New Vortec 6.0-liter Gen IV, Half-Century of Small-Block V-8s Celebrated



GM Powertrain inaugurates $10 million Performance Build Center to produce hand-built high-performance engines. First engine produced: LS7 V-8, beginning second-quarter 2005
Vortec 6000 6.0-liter all-aluminum V-8 (LS2), fourth generation of GM's hallowed small-block design, will be available in the 2005 Chevrolet SSR
Fifty years of small-block heritage commemorated with launch of LS2 and exhibit area at Performance Build Center
DETROIT - General Motors Corp. is adding more muscle to its claim of "World's Best Powertrains" with the official opening of its Performance Build Center, a $10 million facility dedicated to building high-performance engines for low-volume, premium vehicles.
The first hand-built engine variant to come from the Performance Build Center will be the LS7 OHV V-8 that is the heart of the Z06 performance package earmarked for the 2006 Corvette; specifications and details for the LS7 will be provided at the 2005 North American International Auto Show.

Another variant of GM Powertrain's newly revised small-block engine family, the Vortec 6000 6.0-liter V-8 (LS2), powers the 2005 Chevrolet SSR. It is an all-aluminum version of the new fourth generation of GM's timeless small-block V-8. The Gen IV design comprises the latest series of technical revisions to the engine.

The new Gen IV small-block V-8 also will launch in several 2005 GM SUVs. Those trucks will use Gen IV V-8s with cast aluminum cylinder blocks and feature GM Powertrain's efficiency enhancing Displacement on Demand cylinder deactivation technology.

The 2005 launch of the Gen IV also marks the 50th anniversary of the small-block's launch in the '55 Chevrolet lineup. The Gen IV variant makes the small-block one of the most enduring designs of any mass-producing industrial sector.

Performance Build Center
The GM Powertrain Performance Build Center, a 100,000 square foot facility in the Detroit suburb of Wixom, is the culmination of former GM Powertrain Vice President Ned McClurg's vision to see the company's Powertrain division - the world's highest-volume producer of automotive engines - establish a reputation as a builder of hand-crafted, high-performance "niche" engines for low-volume specialty vehicles.

"Ned saw a strong market niche GM had not gone after in the past," said Timothy M. Schag, site manager for the Performance Build Center. The idea went to the highest levels of the corporation - but ultimately needed little selling. GM executives and planners already had foreseen the need to compete with other automakers crafting high-performance "image powertrains" for premium vehicles, said Schag.

Schag, a GM engineer with decades of powertrain manufacturing and engineering experience, traveled the world with other Powertrain engineers to study competitive niche-engine building facilities and benchmark race teams' operations.

The Performance Build Center will combine the best practices of contemporary niche-engine construction with the volume-manufacturing system that has enabled GM Powertrain to claim leadership in a string of recent J.D. Power and Associates rankings of manufacturing quality. Schag says, in fact, that while the Performance Build Center's volumes may be purposely small - capacity is 15,000 engines annually - all of the quality standards that apply to every GM Powertrain manufacturing facility will be fully in place. The facility will achieve TS 16949 certification by the end of the year and the site will be compatible with GM Global Manufacturing System processes.

Engines built at the Performance Build Center will be constructed by specially trained craftspeople from United Auto Workers Local 653, based in Pontiac, Mich. Each technician on the 80-person force receives extensive high-level instruction - every technician has built complete engines before.

This philosophy of craftsmanship and "ownership" is the crux of the Performance Build Center's philosophy. One technician will build a complete engine from start to finish. The Performance Build Center's highly flexible manufacturing concept and tooling, combined with technicians' ability to assemble any engine, mean that throughput of different engines can be quickly adjusted to address shifting market demand.

The Performance Build Center will be the focal point of GM's goal to make expressive and emotional vehicles, with powertrains that match that excitement. "It's a much more efficient way to get these special, high-performance engines to the street," said Schag.

The LS7 OHV V-8 for 2006 Chevrolet Corvette ZO6 is the first engine confirmed for the Performance Build Center, but others will follow.

"Performance means different things to different people. Sometimes it's pure horsepower. Maybe it's sophistication. Whatever the definition, this facility will deliver world-class engines," Said Schag.

Performance Build Center Fast Facts


A $10 million, 100,000 sq. ft. facility in Wixom, Mich.
First product: Gen IV LS7 small-block V-8 for 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Specially trained technicians from UAW Local 653; each technician builds an engine from start to finish
Capacity: 15,000 engines annually; highly flexible "mix" can respond to quickly changing market conditions
Every engine to be hot-tested
SSR's Vortec 6000 6.0-liter ushers in fourth generation of small-block V-8
The new Gen IV Vortec 6000 6.0-liter V-8 (LS2) small block injects a new level of performance for the 2005 Chevrolet SSR.
Also new for 2005, the Gen IV Vortec 5300 5.3-liter small-block V-8 will feature GM Powertrain's Displacement on Demand cylinder deactivation to be rolled out in various 2005-model GM SUVs. In all applications, the Gen IV is revised in several key areas to enhance efficiency and durability, reduce friction and improve airflow.

For the 2005 SSR, the Vortec 6000 6.0-liter Gen IV small-block develops 390 hp at 5400 rpm and 405 lb.-ft. of torque at 4400 rpm. The SSR's Vortec 6000 6.0-liter LS2 is backed by a standard Hydra-Matic 4L65-E four-speed automatic transmission, or new for 2005, a Tremec M10 six-speed manual.

