You've got big plans for your 2005-2013 Corvette or 2006-2013 Z06. Maybe you've only added a turbo (twin-turbo?)or supercharger so far. You know you're going to need more fuel than the factory system can handle and BIG horsepower is certainly in your future. This was the case for one of our (Motiva Performance Engineering) customers so we implemented a solution that is both elegant AND flexible.
The vehicle in question was a 2007 Corvette Z06 that is intended for Road Course and Time Attack racing. This Z06 had a Vortech V3 centrifugal supercharger system installed on it. Sporting a factory shortblock, light headwork and the fuel injectors supplied with the system it put down a respectable 577 Horsepower and 529 Torque on 3 psi of boost. More power was certainly achievable by adding more boost, but the name of the game in Road Racing is reliability and heat management so we turned our attention to improving the efficiency of the engine and adding the ability to run high-octane (and heat tolerant!) e85 fuel on-demand.
For the fuel supply side of the equation, a Fore Innovations Level Four triple-pump fuel system was installed. We've been big fans of the Fore product line for years and utilize them in our installs at every opportunity. Justin Fore (owner/designer) designs components that put function before form, yet remain some of the most awesome LOOKING fuel components on the market.
Three 405lph, e85 compatible fuel pumps were installed into the triple-pump fuel hat which fed the -10AN PTFE fuel feed line. These pumps were to be controlled by the boost referenced FC3 controller. The FC3 controller automatically switches on the dual secondary pumps under high fuel demand. This allows the system to provide the proper amount of fuel to the fuel rails without overheating the fuel when demand is low (when not in boost in this case).
Speaking of Fuel Rails, Fore Innovations has yet to release a set of fuel rails for the C6 Z06 LS7 engine so for this install the Aeromotive AEI-14142 red anodized fuel rails were used and Injector Dynamics ID1000 fuel injectors installed. The -10 AN feed line was split via a Y-Block to feed both fuel rails in parallel. The outlet of both fuel rails was then routed to the Fore F2i Fuel Pressure Regulator which returned unused fuel back to the fuel pump hat with a -8 AN line (again PTFE lined).
Installed in the -8 AN return line is this ethanol content sensor. This sensor, when wired into the factory ECU and tuned by Motiva, reports the ethanol percentage of the fuel to the ECU. This allows us to tune the vehicle for premium and 100% ethanol and any percentage in between.
Another view of the ethanol content sensor. You can also see the Y-Block that was installed the equally feed both fuel rails below the sensor in this view.
Installing this system discreetly is quite a challenge, but the Motiva Performance staff is more than up to the task. Both front fenders must be removed along with both fuel tanks being dropped for installation. Here the fuel lines can be seen neatly tucked underneath the Washer Reservoir, hidden from view (and HEAT).
Before heading back to the dyno a set of Kooks 1 7/8" headers was installed to help the Supercharged 7.0 Liter LS7 breathe a bit easier.
After putting the vehicle back on the dyno the gains from the longtube headers and a Motiva Custom Dynotune netted a 56 peak horsepower increase to the wheels and improved power throughout the powerband. The 91 octane in the tank was then drained and replaced with e85 and retuned for the higher-octane fuel. The e85 gained an additional 34+ horsepower and again, improved power throughout the power band. With both the e85 and 91 octane tunes now complete the ECU was configured to blend the two fuel maps based on the ethanol content of the fuel. The customer need only add e85 or 91 octane as they choose with no other changes necessary: the Motiva Tuned engine computer automatically adjusts based on the ethanol content sensor.
