Suppose a person wanted to "plus up" their C6's HP/Torque (not that anyone would actually think of doing so - just suppose).
Does anyone know what the max hp/torque ratings of the various stock components that might be affected are?
For example, how much can the pistons/rods/crank stand? How about the drive shaft, the clutch, the transmission gears (MN6), the dif, the half shafts?
It seems prudent to consider beefing up these components as well when thinking about forced induction or cam/head swaps.
Thanks!

 

Thats pretty deep

 

Another way to look at this concept is-whichever component is the weakest in the chain is also the limiting factor. For example, if all components, except for the the transmission, can handle 100 more ft lbs of torque, while the transmission can only handle 50 more ft lbs of torque, then you are limited to adding only 50 more ft lbs. Any more than 50 and all the other components can take it, but the transmission breaks right away.

If the limiting factors of each and every component were known (and I do not think they are) then it would make sense to improve the weakest component first before starting on the others. Could get expensive doing it this way, but the car would be more reliable.

JPT

 

The number one priority upon installation of FI should be beefing of the rear.. Albeit, the 06 c6 have the stronger rear set up versus the 05's, a (DTE brace, driver and passanger HD shafts) should be a must in the event God forbid you blow out the rear, you will save the tranny. In terms of engine beefing? The LS2 stock short block can handle 600rwhp + safely with FI and a good tune from a reputable tuner, some have gone 700rwhp.

 

You can easily put 550rwhp to the tires with a stock LS2....

you'll need a stronger clutch for a M6 if you plan to stick the power, on street tires it's no problem, with an auto, it'll need some beefing up to hold it for an extended period of time. The rear is the weak point in these cars.. it'll go first. build from the back of the car, forwards

 

You forgot to ask the most important question:

"For how long".

I'm sure he stock block will do close to 1000HP for a quarter of a mile. On the other hand, you can't expect a car making more than stock power to have more than stock reliability in the long run.
Ultimately you pay to play. Speed costs money; how fast can you afford to go?

I had a Subaru that was making around 400horses from a 2L engine on pump gas. I ran 22PSI and reved it to 8100RPMs. I drove the HELL out of that car (top speed runs, drag racing, you name it), daily.
THe engine blew up 3 times, the transmission broke 3 times, my rear diff went, a halfshaft snapped, both rear wheel bearings went bad and my power steering pump blew twice.
Then I sold the car.
You could make much more power from the big engine on the 'vette, but don't think it will be much more reliable when driven hard every day.

 

Was that a JDM STI motor? What tranny were you using because a WRX tranny can be blown with relative ease on a stock motor lol. Remember that these high hp 2l 4cyl's are under much more stress than this gigantic of a motor thats in my vette(I am used to 4cy FI). RPM's are the number one enemy of any motor, whether its designed for it or not. If you took a motor that was good for 9k rpms from the factory and then only rev'ed it to 8k rpms, it would last longer(yes, I used to have an S2k). Vettes don't run a lot of rpm and their piston speeds are well within check for established bench marks. I think you can make 550whp RELIABLY...day in and day out and not have any issues depending on setup. That means no more roadcourses, a good SAFE tune, taking care of your drivetrain(NO wheel hop), and preventative maintenance. The harder you play, the better the maintenance shoud be. I had an Evo making 330whp and beat the hell out of it. It had that much power for 40k miles on the STOCK clutch. Never had one problem because 1. I knew how to drive. 2. When I did launch, I didn't shock the drivetrain as to keep things from popping...still netted 1.76 60's and 3. I took preventive maintenance seriously. My brother had a 35R Evo on the stock motor, tranny, clutch. He put the 35R on when the car had 40k miles(he had 310whp since it had 8k miles on it). He had the car until 65k miles making 400whp on pump gas. He then sold the car to a friend of ours who uses it for his DD and it now has 75k miles with stock everything other than the turbo setup and supporting hp mods and still runs perfect. If you do things right, you can make big power, still have fun, and still be reliable.

 

Well, I took my LS2 motor to 461rwhp/435rwtq and stoped. I felt that's as far as I wanted to go with stock internals. I left the drive train alone, because the car would never see a track. Since it was traction limited and couldn't hook up in 1st or 2 nd gear i had no worries about breakage. As for longivity, the motor now lives in my son's 2002 C5. It went in at 50,000 miles on the motor and is still going strong. I now have a forged 427 in my 05 Z51 making 525rwhp/500rwtq. Mild cam. It a daily driver. runs great no issues. Could have made more power but at a cost of driveability. The only drivetrain upgrade was an LS7 clutch.
Again I'm even more traction limited now, but have had no issues of durability. So far so good.

 

Yes, JDM STI. Made to rev 8250RPMs *under warranty*. I drove it HARD though. Really hard. Last time it popped I was doing 177mph for a few miles and piston #4 just... melted! And yes, I do know how to drive it. It was driven hard, but never abused (BIG difference).
Anyways, don't want to go off topic here, but if you want to see some more on the car (it is really neat), please check out my webpage:
http://www.powerlabs.org/swappedimpreza.htm
The videos at the end are really neat. I LOVE my 'vette, but I still miss that car...
Then again I suspect if you took a boosted 'vette to top speed over several miles its engine may not fare much better. Then again my corvette will do stock, under warranty, what my Subaru consumed $4500 to do (that's what that engine cost me).

 

Wow, yea....very few motors can handle that type of run. I am assuming a stock internal motor or possibly a rough tune as if the tune was on up high, the EGT's wouldn't have been so hot. However, stock internals under that kind of abuse is pretty much rolling the dice.


I didn't mean to insinuate that you didn't....I was merely referring to your average Evo and Subaru idiot that goes around dumping his clutch at every stop light and then goes and complains on the forums about a blown tranny or transfer case.

Yea, if my vette were making 550whp, that would be one of the abuse factors I would avoid. Excess heat on an engine and internals not intended for boost and that kind of power....an extended top speed run would not be smart for someone not looking to blow up.

 

I had forged pistons, 3 layer stainless steel head gaskets and ARP head studs. Not much else needed; the motor, stock, has a forged, nitrided crankshaft with extra oiling holes, forged rods and a semi closed block. I also had it professionally tuned, which cost me $2000 (and people here complain about $500 tunes )!
EGTs hit 1680F. Then it went. Oh well... I played, I paid What a car though! Sub 2800lbs curb weight and more power at the wheels than an STI makes at the crank. It was FUN. Ran 11.8 @ 118 at the 1/4 mile (god bless AWD )

 

1680 is HOT for WOT, but still doesn't seem TOO un-reasonable.

 

That is way too hot. If it got that hot chances are it went above that, at 1800 valves will tulip and pistons will melt. And it takes literally a split second for it to happen.

 

On early models, the limiting factor is the differential case and clutch. I have an late year 2005 with 500+ rwhp. I've never abused the car with burnouts, clutch popping, speed shifting, and the like, for fear of grenading the rear end. I keep hearing of a billet, or cast iron case being developed by DTE for severe use, but I don't think it's close to production. As far as the rest of the drivetrain, it's pretty bullet-proof up to 650 rwhp, with reasonable useage. Can't remember ever hearing of a tranny failure, but guess someone has had one.

 

Pratt & Miller has run engines to failure. Use their equivalent components and you can run Lemans for 24 hrs.