Meet Jordan Lee, 2015 Corvette C7 Z06 LT4 engineer- "What Is And What Never Should Been"

Jordan Lee certainly does not get enough credit for his part in the +General Motors 2015 Corvette Z06 flagship disaster as he should.  Whenever the newest generation of Corvette is mentioned, it is always about +Tadge Juechter and nobody else, well, maybe except for the Harlan Charles and Tom Peters numbnuts.  Somehow though, Jordan Lee manages to escape the limelight and certainly, it is time to pay him a little tribute as well since if there is a center point of the fuck up called C7 Z06 it is its drivetrain and especially the engine itself.

When the news of the upcoming Z06 first broke out, Tadge Juechter was quite eager to mention the newest Z06 powerplant and the objectives it was supposed to meet.

Specifically, in words f Juechter, LT4 engine objectives were:

Had to be small, compact, and light

Needed to meet Euro NCAP PED PRO requirements

Needed the ultimate in horsepower and torque outputs

Substantial low-end torque was a must

Had to use entire suite of Gen 5 small-block technology, i.e., direct injection, active fuel        management, etc.

Needed to be durable enough to withstand hard track duty

 

This is a very interesting and revealing list because it reveals both the contradictions and impossibilities of the mission of the new flagship. 

 

So how did these objectives work out? 

 

1. The LT4 is heavier and bulkier than the predecessor, this is unavoidable due to these brilliant GM technologies that were never either designed or employed with performance in mind. 

 

2. NCAP PED PRO mission was accomplished.  Ironically enough, the price to pay for compliance with the EUROPEAN SAFETY REQUIREMENTS, the small supercharger, was quite high, resulting in larger and heavier intercooler that still failed to remedy the overheating and heat soak issues.

3. About that "ultimate in hp and torque", Dodge Hellcat twins already showed clearly how to go about this part, without a six figure pricetag and still using pushrod relic powerplant-a big fail right there.

4. Low end torque, a NECESSITY due to obscene weight of the flagship porker and slush box option.  However, another big fail here, due to lack of upper end torque at higher RPMs, resulting in super shitty high speed acceleration.

5.  Employment of ALL off the shelf GM technologies-another super stupid strategy, rendering the newest flagships even less reliable than it would have been and assuring the performance would be inversely proportional to indiscriminatory technology employment.  Just because it is there, it does not mean it should be used, unless this technology results in weight reduction, better efficiency and all out performance and durability major increase.  Certainly, a truly idiotic strategy that handicapped the entire seventh generation from the get go.

5. Track durability aspirations?  LOL at that one.  A single lap racing is a rarity these days-maybe Corvette team missed the memo?  The missing Nurburgring lap time is all that is needed to realize the extent of failure, without accounting for overheating and heat soak issues.

 

So what grade does Jordan Lee deserve for his achievement?  Like with Juechter, unpaid internship at Ford or Chrysler would do this guy a lot of good, assuming anyone would be willing to take a chance on this tool.