Chevrolet News:2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Gets Its SAE Certification

[William Maley]

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By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

May 28, 2013

When General Motors unveiled the new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, the 6.2L LT1 V8 was producing 450 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque. However, the 6.2L wasn't certified by the SAE.

That has changed today as the 6.2L has received its SAE certification and the numbers are official: 455 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. If you equip the available performance exhaust, those numbers jump to 460 horsepower and 465 pound-feet.

“The LT1’s performance complements the Corvette’s low mass with a tremendous feeling of power that builds as the rpm climbs. Drivers will experience more power and acceleration than ever before with the standard engine – in fact, its power and torque surpass many uplevel engines offered by competitors,” said Jordan Lee, Small Block chief engineer.

Source: General Motors

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected]or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

Press Release is on Page 2

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2014 Corvette Stingray Cranks Out 460 Horsepower

SAE certifications confirm new Corvette has most powerful standard engine ever

2013-05-28

DETROIT – The 2014 Corvette Stingray’s all-new LT1 6.2L V-8 engine is SAE-certified at 460 horsepower (343 kW) at 6,000 rpm and 465 lb-ft of torque (630 Nm) at 4,600 rpm, with the available performance exhaust system, Chevrolet announced today.

The Stingray is SAE-certified at 455 horsepower (339 kW) and 460 lb-ft (624 Nm) with the standard exhaust system. They are the highest standard power ratings ever for the Corvette, delivered with efficiency that is expected to exceed 26 mpg on the highway.

“The 2014 Corvette Stingray’s LT1 engine is a triumph of advanced technology, delivering more power and torque than ever before with greater efficiency,” said Jordan Lee, Small Block chief engineer.

“The LT1’s performance complements the Corvette’s low mass with a tremendous feeling of power that builds as the rpm climbs. Drivers will experience more power and acceleration than ever before with the standard engine – in fact, its power and torque surpass many uplevel engines offered by competitors.”

At 74 horsepower per liter, the LT1 has greater power density than the C6 Corvette’s LS3 6.2L engine and even the C6 Z06’s racing-derived 7.0L LS7. It also produces comparable torque to the LS7 – up to 4,700 rpm – and its peak torque is within 5 lb-ft of the 7.0L engine. That torque is generated early and sustained across the rpm band, with 316 lb-ft available at only 1,000 rpm and 90 percent of peak torque available from 3,000 rpm to 5,500 rpm – giving the lightweight Corvette Stingray excellent acceleration at all speeds.

Chevrolet estimates the Corvette will run from 0 to 60 mph in less than four seconds.

The new LT1 engine’s high output, and high power density and efficiency are due to several advanced technologies, including direct injection, Active Fuel Management and continuously variable valve timing, which support an advanced combustion system.

Direct injection is a primary contributor to the engine’s combustion efficiency, ensuring a more complete burn of the fuel in the air-fuel mixture. That’s achieved by precisely controlling the mixture motion and fuel injection spray pattern. Direct injection also keeps the combustion chamber cooler, which allows for a higher compression ratio. Emissions are also reduced, particularly cold-start hydrocarbon emissions, which are cut by about 25 percent.

Active Fuel Management, or cylinder deactivation, is a first-ever application on Corvette. It helps save fuel by imperceptibly shutting down half of the engine’s cylinders in light-load driving. Continuously variable valve timing is refined to support the LT1 AFM and direct injection systems to further optimize performance, efficiency and emissions.

These technologies support the all-new, advanced combustion system, which incorporates a new cylinder-head design and a new, sculpted piston design that is an integral contributor to the high-compression, mixture motion parameters enabled by direct injection.

Additional engine features include:

• Advanced oiling system with oil-spray piston cooling and available dry-sump oiling
  
• Engine-mounted, camshaft-driven fuel pump to support the direct injection system
  
• Intake manifold with “runners in a box” design that allows for high-efficiency airflow packaged beneath the Corvette’s low hood line
  
• High-flow, four-into-one exhaust manifolds based on the design of the LS7 engine.
  

Small Block legacy

The 2014 Corvette Stingray’s LT1 engine is the fifth generation of the Small Block engine family, which debuted in the Corvette in 1955. It displaced 4.3L (265 cubic inches) and was rated at 195 horsepower, drawing air and fuel through a four-barrel carburetor. Five years later, Small Block power helped Corvette secure its first victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In 2012, the Small Block-powered Corvette Racing C6.R beat Ferrari, BMW and Porsche to sweep the drivers’, team, and manufacturer championships in production-based American Le Mans Series GT class. These championships make Corvette Racing the most successful team in ALMS history, with a total of 77 class wins, eight drivers’ championships, and nine manufacturer and team championships since 2001.

The 2014 Corvette Stingray coupe goes on sale this fall, with a convertible following by the end of the year – each sharing an all-new aluminum frame structure and enhanced chassis, as well as completely new exterior and interior designs.

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[G. David Felt]

SWEET, Rock on GM!

[dwightlooi]

This is a better article... from the General himself.

http://media.gm.com/content/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2013/May/0528-corvette.html

[dwightlooi]

Pretty nice torque curve too... not peaky at all.

[loki]

so what are the e-85 ratings? 500hp?

[dwightlooi]

It probably won;t make any more power...

Even though E85 has significantly higher octane ratings, this motor won't be able to capitalize on that without the ability to change its compression ratio. E85 also has a higher specific latent heat of vaporization, which means vaporizing it cools the intake charge more -- again allowing for higher compression but similarly useless if compression cannot be raised. At the same time, E85 has a lower volume specific energy density -- 25600 KJ/liter for E85 vs 36000 KJ/Liter for Premium Gasoline -- meaning you have to burn more E85 for a given air flow rate into the cylinders and fuel economy will be notably worse.

Turbocharged engines can easily capitalize on the extra octane ratings by simply cranking up the boost (if the ECU is programmed to do so). Naturally aspirated powerplants can't really do much to make use of Ethanol's added anti-detonant properties.

During WWII many aircraft piston engines feature Methanol and/or water injection. The whole point of that was to increase the anti-detonant characteristics of the mixture and allow higher boost pressures to be used. This is achieved in engines with 2-speed or 3-speed superchargers using a higher supercharger ratio (higher boost) at a lower altitude than normally allowed for that ratio -- because the engine would normally have pinged and detonated at lower altitudes with denser air being forced in by a supercharger ratio intended for operation with higher altitude, thinner air. Without increasing the boost pressure, Methanol-Water systems are of little benefit. At high altitudes, where the engine is already running at the highest supercharger ratio, Methanol-Water systems become essentially useless. High Altitude fighters of the day rely on Nitrous-Oxide injection for power boost at height.

[loki]

thanks dwight. i couldn't find it last night, but i know i saw a power rating for the 5.3L on e-85, and it was comparable to the 6.0L's power output. maybe it'll pop up again sometime...?

[dwightlooi]

There are only two scenarios where E85 makes more power in a gasoline engine that is unmodified.

(1) The engine is turbocharged and is capable of not just advancing ignition timing, but increasing boost pressures when it detects the use of Ethanol as the fuel.

(2) The engine normally runs hot and loses some amount of power due to the high temperature of the cylinder walls and heads. Ethanol (or E85) burns at a lower temp. This increases power by causing the engine to operate at a lower temperature -- it's like your engine making more power in the morning than in the noon heat on a summer day.