TECH

LS9 Lives!
All hail the baddest small-block evera 620-horse monster that will power the 2009 ZR1
by rick jensen photography courtesy of general motors

We at GMHTP have sung the praises of every new LS V-8 for the past decade, and the song remains the same: building off of the original Gen III in 1997, every new GM mill gets more strength, more sophistication, and more power. The everymans LS1; the high-strung LS6; the big-inch, ultra-exotic, and ultrahigh-revving LS7just when it looks like the General had pushed the LS envelope as far as it can be taken, the wizards at GM Powertrain mix up a wicked combination of new-school technology and old-school musclecar torque. The result is the supercharged, 620hp LS9, slated to power the second coming of the King Of The Hillthe 2009 Corvette ZR1. GM will continue to deliver the worlds best powertrains, said Tom Stephens, group vice president for GM Powertrain and Quality, at an LS9 press conference in Detroit. Were going to have more fun with production performance, where a customer can check a box and get [what they want]. And when you experience the LS9 in the Corvette ZR1, the terms performance and refinement take on a new meaning. This blown 6.2L engine was developed for the 2009 ZR1 Corvette, and as the folks from GM Powertrain tell us, Ultimate performance is the goal. That is easy to see when you combine exotic titanium with ultra-strong forged steel and aluminum for the rotating assembly, throw on high-flow LS3-style cylinder heads, then bolt up an enormous, 2.3L blower with intercooler and start pushing 10-plus pounds of boost. But look beyond the 620 peak horsepower and 595 lb-ft

620+hp/595+lb-ft 6.2L, 319-T5 aluminum block 103.25mm (4.06-inch) bore x 92mm (3.62-inch) stroke Forged steel crank Titanium rods 9.1:1forgedaluminumpistonswith oil-spray cooling 356-T6 aluminum heads

Titanium55mm(2.16-inch)intake and hollow-stem, sodium-filled 40.4mm (1.59-inch) exhaust valves Offset-rocker valvetrain layout .555-inch-lift camshaft 2.3L intercooled supercharger pushing 10.5-psi boost 100hp/liter target

2009 LS9
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LS9 Lives!

of torque: the supercharged LS9 makes big power at lower rpm and carries it in a wide arc to 6,600 rpm. GM Powertrain testing shows the engine makes approximately 300 hp at 3,000 rpm and nearly 320 lb-ft of torque at only 1,000 rpm. Torque

tops 585 at about the 4,000-rpm mark, while horsepower peaks at 6,500 rpm. The engine produces 90 percent of peak torque from 2,600 rpm to 6,000 rpmthat peak number shows 595 on paper, but, as Stephens says, No way Im going to

let it out of here without 600 lb-ft! Our kind of madman. Feast your eyes on the pics and specs of this groundbreaking new enginethe most powerful production vehicle mill that GM has ever made! j

Block

The 2009 6.2L block is a shared casting with all other 6.2L blocks. It offers20percentstronger bulkheads, compared with 07 6.2 blocks, with a hone over travel fillet radius change from 3 to 10mm. An additional 20 percent increase in bulkhead strength is realizedbyoptimizingthe No. 2 and No. 3 bulkhead windows. The LS9 has six-boltmainswithforged steel bearing caps, dowel alignment, oil squirters, and fully machined surfaces.Deckplateswith the same mass as the cylinder heads are used forboringandhoningthis block for the best head seal,leastoilconsumption, roundest cylinders, and bestoverallperformance.

Crankshaft

Connecting Rods

The forged steel crank uses a smaller reluctor wheel than its LS siblings, and uses a 9-bolt flywheel flange for more clamping strength (LS3 has a six-bolt). Its dampener has a keyway and friction washer for supporting high engine loads.

Titanium rods are used for ultimate strength and light weight, allowing the LS9 to rev to its 6,600-rpm limit.

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Pistons

TheLS9saluminumslugsfeatureanodizedtoplandsforhightemperatureandloaddurability,apolymer-coatedskirtandfloatingpinsfor noise and wear resistance, large pins with thick walls, drilled oil drainbacks, and oil spray coolingthe first use ever on a small block!

