Performance Build Center Tours
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Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 4,448
Likes: 4
From: Sarasota Florida
St. Jude Donor '06
Performance Build Center Tours
There has been a lot of discussion in the last week regarding GM's new "build your own engine" program for the LS7 and LS9.
For those who can't swing the $5800 cost plus the price of a new Z06 or ZR1, here's a reminder that you can see the engine build process up close and personal for free. The PBC offers tours most Wednesdays at no cost.
We did the tour during our "delivery trip" home with our new Z06 in 2009, and actually got to meet and thank "our" engine builder, Mike Priest. The tour was very interesting. The build process wasn't at all what I pictured. The actual "line" is quite small and we got right up close and everything was explained to us.
The reality is that even the workers don't "build" an engine the way you might think. They assemble prebuilt components using highly specialized fixtures and processes. All fasteners are tightened with either specialized machines or instrumented, motor-driven wrenches. Computers monitor every process and record the torque on every fastener - all of which becomes part of your "permanent record".
Now don't get me wrong, this is not to "dumb down" the process. To the contrary, it's extremely high-tech and it makes it pretty much impossible to have anything go wrong, which is undoubtedly why they can let customers do it.
The point of all this is not to dump on GM's latest idea, which I think is great, but to point out that you can go see just about all the same stuff, right up close, for free.
They do want you to make advance reservations.
Here's a link:
http://www.gm.com/experience/technol...r_schedule.jsp
For those who can't swing the $5800 cost plus the price of a new Z06 or ZR1, here's a reminder that you can see the engine build process up close and personal for free. The PBC offers tours most Wednesdays at no cost.
We did the tour during our "delivery trip" home with our new Z06 in 2009, and actually got to meet and thank "our" engine builder, Mike Priest. The tour was very interesting. The build process wasn't at all what I pictured. The actual "line" is quite small and we got right up close and everything was explained to us.
The reality is that even the workers don't "build" an engine the way you might think. They assemble prebuilt components using highly specialized fixtures and processes. All fasteners are tightened with either specialized machines or instrumented, motor-driven wrenches. Computers monitor every process and record the torque on every fastener - all of which becomes part of your "permanent record".
Now don't get me wrong, this is not to "dumb down" the process. To the contrary, it's extremely high-tech and it makes it pretty much impossible to have anything go wrong, which is undoubtedly why they can let customers do it. The point of all this is not to dump on GM's latest idea, which I think is great, but to point out that you can go see just about all the same stuff, right up close, for free.
They do want you to make advance reservations.
Here's a link:
http://www.gm.com/experience/technol...r_schedule.jsp
