I
n Houston, speed shops are everywhere, 1,000+ HP street cars rule the highways, and everybody knows at least seven people employed in the oil and gas industry. When you mention the name KP Racing, images of a well-kept shop, top-notch technicians, and some of the quickest cars in H-town immediately come to mind.
Not ones to do a job half-heartedly, or satisfied with cookie-cutter builds, KP Racing has branched off to create their own line of speed parts.
Newest to their already expanding list, is the KP HX Heat Exchanger, designed specifically for LS9-powered C6 ZR1 Corvettes!
KP sent us the official release earlier today, and it’s chock-full of good information that you could use to determine your choice in aftermarket heat exchanger kits!
Official Release:
KP Racing is proud to announce the availability of its high-flow Heat Exchanger (HX) kit for the ZR1 Corvette that includes custom designed intercooler inlets and outlets optimized for performance and flow by Division M.
In the search for ultimate horsepower numbers, KP racing found a weakness from the factory in the stock cast manifold that is responsible for fluid circulation in the water to air intercooler, contained within the supercharger housing. With only one restrictive flow area feeding the inlet and outlet KP Racing realized there was performance to be found with more circulation and separating the flow out to increase the volume.
During testing, a KP Racing modified and tuned ZR1 managed to achieve 960hp at the rear wheels. Crossing the 1000hp mark however remained elusive. Data logging proved out that the factory cooling system just could not keep up. IAT’s were gradually increasing to unacceptable levels over the course of extended dyno pulls due to heat soak.
KP Racing contracted the expertise of their custom engineering solutions provider Division M, in order to optimize and increase the flow of the coolant fluid.
This combined with a better heat exchanger and trunk mounted box that enabled a chilled solution to be incorporated into the flow loop was deemed to be a possible path to the vaunted 1000 whp mark on a stock block/stock blower ZR1.
Division M was handed the stock cast intercooler piece and was given advice on what KP Racing was looking for. The solution provided by Division M after extensive engineering analysis and design is shown below:
During the course of design Division M ran flow analysis to determine if there were any gains to be made. The overall flow area is almost doubled by separating out the flows. The stock cast part feeds both inlets from one ½” diameter hole and takes the fluid away from the intercooler via one outlet. This setup severely restricted the flow capabilities of the stock intercooler.
By separating out the flows, the flow capability is greatly increased while the turbulence is greatly decreased. Shown below are some examples of the velocity profile, mass-flow, and pressure through the main body of the inlet and outlet. As can be seen in the diagrams, the design cleans up the profile considerably with virtually zero velocity loss pressure drop over the course of the inlet and outlet.
In the end the results speak for themselves. When strapped to the dyno with the new KP Racing Intercooler inlets and outlets, the gains were immediately noticeable. The IAT’s dropped and stayed at 105-degrees without any ice to help with the cooling.
The previous best of 970whp was bested by almost 70hp and the car smashed through the 1000WHP barrier still on supercharger alone and put down 1030whp. If you want the best possible engineered cooling solution for your high horsepower ZR1. This is it.
Features:
- Increased horsepower
- Decreased intake temps
- More efficient coolant flow
- Perfect for higher-horsepower applications
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
