though parts of it were over my head...

I'll go back and read it again and again till I understand each of the details.

Great work Hib and its much appreciated.

 

[darkstar]

A super job in the pursuit of LS3 engine and related data. I opted to buy the corsa sport exhaust instead of the NPP. About the same $. As the man said "Great work and much appreciated".

 

[WhalePirot]

Thanks, Rob and Hib

The glimpses inside GM; the between-the-lines message of corporate cooperation is always interesting, if secondary to the revelation of the incredible engineering effort behind the Corvettes we enjoy today. Such expertise, second to none worldwide, is why I believe that 'our' car will survive and thrive, while fully complying with the new CAFE law, just as it not only thrives today despite the low years, but delivers the highest level of performance ever.


Of special interest to me was the NASA flow applications. The smoother intake path surfaces and closer-to-straight flow path is similar to boundary layer flow control, turbulent airflow, possible airflow separation and optimal laminar flow for a given cross section that we see in high speed airfoil design. Surely, aerodynamics laws apply inside our engines, as well as outside.
Thank you for the excellent piece; part of what keeps CAC at the top.