4/30/2017 6.

2LiterLSAEngineZL1InSheep'sClothing

6.2LiterLSAEngineZL1InSheep'sClothing
ThedifferenceinhorsepowerandtorqueratingsaresaidtobeattributabletotheZL1's
uniqueinductionsystem

RandallD.Allen Feb14,2012 0Comment(s) Share

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WefeelyourpaintheZL1thatyouhaveonorder,orarelustingabout,isalmostatthedealerand
youcan'twaittogetbehindthewheelandmatthepedaltothefloorboard.Whileyouwait,let'stakea

lookattheLSAusedinthe2012CadillacCTSVforinsightintothepowerpotentialoftheLSAin

stockandmodifiedforms.GMhasbeenputtingthe6.2literLSAengineintoCadillacCTSV'ssince

the2009modelyearandinthatplatformtheyareratedat556horsepowerat6100rpmwith551lbft

oftorqueat3800.WhentheZL1debutsitisratedat580horsepowerat6000rpmand556lbftat

4200.BothenginesusethesixthgenerationEatonsuperchargerthatdisplaces1.9litersper

revolutionandgeneratesamaximumboostof9.0psi.NootherchangestotheLSA'sinternalspecs

havebeenreleasedleadingustosurmisethatthecylinderheadsandcamshaftareidentical.The

relativelylowlift,lowoverlapofthecamshaft(198/216at.050with.480/.480inchlift)isdesignedto

promoteasmootheridleandexcellentlowRPMdrivingcharacteristicswhiletheLSAspecificcylinder

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headsaremodifiedversionsoftheL92andLS3heads,whicharerotocastwithpremiumA356T6

alloythatsignificantlyreducesporosityinthecastingsmakingthemstronger.Thedifferencein

horsepowerandtorqueratingsaresaidtobeattributabletotheZL1'suniqueinductionsystem,which

featuresalowerrestrictionairfilter,dualinletpathsandimprovedsuperchargerhousingairflow.On

theexhaustside,whiletheCTSVhas"highmoly"castironexhaustmanifolds,theCamarouses

stainlesssteelmanifoldsandhasanactivedualmodeexhaustmuffler.

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AccordingtoAndyMages,ownerofADMPerformance,"WhenCadillacreleasedtheLSAintothe

CTSVin2009wefoundoutthatinstockformtheenginewouldputdownonaverageabout455rwhp

and450lbftoftorquethroughtheautomatic(GMHydraMatic6L90E)andanadditional20

horsepowerandpoundfeetoftorqueifequippedwiththeTremec6060manualtransmission.Assoon

astheCTSVwasreleasedwesawthepotentialoftheplatformandstarteddevelopingpackagesto

taketheLSAfrom650throughover900crankshafthorsepowerutilizingthestocksupercharger.The

StageIpackageisratedat650crankshafthorsepowerandfeaturesanoverdrivesuperchargerpulley

(eitheraLingenfelterupperpulleywitha2.55inchdiameterandADMportedsnoutoraLingenfelter

lowerharmonicbalancerwitha9.17inchdiameterpulley),airintakeandtune."TherearealsoStage

IIandStageIIIpackages,whichareratedupto750crankshafthorsepower,andstillutilizethestock
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bottomend.However,afterthatADMbeginscustomtailoringthebuildtotheowner'sneeds."Witha
ZL1onorderandpackagesalreadydesignedfortheCamarowearepreparedtooffertheCTSVand

ZL1customerafullrangeofoptionstomeettheirbudgetandhorsepowergoals."

TodemonstratetheStageIpackageweuseda2012CTSVwagonwitha6speedmanual,whichthe

ownerrequestedthatwekeepasclosetostockappearing(andidling)aspossibleyetstillgenerateat

least675700horsepower.ThismadetheLingenfelterupperpulleyandADMportedsnoutthebest

option,sincethelowerharmonicbalancerwouldbeeasiertodetect.SincetheCTSVintakecomes

witharestrictivestockfilterandtheintaketubehasthetendencytoatleast"partially"collapseat

elevatedboostlevelsweteamedupwithHalltechtotesttheirCTSVStingerCarbonFiberColdAir

IntakeSystem.ThesystemcontainsanattractivecarbonfiberintaketubeandK&Nairfilter.Halltech

recommendsmodifyingthestockairboxforadditionalairflowandadvertisesthattheintakesystem

makes20rearwheelhorsepoweronastockCTSVwithouttuning.

ToprepareforthestocktestonADM'sDynojet224Xrearwheeldyno(locatedonsiteinaseparate

temperaturecontrolledfacility)thewagonwasdeliveredwith860milesontheodometerandafull

tankof93octanegasoline.Thecoldtirepressuresweresettofactoryspecificationsandthewagon

wasstrappeddown.ThewiresfromtheDynojet,torecordtherunincludingboostpressure,were

attachedandEFILivewasconnectedtotheE67ECM.Thedynobrakewasreleasedandtheengine

waswarmedupuntilthecoolanttemperatureindicated172degreesandwasthenpulledtothe

redlineof6200.WhenthedynonumbersflasheduponthescreenandreadanSAEcorrected516

rwhpwith512lbftoftorquebothADMandGMHTPwereshocked.Afterreviewingallofthe

parametersoftherunonEFILive,noknockretardwaspresentandthepeakswereobtainedright
whereCadillacratedthem.Aftercheckingeverythingasecondtime,thewagonwaswarmedbackup

andpulledataslightlyhighercoolanttemperatureof178degrees.Thistimewhentherollersstopped
itbeltedout525rwhpwith521lbftoftorque.Onceagainnoknockretardwasloggedandthepeak

boostcameinat9.44poundswithanaverageof8poundsfrom2100to6150rpm.

AccordingtoMages,"Since475485rwhponaDynojetisnormalforthemanualtransmissionCTS
V'sIwentbackandpulledupstocktunefilesandtheirloggedrunsfrom'09'11modelstocompare.
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Afterreviewingthefiles,nothinghadbeenchangedfromearliermodelyearsexceptforsmallchanges
inthesparkcorrectionidle,idleRPM,fuelcutoffandthemisfiregraph.Timing,boostandanything

thatwouldaffectpowerproductionwereunchanged.WithGMHTPwatchingeverystepoftheway
abouttheonlyconclusionswecoulddrawwerethateitherthisenginewasa"factoryfreak"orGM

madeunpublishedchangestotheLSA."Onlytimewilltell!Withanestimated18%drivelineloss(21
%forautos)theVwagonwasmakingapproximately640horsepoweratthecrankwith635lbftof

torque.Aftercallingthecustomertoreviewtheresultsofthebaselinedynosessionitwasagreedthat
theStageIpackagewouldbemorethansufficienttoexceedthepowergoals,reducingtheoverall

costyetstillprovidingthewagonamajorboostinpower.Andawaywewentinsearchofanadditional
6070horsepower.

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