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Old 05-03-2013, 05:19 AM   #13
mikeyg36


 
Drives: 2015 Z/28 #533
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: NY
Posts: 6,731
Quote:
Originally Posted by fielderLS3 View Post
I don't fully agree. A V6 is inherently rougher than a V8 all other things the same, pushrod or not. In a V6 luxury car, they just put more into things like engine mounts to insulate the rest of the car from the engine. The engine isn't necessarily smoother, the vibration just doesn't get transmitted as much. And the somewhat shakier idle of a higher performance engine has more to do with the cam profile, not the position of it on the engine. And besides, the LT1's VVT will probably mitigate a lot of the "shake" (to the extent it exists) the LS3 has at idle.

I've experienced a lot of reasonably smooth pushrod engines, while at the same time, there have been some notably rough, unrefined DOHC V6 designs. Either can be made very smooth and refined or not so depending on factors having nothing to do with where their cams are placed.

If GM feels it needs both a V8 and DOHC to be competitive in all its various segments, why not build a DOHC V8 like Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes, and Audi all do. Wouldn't one engine be more cost effective than 2? Don't get me wrong, I love GM's pushrod V8s (as they do have certain advantages over DOHC), but I am still just as happy overall with my DOHC one, too.
They did. The Northstar V8 line was an OHC family of engines, but GM cut it in 2010. The point that I'm trying to get across is that if you want to get 400+ HP out of a small block, it won't be as smooth as a DOHC V6 with turbos. Plus, the snobby import drivers wouldn't want to drive around with pushrods under the hood. If you look at the CTS segment, you see that the top models are all powered by turbo 6 cylinders. Caddy followed the rest of the segment, and blew them away with an excellent engine.
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