Intercooler

Blower

LS9s intercooler is a liquid-to-air, tube-in-fin design packaged withthesupercharger.Itutilizestwoverysmallheatexchangers longitudinally mounted, aluminum bricks to cool the supercharged, heated intake air 140 degrees before they hit the intake ports. A separate, dedicated heat exchanger system with reservoir sits in front of the radiator. The packaged blower and coolerarrangementallowedittobeusedintheZR1Corvettestight enginebayandwithitslowhoodthoughittookseveralmonthsof wrangling to get it to work, according to GM.

The LS9s supercharger, dubbed R2300, is a Gen VI Eaton featuringfour-loberotorswith160degreesoftwist(compared to the old three-lobe, 60-degree design). Its coated lobes have an interference fit during assembly, meaning that they are set up for maximum efficiency. The Gen VI design offers about 20 percent more airflow capacity, 15 percent thermal efficiency improvement, and 35 percent less parasitic loss versus a Gen V blower. It is said to build power quicker at low rpm, while still sustaining the needed power at high rpm. Finally, it is designed for quiet operation, a smooth idle, and leaping tall buildings in a single bound.

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Cylinder Heads
The LS9s heads are similar to the LS3/L92 head, but utilize a 356-T6 material that offers improved strength over previous heads, and better heat resistance with the supercharged millespecially in the bridge area between the intake and exhaust valves. A special manufacturing process called spin casting guards against porosity and creates a much stronger head. One neat trick is a wing in the intake ports that creates a swirl motionanother is the four-active-layer head gaskets (typically, only two layers are used) and stainless 12mm head bolts (typically 11mm), both for increased holding capacity. Titanium 2.16 intake and sodium-filled, hollow 1.59-inch exhaust valves are used, with an offset intake rocker for optimum airflow path. One of the benefits of forced induction is that the camshaft doesnt have to be hairy to make awesome power. GM chose a cam with .555-inch intake and exhaust lift for the LS9. Low overlap means a smooth idle and good low-speed manners.

Fuel System

Producing 620 horses and still passing emissions presented a challenge for the GM team. A dynamic set of 48 lb/hr fuel injectorsandauniquedual-pressurefuelsystemwasutilized to fit the bill. One large fuel pump runs at 250 kpa (36 psi) and 600 kpa (87 psi) depending on the fuel needs, and a fuel system control module switches between the low and high settings. A center-feed fuel rail is utilized for less pressure variation and less noise. Fuel shutoff happens at 6,600 rpm.

Camshaft

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OTHER LS9 FEATURES:

LS9 has a revised dry-sump system. Higher g-levels mean oil starvation issues, and this system, for the LS9 and 2009 Z06s, improves the scavenging performance and increases the dry sump capacity by 30 percent. It holds a total of 10.75 quarts of Mobil 1, and can handle one-third more g-force. The lifters, rockers, and valvesprings are LS3 pieces. LS7 retainers are used for high-rpm operation. A single 87mm electronic throttle body is used. Dual belt system: an 11-rib belt runs the blower, power steering, and water pump, another runs the alternator and air conditioning. A larger water pump bearing is used to handle the increased load. Coils are rocker-cover-mounted, not bracketmounted. The LS9 uses shorter spark plug wires versus the LS7/LS3. Sparkplugsareiridium-tipcenter/platinumpad ground electrode. Coils/injectors are routed to a jumper harness for quick connect simplification. Dual-wall, stainless-steel manifolds and closecoupled converters are used. A gerotor oil pump flows 32.3 gpm; theres an oil cooler on the side of the block. LS9 runs on an E67 control module. Assembly will happen at the Performance Build Center in Wixom, MI. GM is the first OEM to use the Gen VI 2.3L supercharger. Testing included 100 hours at WOT, and actual and simulated 24-hour test tracks. A special engine cover reduces noise, and is visible through a see-through window on the ZR1s hood. LS9 is the most powerful production vehicle engine in GM history, making 115 hp more than the LS7. According to Tom Stephens of GM Powertrain, This is not the end of the road where power is concerned. Yikes.

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