2020 CORVETTE C8’S HORSEPOWER, TORQUE FIGURES MAY BE SERIOUSLY UNDERRATED
Officially, the mid-engine 2020 Chevrolet Corvette’s 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 produces 495 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque at 6,450 rpm and 5,150 rpm, respectively. But a series of dyno pulls Motor Trend performed on a test car suggest that it could produce more — much more.
The publication managed to strap one of the Corvettes to a dynamometer and was surprised to record 558 hp and 515 lb-ft of torque at the wheels; assuming a 15 percent drivetrain loss, that works out to an estimated output of 656 hp and 606 lb-ft. (And even assuming an impossible zero percent drivetrain loss, the V8 was still putting out way more than the official numbers.)
Further pulls revealed similar numbers, so this wasn’t a one-off anomaly — something is up here. The possibilities as we see it:
– Chevrolet is dramatically underrating its engines
– This particular press car has been tuned to put out much more than your average stock 2020 Corvette will produce
– Differences between testing methodologies used by Motor Trend and Chevrolet, and/or conditions on the day of testing, account for the difference
– The dyno Motor Trend used is way out of whack
Underrating engines is not an unheard-of practice, but that shouldn’t be the case here: The new Corvette engine’s output has been independently certified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). So the horsepower and torque for the model should be more or less known quantities.
Differences in testing methodologies could account for the gap between stated and apparent output. Of the SAE’s approach, Motor Trend writes:
“Their testing does not involve a simple pull from idle to redline, either. Rather, rpm are slowly ramped up and allowed to stabilize before accelerating further. This process results in significantly more heat generation than any single pull from our six dyno runs. For that reason, the engineers say, it’s not uncommon for single chassis dyno pulls to register higher output (and it is extremely unlikely any car will ever generate less than rated output).”
So that could explain some of the discrepancies, but we’re not talking about a few percentage points difference here. Could the problem be in the dyno? That’s certainly possible — dynamometers are great for showing relative increases in power (e.g., boosted output after an engine has been tuned or otherwise modified) but shouldn’t be automatically trusted to provide accurate baseline figures.
But Motor Trend says it’s taken that into account:
“The dyno we used complies with the SAE J1349 procedures, and we’ve used it multiple times in the past. To prove there wasn’t a problem with the dyno, we ran a 2020 Ram 2500 Limited powered by the 6.7-liter turbodiesel Cummins engine, which produces 850 lb-ft of torque but is not SAE-certified. The dyno read 760 lb-ft at the wheels, which means there’s about 890 lb-ft at the crank, much closer to the numbers Ram claims.”
Head to the Motor Trend article to see all the numbers, check out the dyno test reports and read more about the test methodology. There’s some speculation about what may be behind the higher output, including the possibility that the publication’s test car was punched up by Chevy. Until publications can test multiple cars on multiple dynos, we won’t have any real sense of what’s going on.
You can read our first drive of the 2020 Corvette here; we haven’t managed to strap one to a dyno just yet, but be on the lookout for more drives and impressions of the car in the coming days.
Souce: Graham Kozak, AutoWeek
2020 C8 Chevy Corvette spins up an eye-popping mystery on the dyno
The intrigue around the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette isn’t close to ending. Motor Trend secured a pre-production build of America’s sports car for two weeks of testing, including a trial at the Hyundai-Kia proving grounds for MT’s Car of the Year roundup. It was treated like a priceless museum exhibit on loan: MT staffers kept the Corvette throughout the day, then returned the coupe to Chevy’s PR team every night. The day before handing the car back to Chevy for good, the magazine wanted to run a real-mpg test, but the testing company didn’t have equipment to deal with square tailpipes. So MT took the red Z51 coupe to its local, oft-used dyno for what would turn out to be six confounding runs. The numbers after the first run in fifth gear run: 558 horsepower and 515 pound-feet of torque. At the wheels.
Assuming parasitic driveline losses of 15% would mean the Corvette was putting out around 656 hp and 606 lb-ft at the crank. If we assume a 10% loss, the crank figures come to about 620 hp and 570 lb-ft. Either set represents a shocking surplus over the Corvette’s official rating 495 hp and 470 lb-ft. And the official rating isn’t Chevy putting its best foot forward — GM pays to have the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) certify its output figures using the SAE’s strict protocols.
