Photo: Katech
Katech is the first aftermarket company to successfully engine dyno the LT6 flat-plane crankshaft V8 of the all-new Z06. The Clinton Township-based performance outfit decided to skip in-car calibration in favor of engine development, which is why Katech used a Bosch Motorsport MS 6.4 engine control unit to manage the high-pressure fuel pumps and multi-stake intake manifold bypass system of the high-revving V8.
The aftermarket control unit is designed to manage up to 12 cylinders. Featuring a digital processing core with floating point arithmetic and a high-end field-programmable gate array, the Bosch Motorsport MS 6.4 control unit is optimized for low- and high-pressure injection. Measurement with 38 analog inputs, four gigs of memory and four more gigs optionally available, as well as SENT sensor support also need to be mentioned.
“We were able to successfully replicate the advertised power of the LT6 on our dyno,” says Katech in the attached post, referring to 670 horsepower at 8,400 revolutions per minute and 460 pound-foot (623 Nm) at 6,300 revolutions per minute as per the SAE J1349 testing protocol.
They also managed to run the 5.5-liter mill on E85, which comprises 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. E85 is commonly used in flex-fuel vehicles, and despite worse fuel economy than gasoline, E85 burns better. This results in higher power and torque ratings, and the increased exhaust gas flow allows the turbos – if present – to spool up quicker.
The LT6 in the Z06 may not feature any sort of forced induction, but not for long. Chevrolet is currently developing the twin-turbo version of this engine – dubbed LT7 – for the combustion-only ZR1 and hybrid-assisted Zora. Katech will test various forced-induction setups for the LT6 as well, mentioning Garrett Motion as their turbocharger supplier of choice.
But the question is, will the peeps at Katech crack the 1,000-hp mark?
“We were able to successfully replicate the advertised power of the LT6 on our dyno,” says Katech in the attached post, referring to 670 horsepower at 8,400 revolutions per minute and 460 pound-foot (623 Nm) at 6,300 revolutions per minute as per the SAE J1349 testing protocol.
They also managed to run the 5.5-liter mill on E85, which comprises 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. E85 is commonly used in flex-fuel vehicles, and despite worse fuel economy than gasoline, E85 burns better. This results in higher power and torque ratings, and the increased exhaust gas flow allows the turbos – if present – to spool up quicker.
The LT6 in the Z06 may not feature any sort of forced induction, but not for long. Chevrolet is currently developing the twin-turbo version of this engine – dubbed LT7 – for the combustion-only ZR1 and hybrid-assisted Zora. Katech will test various forced-induction setups for the LT6 as well, mentioning Garrett Motion as their turbocharger supplier of choice.
But the question is, will the peeps at Katech crack the 1,000-hp mark?
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