- 4,881
- Stockholm
- chorda / GTP_chorda
I agree that 4.5 liter V8 in the 458 Italia is quite impressive, particularly in it's hp per liter output...and the sound can't be beat IMOBut when you get down to it hp per liter is rather meaningless in the whole scheme of things, when it comes to outright performance. For example, the LS7 in the C6 Z06 might be 7.0 liters and produce 500hp (very mildly tuned from the factory), but it is really similar in phsyical dimension and weight to the 4.5 liter V8 found in the Ferrari or the 4.0 S65 V8 in the newest M3...due to the fact the LS7 is pushrod layout and doesn't have the added weight and complexity that comes along with a DOHC arrangement. Also, the tractability/powerband is extremely useable with the LS7 and the fuel economy is just as good if not better with the LS7 than the smaller DOHC V8's. Of course maintnance cost and modifying cost are also much cheaper as you know. Also you can get 650rwhp (~750hp) normally aspirated out of the LS7 on pump gas with heads/cams and full bolt ons...which is incredible impressive for a motor of it's size and weight. That would impossible to achieve with the Ferrari or BMW motor in normally aspirated form (on 91 octane at least) which are of basically the same physical dimension and weight of the LS7.
Ok, this car nut is done going off topic
Of course the downside to this is that you can't remove the stage 1/2/3 mods which makes things a pita (for those who have already installed such mods) and also harder to police.
Great post, and I totally agree with you. It's just that the fuel economy and the usable aspects is not something I put as one of my priorities when I'm at the race track. I think that an engine with high revs and less tourqe is much more fun to drive. That's why I suggested that you'd remove the possibility to upgrade the car with a turbo or engine upgrade. Because they are really easy to police. Just start the replay and click thru all cars and look for 12k rpm gauges or turbo gauges. In this way, you'll minimize the amount of tourqe at disposal. My guess is that tourqe still will be more than enough. 👍
The LS7 is a 7 l engine. To be able to get 750 hp from a 7 liter engine is not something you can compare with the Ferrari 458's 4,5 liter v8 or the E9X 4,2 liter v8. The volume is a fundamental detail when it comes to the amount of power you can make it produce. The increase in % can still be achieved in the Ferrari and BMW even though they can't reach 750 hp with the same upgrades as the LS7. I don't know how much the LS7 can rev, but by looking at the volume and power output, it gets pretty obvious that we are talking 6500 or up to 7000 rpms just by looking at the numbers. The volume makes the engine produce a lot of tourqe in the lower rpms, which make the power band more plain and the choice of gear is less important compared to an engine more similar to the Ferrari's or the BMW's. My point of view is just that an engine with less tourqe and higher revs is more fun (challanging) to drive fast.
That's why I proposed to remove the possibility to upgrade the ZR1 with the turbo or engine upgrade. These mods are easy to police, that's why I suggested them. If you can't police a mod, the only way to be sure to be fair is to allow that mod. That's for sure.
Thanks!
Last edited:
I'll buy another ZR1 and do some final testing over the weekend to see which way I want to go (allow these mods or ban them). I don't want to burden people with having to buy new cars for the series (because all their cars might already have the Stage 1/2/3 mods) but I wan't to make things more realistic and also a bit easier for everyone 
I'm going to test the Z06 and maybe we will just end up using that for Round 1, since it is a bit cheaper and in the real world be the more ideal track car (since it's lighter + normally aspirated) vs. the ZR1. Fortunately it will probably only cost about $250k to outfit to the spec we need
For the future Rounds I will have everything sorted out and finalized from the get go.