Having been thrown this stumper, MT personnel tried to sleuth it out. They called their road test editor. They called Chevrolet engineers. Their technical editor did some math. They put a 2020 Ram 2500 diesel on the dyno as a control vehicle. They spoke to Chevy engineers again and got revised gear ratios taking the limited-slip differential into account. They got explanations from those engineers about what might be happening. They performed five more runs, two of them in sixth gear even though fifth gear was the closest to a 1:1 ratio. The lowest figures came during run number five, posting 478 hp and 536 lb-ft at the wheels. Even at just 10% of parasitic losses, that’s 530 hp and a mongo 597 lb-ft of torque.
At the moment, none of the numbers add up, and none of the explanations can explain them. Head to Motor Trend to read the whole story. All we know for now is that there’ll be a lot more Corvettes put on a lot more dynos before this is through. Whenever GM can start building C8 Corvettes, that is.
Source: Johnathan Ramsey, Autoblog.
WHAT DOES THE STRIKE MEAN FOR 2020 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8?
Are production delays possible?
Now entering its 10th day, the strike initiated by General Motors’ 50,000 factory employees across the US is causing the automaker to lose an estimated $50 million a day. Some estimates have that figure as high as $100 million. To pressure the United Auto Workers to make a deal, GM last week announced it will no longer pay for health insurance for striking workers. This means the UAW is now responsible for health benefits. Although progress is reportedly being made in negotiations between the two sides, a breakthrough has yet to happen. All the while, no new American-made GM vehicles are rolling off assembly lines but the all-new 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, at least so far, remains unaffected.
Read More at our site deBotech!
Source: CarBuzz
Corvette C8 Makes the Semifinalist List for 2020 Car of the Year
The Chevrolet Corvette C8 is on its way to potentially winning the 2020 North American Car of the Year award. The model has placed on the semifinalist list for this award along with foreign rival brands such as Volkswagen and BMW
The award
If you’re not familiar with this accolade, it’s an award given to the highest-rated vehicles in the car, utility vehicle, and truck categories. The winners of the 2020 awards will be announced in January at the North American International Auto Show. 50 judges selected from prestigious online, print, broadcast, and radio media outlets from the U.S. and Canada will evaluate the contenders to determine which three models will win the awards.
The competitive Corvette C8
The C8 Corvette Stingray is definitely deserving of the 2020 Car of the Year title, as GM Authority’s Jonathan Lopez points out. It’s one of the most anticipated sports cars to hit the market in a long time and is a stunning specimen of the new mid-engine platform that Chevy introduced specifically for this model.
More about the new Corvette
The Corvette C8 has already endeared itself to Chevy fans for a variety of reasons. For starters, the new mid-engine layout of the vehicle allows it to have a smaller extra trunk in the front. This space has the volume to accommodate a laptop and carry-on bag. It has a unique GPS-enabled tech feature that automatically lifts the vehicle’s nose when it reaches its destination, for a flashy entrance to any party or work function.
The model is also available in a variety of trendy, eye-catching exterior colors from Rapid Blue and Sebring Orange to Torch Red and Accelerate Yellow. And you can select from six different interior color themes in the cabin, for added flair.
The crowning trait of the C8 is its ability to go from a standstill to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds. The LT2 6.2-liter V8 engine yields 495 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque, for an exhilarating ride quality. Chevy also offers a Z51 Performance Package, which includes perks like Magnetic Ride Control 4.0, bigger brake rotors, and a shorter axle ratio for more track-ready driving dynamics.
Source: The NewsSource
2020 Corvette Offers Three Types of Removable Roof Panels
By: Johnathan Lopez
We’re still floored by the sheer number of exterior styling options Chevy will offer on the new 2020 Corvette C8. As evidenced by the online configurator, buyers will have a vast array of colors, stripes and accents to choose from when speccing the 2020 Corvette to their taste. But the new mid-engine Corvette Coupe will also offer no less than three individual removable roof panel options, offering up a body-colored, transparent, or carbon fiber aesthetic, as desired.
Roof Panel Cost RPO Code CF7
2020 Corvette with carbon fiber roof panel
It’s also worth noting that Chevrolet is also expected to offer a proper C8 convertible model by the end of the year. Prototypes of the upcoming Corvette convertible have been spied several times in the last few weeks, each wearing some black-and-white camouflage and black netting around the roof section. Unlike the soft-tops of previous Vette convertible models, the 2020 Corvette Convertible will come with a retractable hardtop, resulting in an even more comfortable cabin.
Read More at debotech!
SOURCE: GM Authority