New Positive Crankcase Ventilation System

Because of Z06's increased handling capabilities, the Corvette Team needed to make some changes to the engine to improve oil control during high-speed conditions.

With the new positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) design, oil consumption is minimized during racetrack and other high-lateral-acceleration maneuvers. At the same time, oil lubrication is maintained as oil is recovered from areas where it collects in high-speed driving and returned into the crankcase where it can again be pumped back into critical components that need lubrication.

To relieve pressure that builds up in the engine, a new plenum has been placed into the valley cover that closes out the top of the engine block, beneath the intake manifold. The plenum vents the air/oil mixture vapors in the top of the valley, separates out the oil, and sends the air back through a hose that goes up just behind the throttle body and feeds it back into the intake charge.

New Exhaust Manifold Design

The previous stamped steel exhaust manifold for both the LS1 and LS6 has been replaced with a new cast iron design for improved flow of exhaust gases and increased engine performance. Another benefit of the new cast iron exhaust manifold design is improved durability, enhancing an already robust design.

New Titanium Exhaust System

A unique new titanium exhaust system has been developed especially for the Z06. This will be the first-ever use of titanium in the exhaust system of a mass-production vehicle.

Titanium offers a lower density than steel and higher strength than magnesium or aluminum at all temperatures. Using titanium in the Z06's exhaust system reduced mass by 17.6 pounds, or almost fifty percent of the weight of the standard stainless-steel exhaust system.

The Z06 muffler is a new design, featuring larger diameter louver tubes inside the mufflers to improve breathing and provide more performance. The larger louver tubes reduce back pressure, meaning there is lower resistance for the exhaust gas flowing through the tubes.

BACK TO TOP

The exhaust tips are different, too, with four 3.5-inch diameter tips to visually set the Z06 apart from the standard Corvette. The Z06 exhaust tips are also chrome flashed, since the titanium tends to change color under high temperatures.

In addition to looking distinctive, the titanium exhaust sounds much sportier than the base Corvette. Much work went into the design and tuning of the mufflers for an exhaust note that would be unique to the Z06. "We wanted to keep that exhaust note strictly tied to the Z06, so that the Z06 would have its own distinct image." explains Zoltan Varga, design/release engineer for Corvette exhaust systems.

The titanium portion of the exhaust system starts just forward of the rear axle and then goes over the top of the axle. The entire muffler, all the internals of the muffler, the entire skin, the outlets and the tips themselves are all constructed of titanium.

2001 Corvette Z06 Titanium Exhaust