A summary of new or changed components for the Gen IV architecture:

Larger 90-mm throttle body: The 6.0-liter displacement requires a higher volume of intake air; the Gen III throttle body is 75 mm. The new throttle body is mounted to a revised-design composite intake manifold with tuned runners to optimize airflow to individual cylinders.

New combustion-chamber design: Understanding of the flow characteristics in the highly tuned LS6 small-block were applied to the new Gen IV combustion chambers. The result is higher power output and increased volumetric efficiency.

Higher compression ratio: Hand-in-hand with Gen IV's new combustion chamber design is the ability to increase compression ratio to 10.9:1 compared to the 10:1 of the High-Output Vortec 6.0-liter Gen III V-8.

High-lift cam profile: Intake breathing is enhanced with a new, higher-lift camshaft. Also fitted are stronger valve springs to enable a higher peak-rpm range.

Flat-top pistons and stronger floating wrist pins: Floating piston wrist pins enhance durability, while engine testing and computer modeling demonstrated flat-top pistons generate the best power.

Compact, lighter water pump: All Gen IV V-8s are fitted with a more compact, more efficient water pump that reduces mass, conserves underhood space and reduces parasitic losses.

Deeper oil pan: The LS2 truck engine is designed with a deeper oil sump than the LS2 passenger-car engine. The new oil pan also incorporates a pass-through for a front driveshaft when used in four-wheel-drive applications.

Reduced-tension piston rings: Piston rings are a new, lower-tension design to reduce friction.

Redesigned crankcase vent: The crankcase vent is repositioned to the top of the block valley, where oil is less likely to enter during high engine speeds or high-g maneuvers.

New accessory-drive package: A new power steering pump and revised serpentine drive belt result in better space utilization.

Along with the increased power and torque when compared to the Gen III High Output Vortec 6.0-liter V-8, the new Gen IV Vortec 6000 6.0-liter continues GM Powertrain's ongoing commitment to reducing maintenance intervals and servicing costs.

Gen IV Vortec 6000 6.0-liter V-8 Fast Facts

First truck application: 2005 Chevrolet SSR
First small-block V-8 for truck applications to use aluminum cylinder block
390 hp (291 kW) at 5400 rpm
405 lb.-ft. (542 Nm) of torque at 4400 rpm
Numerous internal revisions enhance power as well as improve efficiency
GM Powertrain marks 50 years of small-block heritage
GM Powertrain is introducing its new Gen IV small-block V-8 architecture for several 2005 model GM vehicles exactly 50 years after the original small-block was launched for Chevrolet in 1955. One of any engine family's most important design elements - the distance between bore centers - remains the same 4.4 inches for today's new Gen IV as it was in Chevrolet Chief Engineer Ed Cole's seminal initial design.
Compact, powerful and packed with innovative technology: it's an accurate description of the new Gen IV V-8, and those same words were used to describe the original small-block in 1955.

In addition to its new, all-aluminum 6.0-liter variant for car and truck applications (LS2), the Gen IV architecture will be launched in V-8-equipped models of the 2005 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT, GMC Envoy XL and Envoy XUV, offering fuel-saving Displacement on Demand (DOD) technology.

 

I wonder if it will ever be open to tours for the public. I would love to go check that place out sometime.

Also, do they dyno test every engine they build there before it's put into a vehicle?

 

So all 6.0 motors will be the LS2? Wow... talk about economy of scale! It doesnt say, but will the 5.3 make 310hp this year?

Teh LS7 is also very very good news. I knew the LS7 was going to be built on a special line.

 

Looks like the SSR will finally get the ***** it deserves.

 

I guess the Vette rule still applys to the SSR. 390 is still a sexy number! The LS2 is the answer to all of GM's low-sales problems!! Forget incentives... LS2!!

 

Finally.. with the LS2 perhaps it can do 0-60 in maybe low 6's? and with a 6 speed it should be a bit mroe fun..

Surprised that they will put the aluminum 6.0L back in trucks and SUV's...

EDIT: whoa.. this site clames it will be 0-60 in 5.3 seconds!

http://gm-trucks.com/ART_2005_ssr.shtml

 

400 HP versions of the 6.0 are the LS2's...the truck 6.0 will not develop 400 HP, there will be differences to tell them apart from real "LS2's".

I like the fact that the LS7 and other future performance engines will be hand-assembled. Kind of strikes back at all the ballyhooing over the Cobra motors being hand built.

 

Awesome to see its getting a 6-speed. The best part about it is that the gear ratios sure look very familiar, but its getting 3.73's from the factory.

 

This is awesome for GM fans. I can't wait to see what other engines they turn out.

SSR needs the 390HP LS2, as Does the Silverado SS. I wonder how this news will impact 300HP 2004 SSR sales.

Big Als Z, I beleive the DoD 5.3Ls will make 300HP and the non-DoD 5.3L will make 310HP

 

I said months ago that the LS7 will be hand built, but all I got was this... saying that GM would never spend the money for hand built motors.


thank you Z28x, I knew it was either with or without DoD.

 

I honestly don't remember anyone saying that, but hey, if you did, good call!

 

I wonder what else will see the LS2 truck motor, TrailBlazerSS, TahoeSS, SilveradoSS?

 

yes to the first and last, but havent heard anything about the Tahoe SS?

How do you keep up with the L and SRT10 ram? Cut a ton off the truck... Colorado SS.

 

15,000, huh.......