How fast is a stock Z really?

[ZMidlife]

Do you have any specific examples of one of these Z motors "exploding" when pushed over 550? Where does this claim come from?

Do you know about forced induction? What forged internals means? Examples? I do not need examples when I know that a non-forged engine will explode eventually at 550whp. Even at 550 crank horsepower, the engine is not going to last a long time. It simply cannot handle the strain of that much power on the internal moving parts. If you think I am wrong, fine, then build your car as you wish. But having owned 29 Corvette's, 12 Camaro's, many of which were highly modified by Lingenfelter and Callaway, I know that you simply cannot throw too much boost at an engine that is not built to handle the stress. It simply will not last.
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The VR30 has been around long enough to prove its reliable at much higher levels than 550 crank. FBO VR30s on 93 make 420-450whp all day all over the us.

 

[Xylander]

Do you know about forced induction? What forged internals means? Examples? I do not need examples when I know that a non-forged engine will explode eventually at 550whp. Even at 550 crank horsepower, the engine is not going to last a long time. It simply cannot handle the strain of that much power on the internal moving parts. If you think I am wrong, fine, then build your car as you wish. But having owned 29 Corvette's, 12 Camaro's, many of which were highly modified by Lingenfelter and Callaway, I know that you simply cannot throw too much boost at an engine that is not built to handle the stress. It simply will not last.

You can't exactly expect one brand's engine (GM) to behave like any other brand. For example, Ford Gen II/III Coyotes are mostly forged from the factory and can handle 800hp on the stock internals. Built hundreds of those over the years. Take the Dodge Gen III Hemi engines. The 5.7L can handle around 600-700hp on stock internals, but the larger 6.4L can't handle more than 6psi on the stock internals... and it being forged has nothing to do with it. It's the design of the pistons with ring packs close to the piston head... which can lead to catastrophic ring land failures. Enter the 6.2L supercharged Hemi in the Hellcats... and you get a hybrid of those 2 engines. 5.7 crank, 6.4 block, with heavily reworked heads and all different pistons/rods, and voila, 18psi Hellcat engine.

Now, on this engine in the Z, as I've said here and elsewhere, I'm out of my depth. I'm an engineer though, and I'm quite confident in my abilities. Old engineering ism... "If you don't know the mechanical limits of an engine, ask someone who does."

So, if you have some sort of verifiable info other than a 550hp number pulled out of a hat, I'd love to hear what it is in that engine that gives out at that 550hp mark. At the end of the day though, I'm not too worried about it. A replacement long block for this car is only $9,000 new from the dealer. That's less than the cost of just the blower on my last car. I don't plan on blowing this car up, but if I did, I could afford to rebuild it several times over the cost of building one of my prior race engines.

 

[Zplz]

straight line speed is = $$. spend more money go faster.

Like this guy? Such a cool ‘67 Vette.

 

[TexasZee]

Faster than I could ever need.

 

[Zplz]

Faster than I could ever need.

And a lot more dollars than I’d want to spend. It’s a beauty but not exactly practical, either.

I love the bang-for-the-buck of my Z. Plenty fast for me and I don’t have rob banks to be able to afford it.

 

[bpeckham]

I love the bang-for-the-buck of my Z. Plenty fast for me and I don’t have rob banks to be able to afford it.

My inner nerd always comes out when I'm shopping for a car. I make a spreadsheet of all the contenders, and one of my criteria is bang for the buck (along with power to weight, range, etc.) If I was buying a new car today, the Z would still be right up there in the bang for buck category, just like it was back in 2023. The only car (on my list) that beats the Z is the Tesla Model 3 Performance, but I haven't convinced myself to go electric yet.

 

[TexasZee]

The thing i love about the new Z is that you can push the gas to go fast, or you can push the pedal to the floor and be shot back in your seat like you're in a jet. To me, it's perfection. But, i'm sure people have had faster...there's always something faster.

 

[Zplz]

The thing i love about the new Z is that you can push the gas to go fast, or you can push the pedal to the floor and be shot back in your seat like you're in a jet. To me, it's perfection. But, i'm sure people have had faster...there's always something faster.

Yes, sir. Completely agree. For me, my Z is "Goldilocks correct," as far as acceleration. Not so fast, that it's burning rubber at the slightest touch of the pedal, not so slow, that I think I have a stock 240Z... it's just right, right where I want it to be when I want it. As you mentioned, there's always something faster but my Z is also a decently comfortable ride, where I can drop both windows and enjoy the ride, without being buffeted to death by the wind. I'm looking at you BMW "Supra."

 

[ZMidlife]

Really anything with <10 lbs per HP is good. The internet has completely ruined the ideal of fast.
Newer cars do have better chassis and more refinement so theyre more muted feeling.

 

[HarryBo]

In the past 4 years, I've owned a self-built 1,300whp S550 Mustang GT, a 1,200whp Hellcat, a Hellcat Redeye, and a ProCharged C8 before this Z. The Mustang was actually an SCCA 800whp car for 2 years before I went big power on it and used it for mostly daily use and top speed runs. The C8 was just a base Stingray, which was a decent car, but thoroughly boring to drive. It was nimble, but dear God it was gutless above 80mph. Hence the ProCharger.

The Nismo Z compared to the C8 is a very interesting comparison. In my hands, the Z is faster around the same track (Talladega Grand Prix) as my stock C8 was by about 2 seconds (small, technical track). The Z is set up nearly ideally and I can focus mostly on driving and hitting the right marks. The C8 is kind of like a Mustang in that it has some pronounced, we'll call them characteristics, that have to be managed in combination with focusing on hitting the right marks. For example, the C8's severe understeer and lack of road feel make that car less than confidence inspiring. Putting a track suspension config on the front helps, but that understeer is just no good. Adding the ProCharger just made that even worse. The Mustang above was the opposite... massive oversteer and high torque made turn exits interesting. The Z is just a point and shoot type of car. It's good enough stock for smaller track work, but for the larger tracks... it needs a bit more power.

Love your assessment of the Z compared to the Vette and Stang! Can't wait till my AMS Custom EcuTek tune is completed this week! Thx!