Real Fiero Tech

it's definitely not a turbo N*...
Looks similar to a diesel witht he turbos in the valley like that. I wonder how much further it can be pushed.

Where'd you get the graphics?

LoganD on Corner-Carvers does contracted powertrain development work for the Big 3. He's of the opinion that the Blackwing is built for torque to haul a big vehicle around. The small bore and small bore spacing back that up. It's the direct injected hot-V twin turbo 4.9 Cars with the Blackwing will still be fast, but more Grand National fast than C4 ZR1 fast.

The basics of the Northstar design are almost as old as the Fiero itself. Even the most recently produced Northstar from 2009 was old tech when it was produced and is now *ANCIENT* by OEM standards and the pace of development over the last 10-15 years.

ETA: AFAIK, BMW still uses the 98mm bore center they first brought out with the M60 in the early '90's, and Audi probably still uses the 91mm bore center they've had for years because of the way their powertrains package. I don't know what bore center the Merc uses. The Northstar bore center is comparatively large 102mm, while the Chevy/LS bore center is 111.76mm (4.400")

graphics came from google, I hadn't heard much of anything about it, so I googled it to see what the world has to offer. from what I understand, the design shares some elements of the latest ecotec 4 cylinders. it definitely develops big torque, and appears to use the same bellhousing as the gen V(LTx) smallblock.

BMW on the S63 uses 180 degree exhaust manifolds. Those are supposedly the single most expensive pieces of that engine. They take two cylinders from each bank into each turbo. That engine sounds way better than the standard V8 and makes better use of its turbos too.

I wonder if any aftermarket MFG will produce such parts for the Blackwing? Maybe I should...

The separate cam carrier design in the cylinder heads is weird. I thought everyone acknowledged that the heads end up lighter and more compact when cast in one piece. Going from a cam carrier design to a one-piece head is what allowed BMW to drop almost 30 pounds out of the top end of the S54 compared to the aluminum M54/M52. One piece heads also contribute to the Northstar being as light as it is, although the casting ends up being intricate.

Dual HPFP's? that bodes well for spare capacity in the fuel system.

I was wondering why they wouldn't do that with the exhaust, it would be way to easy to have the pipes or manifold both very close to equal length, and sequential, with effectively no weight penalty.

well, I read an article earlier today, that suggests that this engine will be cancelled with the CT6... dammit GM, you invested millions into this engine, don't ditch it now, let us see what else you had up your sleeves!