Camaro V6 Shaves Weight, Adds Power with New Cylinder Head

The New GM doesn’t seem content to just rest on its laurels and wait for the next-generation of the Camaro to make some sweeping improvements. The already-potent 3.6 liter V6 engine, which previously made 312 horsepower, has been the focus of GM’s efforts. But shaving weight, adding power, and improving fuel efficiency must have taken a lot of work, right?

Actually, all it just takes a cylinder head swap, as this video from GM demonstrates. By integrating the exhaust manifold into the actual cylinder head itself, GM shaved an incredible 13 pounds from the V6. How? By getting rid of the iron exhaust manifolds found on 2010 and 2011 V6 models. They also managed to get rid of a pair of gaskets and heat shields, as well as 18 total bolts.

Easy weight savings, but that isn’t all they did. Through some pretty intense bench testing and simulation, GM was able to increase intake flow 7% by increasing the intake valve size from 36.9 mm to 38.3 mm. Exhaust flow also improved 10%, helping gain a grand total of 11 horsepower and reaching that magic 30 MPG number for highway gas mileage. All by eliminating a single part and attaching the exhaust directly to the head. Brilliant.

A 323 horsepower, 30 MPG Camaro? Sounds almost impossible, and yet somehow, GM has managed to do it. You’ve got to hand it to them. Other benefits of the new cylinder head design include reduced emissions, engine noise, and freeing up a total of 4.6 inches of space, hopefully making working on this engine a lot easier. This may even become a popular swap among V6 owners looking to add some cheap power down the road, as these engines really start to come into their own.

Official Release

In auto production, more power, better fuel economy and fewer emissions rarely appear together. But the 2012 Camaro 3.6L direct injection V6 engine achieves all three by combining the exhaust manifold with the cylinder head into a single aluminum casting.

Each integrated exhaust manifold cylinder head – a V6 has two — replaces a cast iron exhaust manifold, six bolts, a gasket and a heat shield and three bolts. By eliminating this joint, the potential for a gasket failure is eliminated. And the change reduces engine weight by 13 lbs. or 6 kg per engine. Reducing mass helps improve fuel economy and the 2012 Camaro 2LS model is EPA estimated at 30 mpg highway.

“Reducing engine mass of this magnitude doesn’t happen often,” said Ameer Haider, GM assistant chief engineer for V6 engines. “Engineering usually looks for reduction in terms of grams not pounds. It’s just like removing a set of golf clubs from your car when you don’t need them – ultimately it saves fuel. When combined with other mass reductions, the customer will see better fuel economy over time with better performance.”

Extensive simulation and bench testing was performed to perfect cylinder-head airflow. Intake airflow is improved 7 percent with the use of larger intake valves (38.3 mm v. 36.9 mm), which are primarily responsible for an increase of 11 horsepower. Exhaust flow is 10 percent better than the previous V6.

Lower emissions, narrower engine size and noise reduction round out the list of benefits for the new head design. With the catalytic converter closer to the engine exhaust point, the emissions reduction process begins sooner, resulting in lower emissions. The new cylinder heads decrease the overall width of the engine by 4.6 inches (117 mm) for significantly more packaging space in the engine bay making underhood work easier. Due to less surface area, the new design contributes to a 1 decibel reduction in engine noise at idle.

“The new, patented design benefits the customer in all the key areas without any tradeoffs, said Haider. “Emissions, performance, fuel economy, and noise all improve with the integrated exhaust manifold.”

About the author

Chris Demorro

Christopher DeMorro is a freelance writer and journalist from Connecticut with two passions in life; writing and anything with an engine.
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