Automotive Engineer Explains What Makes the Corvette ZR1’s Engine So Powerful

Photo Credit: Chevrolet

We already know the numbers on the forthcoming 2025 Corvette ZR1, but how did Chevy’s engineering team find a way to coax a whopping 1,064 horsepower from the LT7?

For an explanation, Hot Rod magazine decided to visit automotive engine calibration engineer Greg Banish for his insight into the magic that created the most powerful V8 engine produced by a U.S. automaker.

We’ll hit the highlights for you here, but if you’re interested in a deeper dive, check out the full story here.

First of all, Banish makes no secret that he is “nothing short of impressed” with the new engine, and that’s coming from an engineer with some 25 years of experience in OEM and aftermarket performance applications. He further adds that he isn’t really surprised by the engineering behind it, but instead that management gave the OK to go ahead and build it.

But how did they do it?

For one thing, Banish explains that the twin turbochargers take advantage of usually wasted exhaust gases. “Yes, the turbine adds some backpressure and pumping losses to the engine, but this still works out to be a much smaller number than the accessory load of your typical supercharger at full load,” he says. “When we are talking triple-digit horsepower to drive a supercharger, moving to much less costly turbocharging looks tasty if you have the room for the hardware.”

And unlike front-engine Corvettes of the past that had limited space under the hood for turbochargers while meeting other engineering requirements, the new mid-engine layout of the C8 offers no such problems, he notes.

As for the ZR1’s “only” 828 lb-ft of torque, Banish says Chevy could have increased that figure but would have likely reduced the reliability of the engine and transmission.

In this day and age of federal pollution guidelines, Chevy was still able to meet the new LEV4 emissions standards partly by using huge 67mm turbine wheels that also prevent turbo lag as well as integrating the exhaust manifold and turbine housings, “reducing the amount of metal in contact with the exhaust gases so this heat can be passed along downstream rather than absorbed by the metal,” he says.

As for possible improvements to the new engine, Banish says he’s not really concerned with increasing the horsepower because “this car could make 2,000 horsepower and it wouldn’t be much faster to 60 mph with the same two tires pushing.”

Instead, he would focus on ways to keep the existing power at such high levels without dropping as the engine gets hotter. “It remains to be seen how much cooling capacity there is in those two water-air intercoolers and their front heat exchangers,” he says, noting that every similar system he’s worked on in the past has benefited from efforts to reduce the water temperature. His choice would be more exotic front heat exchangers or an A/C chiller retrofit, thereby letting the factory ECU make adjustments when it sees the cooler temps.

Furthermore, another couple of additions might be switching to stickier tires (though that could test the limits of other driveline parts on the drag strip) and using some ethanol fuel, which he believes could help with knock suppression and cooling.

In the end, though, like so many other enthusiasts, Banish is impressed with the stock factory performance, concluding that “Dr. Goddard would be proud of what the engineers at Chevy have done here.”

Source:

MotorTrend.com

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