Gardner Douglas Press Release

[Steve]

Adrian

The LS7 for the 2006 vette from GM press release

LS7 7.0-liter/427-cubic-inch Gen IV V-8 with lightweight reciprocating components
• 500 horsepower (373 kw) at6200 rpm
• 475 lb.-ft. of torque (657 Nm) at 4800 rpm
• 7000 rpm redline
• Titanium connecting rods and intake valves
• Dry-sump engine lubrication system
• Engine hand-built at GM’s new Performance Build Center
LS7 engine
The all-new LS7 of the ’06 Z06 reintroduces the 427-cubic-inch engine to the Corvette lineup. Unlike the previous 427 engine, which was a big-block design, the new 7.0-liter LS7 is a small-block V-8 – the largest-displacement small-block ever produced by GM and a tribute to its 50 years as a performance icon.
With 500 horsepower and 475 lb.-ft. of torque, it also is the most powerful passenger car engine ever produced by Chevrolet and GM. The LS7 is easily identified under the hood by red engine covers with black lettering.
The LS7 shares the same basic Gen IV V-8 architecture as the Corvette’s 6.0-liter LS2, but the LS7 uses a different cylinder block casting with pressed-in steel cylinder liners to accommodate the engine’s wide, 104.8-mm-wide cylinder bores; the LS2 has 101.6-mm bores. And when compared to the LS2, the LS7 also has a different front cover, oil pan, exhaust manifolds and cylinder heads.
Internally, the LS7’s reciprocating components make use of racing-derived lightweight technology, including titanium connecting rods and intake valves, to help boost horsepower and rpm capability. The rpm fuel shut-off limit is 7000 rpm.
The LS7’s specifications include:
• Unique cylinder block casting with large, 104.8-mm bores and pressed-in cylinder liners
• Forged steel main bearing caps
• Forged steel crankshaft
• Titanium connecting rods with 101.6-mm stroke
• Forged aluminum flat-top pistons
• 11.0:1 compression
• Dry-sump oiling system
• Camshaft with .591-inch lift
• Racing-derived CNC-ported aluminum cylinder heads with titanium intake valves and sodium-filled exhaust valves
• Titanium pushrods and valve springs
• Low-restriction air intake system
• Hydroformed exhaust headers with unique “quad flow” collector flanges.
“In many ways, the LS7 is a racing engine in a street car,” said Dave Muscaro, assistant chief engineer of small-block V-8 for passenger cars. “We’ve taken much of what we’ve learned over the years from the 7.0-liter C5-R racing program and instilled it here. There really has been nothing else like it offered in a GM production vehicle.”
One of the clearest examples of the LS7’s race-bred technology is its use of titanium connecting rods. They weigh just 480 grams apiece, almost 30 percent less than the rods in the LS2 V-8. Besides being lightweight, which enhances high-rpm performance and rpm range, titanium makes the rods extremely durable.
The LS7’s CNC-ported aluminum cylinder heads are all-new and designed to meet the high airflow demands of the engine’s 7.0-liter displacement, as it ingests approximately 100 cubic feet more air per minute than the Corvette’s 6.0-liter LS2 V-8 – an 18-percent increase in airflow. Consequently, a hydraulic roller camshaft with .591/.591-inch valve lift is used to allow plenty of air to circulate in and out of the engine.
To ensure optimal, uninterrupted airflow, the LS7’s heads have straight, tunnel-like intake runners. Very large by production-vehicle standards – even racing standards – they are designed to maintain fast airflow velocity, providing excellent torque at low rpm and exhilarating horsepower at high rpm. The heads feature 70-cc combustion chambers which are fed by huge, 56-mm-diameter titanium intake valves. The lightweight titanium valves weigh 21grams less than the stainless steel valves used in the LS2, despite the valve head having 22 percent more area. They are complemented by 41-mm sodium-filled exhaust valves, vs. 39.4-mm valves in the LS2. To accommodate the large valve face diameters, the heads’ valve seats are siamesed; and, taken from experience with the engines of C5-R racecars, the LS7’s valve angles are held at 12 degrees – versus 15 degrees for the LS2 – to enhance airflow through the ports.
All LS7 engines are assembled by hand at GM Powertrain’s new Performance Build Center in Wixom , Mich. The exacting standards to which they are built include deck-plate honing of the cylinders – a procedure normally associated with the building of racing engines and almost unheard of in a production-vehicle engine.
Dry sump oiling system
The LS7 has a dry-sump oiling system designed to keep the engine fully lubricated during the high cornering loads the Corvette Z06 is capable of producing. An engine compartment-mounted 8-quart reservoir delivers oil at a constant pressure to a conventional-style oil pump pick-up at the bottom of the engine. The pressurized oil feed keeps the oil pick-up continually immersed in oil at cornering loads exceeding 1 g.
Oil circulates through the engine and down to the oil pan, where it is sent back to the reservoir via a scavenge pump. The large-capacity reservoir, combined with a high efficiency air-to-oil cooler, provides necessary engine oil cooling under the demands of the engine’s power output. With the dry-sump system, oil is added to the engine via the reservoir tank – which includes the oil level dipstick.
The LS7’s dry-sump system was developed and tested on racetracks in the United States and Europe , including Germany ’s famed Nürburgring. And while common in racing cars, the Corvette Z06 is one of just a handful of production vehicles – and the only production Corvette – to ever incorporate such a high-performance oiling system.

