-- Edited by Rastus on Thursday 19th of January 2023 07:53:55 AM
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"Only an alert & knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial & military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods & goals, so that security & liberty may prosper together". Dwight D.Eisenhower.
"Only an alert & knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial & military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods & goals, so that security & liberty may prosper together". Dwight D.Eisenhower.
I rather like the look of the vehicle, and the fact that the electric motor makes it an AWD vehicle I think this could make things a game-changer for the Corvette!
No doubt they will proably fully electrify the C8 at some point, but in my opinion a hybrid is the better bet where you'll get the best of both worlds.
From my understanding the electric part of the drivetrain is only used for launch and traction assistance on the front wheels... there has never been a mid-engine Corvette offering to the public until the C8, and making the new C8 E-Ray All Wheel Drive is another first for Corvette!
I'd be VERY interested in test driving the new C8 Corvette, with or without the E-Ray option!
Word is the newer ones get a flat plane crank, which is good for high RPM's and the design also gives it that supercar exhaust note.
I'm still quite happy with my C4 however, even as cool as the new C8 is it does not take me back to that time when I was a kid reading every Car and Driver type magazine to drool over the "new at that time" C4...
I didn't want my original post to read so harshly, but I was pretty disappointed with what "is" false advertising imo. I thought only the Japanese motorcycle people did that.
The real problem Stellar, is that cars have gone no-where really for the last 50-years at least...We're re-inventing the wheel, over & over again.
Up until the 2000's, in general, designs got simpler & arguably better for both owner & mechanic. (Look at your air-bag & trans trouble).
This single-plane crank design has inbuilt vibes, that's why they weren't used in the past. And if GM has added a balance-shaft to compensate, that's a step backwards imo.
I'd sooner a 7.0-ltr V-8 in the package myself, with no added hybrid electrics.
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"Only an alert & knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial & military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods & goals, so that security & liberty may prosper together". Dwight D.Eisenhower.
I agree with you somewhat... really the new C8 should have at least come with that supercharged 7.0 liter 2V that the ZR1 got at the end of the C7 run!
But that's not how GM rolls... the first few years of the C8 did not have the flat plane crank... the ones that does (New Z06) will likley have some balance shafts I would imagine, since it is a flat plane crank... Hell, the V10 triton I am putting together has a balance shaft and it's not even a flat plane crank. Many cars have balance shafts, usually 4 cylinders...
I think towards the end of the C8 run you will see your 7.0 liter supercharged engine once again only it will be the 4V DOHC engine with a flat plane crank, along side it, GM will no doubt offer a 100% electrified version that will be AWD and even faster than the gas version. That is just a guess... I once had a guy that claimed they seen a V12 prototype, but that was just one guy and that was almost four years ago... this is Detroit so we often see prototype vehicles doing testing on the road, usually covered up to hide the body design.
I don't feel things have gotten simpler... back in the day you could work around things... now days you have logic boards and there really isn't any working around them... The new C8 engine management software is rumored to be un-changable since it feeds back to GM... People are having to modify them and just hope the factory programing will compensate. I am sure this could change, but the direction things are going now are REALLY bad in terms of the logic and software... they are trying to lock people out of most the modules in a car, plus they are feeding info back to the company! Regulations need to be set up to allow everyone access to these systems and then I would agree it's all for the better... as of right now it's just all about keeping people locked out.
* One reaffirms what I learned when I worked at BMW a few years ago, about factory intervention within the operating systems / computer interfaces etc etc.This is wrong & illegal imo, as it's the same as what Microsoft or Apple do, in that yes, you own the car, but the operational software remains the property of the manufacturer, who can likely access it at their leisure. That's wrong, as that's breaking into your car & personal space. It also means immobilization at their discretion.
* Flat-plane cranks are shyte, simply because adding a balance shaft means that the original design is incorrect / faulty, that simple. There have never been balance shafts used or needed on any engines until the 1990's, when Mitsubishi used them on their 2.6-ltr 4-cylniders, once again indicating poor design, but a cheaper option than a re-design. Ford had lots of trouble in the 1960's in getting their 3.0-ltr V-6 running smoothly, & had lots of failures, proving the V-6 designs for all manufacturers difficult to balance, without adding balance shafts.
The main reason V-6's are common / popular today, is simply from false advertising, where a person "thinks" V-8 power, with 6-cylinder economy. In truth, you can make four V-6's, for the same parts needed to make three V-8's. The bonus of a free-engine offsets the small costs of adding a balance-shaft to them, as the balance shaft is cheaper than 2 x pistons & at least 4 x valves plus extra metal / bores & crank shaft materials for the V-8. These parts make up the free engine.
Scammed...
The flat-plane crank is simply an advertising gimmick, that's miss-leading, as once upon a time, if your engine vibrated so much that it needed a balance-shaft, you redesigned it so that it didn't.
__________________
"Only an alert & knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial & military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods & goals, so that security & liberty may prosper together". Dwight D.Eisenhower.
