So let me pose one for you: Do you think a company that screws together some of the most ferocious engines on the planet for the world-beating C6.Rs would rest on its laurels when it came time to build a devilish LS7 dubbed "Street Attack"? Not bloody likely.
Starting with an LS7 block and retaining the factory 4.125 bore and 4-inch stroke crank, Katech re-bushes the stock rods and tops them with custom forged pistons. This crew may have learned a thing or two about LS7 airflow during the C5-R/C6.R programs, so you won't be surprised to find a set of worked LS7 cylinder heads atop this mill. The 2.20-inch intake valves gulp air in mass quantities by way of an LS7 intake and UMI 90mm throttle body, and 1.615-inch valves expel air into 1.75-inch TPIS headers and a 3-inch exhaust just as quickly. The heads have been hand-ported to blend out the CNC marks in the runners, bowls, and chambers. Katech also did a little work on shaping the intake runners to extract the very last bit of power. And here's to hoping that all of these tweaks can keep up with the bumpstick, as a positively ginormous 233/276 at .050, .630-lift camshaft calls the shots to the LS7 rockers. Amazingly, a factory Camaro PCM barks orders to this behemoth's LS7 injectors through an assortment of adapter harnesses for the various sensors. Add all of it up, stick it on an engine dyno, and you're left with 640 hp and 555 lb-ft of torque. Yikes.
After sleeping like the dead, I met up with Katech's Director of Aftermarket Operations Caleb Newman and we headed to Milan. We were the last to arrive, as Katech staffers Jason Harding, Dan Shuler, Ken Helzer, and Kevin Pranger had trailered the Camaro earlier so test driver Mark Whitney could make a few half-track runs. A couple of suspension changes had been made since the last track day, and Katech wanted to ensure that the 'Maro was dialed in before I got behind the wheel. In charge of 640 horses, I glanced at Milan's hard retaining walls, remembered a spectacular Enzo Ferrari crash I'd seen on the Interet a few days earlier, and began to appreciate Katech's methodical approach to performance.
The car was ready, and I quizzed the Katech crew on the Camaro and its features. It had a 12-bolt with 4.10s to take hard launches, a Spec 3+ clutch, a new B&M shifter, and a line lock. A set of 325/45R17 M&H Racemaster "street" tires were currently mounted; Mark informed me that he had good luck leaving around five grand in the current trim. I was told that the shift light was set at 6,700 for the day's festivities; my previous experience with the LS7 reminded me that the revs climb so fast, setting a shift point a few hundred low might keep it off the limiter. But no time to digest this new info. It's already past 11:30 a.m., and the temps are in the mid-80s and climbing. Better jump in and make a hit.
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Katech stunned the late-model community in early 2006 when it unveiled the world's first LS7 F-body. Katech found this 2000 SS around Detroit in 2005 in good shape, and immediately went to work. |