a 427 ali smallblock that is a direct replacement for my 350c c LS1..............now where's the checkbook!

[williamsdad]

Dave, Adrian, & steve, thanks for your comments, Firstly the t56 borg warner gear box is out of a doge viper & is rated at 600hp, Andy from GD has bought 2 of these from a crash test site, have 2000 miles worth of work.
The LS7 engine will hopefully be available this autumn, it is the new 2006 mk1V generation motors & has a new designed Block. still a small block but produces 500 hp in standard form / 475 lb of torque. redlines at 7,000rpm and has 427 cubic inches 7 litre. you van find all the tech stuff on the websites just do a search for LS7 engine specs and choose a site there are loads of bumf.
Hope this helps. I am going to wait for this engine to put in my GD 427. the build time runs into sept. so what the heck it will be on the road for spring 2006 no point in rushing into a car when can have the dog Bxxxxx in a couple of months

[williamsdad]

Steve, found the info hey, makes for some good reading hey & exeptional fun,
Andy from GD recons 285 tyres will be the max width to fit on the new body, hope they can hold the traction.

[dave]

285's........Nah!
On the Dax De Dion rear 8.0L Shelby block car breaks traction in the first 4 gears with Toyo proxy 295's when it is "On song"...............And in a straight line. That's what big blocks with 600 Ft Lb of torque do.


Have fun and don't forget your brown trousers.

[williamsdad]

Yep, My thoughts exactly, will have to see if the arches can be made a bit wider to take 345s should get a bit more grip? however have been in a test with andy from GD and the car with 420lb of torque on full tilt struggled to loose traction on full song with 255s the car just dug in and flew.

[dave]

Hi Williamsdad.
Exactly, 420 Ft Lb is fine but 600 is another matter.
Are you planning on having the Euro chasssis, you are going to need all the help you can get to put the power down if you tweek up that big block.

[Steve]

Robs new blower setup will produce in excess of 600 ftlb, thats running 285, so I guess well soon see how well the chassis, suspension and tyre combination work in terms of power to tarmac!

Elvington will be a blast!

Dave, do you know if Dax are going?, it'd be a great opportunity to see how the new chassis/suspension and that big block perform on the track

[Steve]

It should be great, though looking at the GM bumf ( handbuilt in GM performance shop)I think the LS7 will carry a good price tag.

are you going to build this yourself, or is this going to be a factory build?

[robert]

Originally Posted by dave

285's........Nah!
On the Dax De Dion rear 8.0L Shelby block car breaks traction in the first 4 gears with Toyo proxy 295's when it is "On song"...............And in a straight line. That's what big blocks with 600 Ft Lb of torque do.


Have fun and don't forget your brown trousers.

Big block or small block doesn't matter, 600lb/ft is 600lb/ft whatever the configuration. My old engine with only 550lb/ft would only break traction in 1st in the GD, and would dig in in 2nd and fly, and that was with 245s. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

[Steve]

"My old engine with only 550lb/ft ......................."

showoff!