Lingenfelter 415 ZR-1: Tested 0-150-0 MPH

From the August 1998 issue of Car and Driver.Lingenfelter 415 ZR-1Street Drivability: 3 stars
Durability: 5 stars
0 to 60: 3.6 sec, 170 ft
0 to 100: 7.5 sec, 630 ft
1/4-mile: 11.6 sec @ 128 mph
0 to 150: 15.6 sec, 2328 ft
150-to-0-mph braking: 730 ft
Total time, 0 to 150 to 0 mph: 23.3 secFor this 0-to-150-to-0 battle, a call to Lingenfelter Performance Engineering in Decatur, Indiana, was a natural. That’s because John Lingenfelter never fails to return our phone calls, no matter how harebrained our scheme. We’ve also road-tested nine of the highly modified GM cars he’s turned out in the past nine years. They’ve all been well prepared, easily drivable, and brutally fast.LPE is best known for modifying Corvettes, so no one was surprised when LPE project engineer Jason Haines showed up for our test in a bright-red 1994 ZR-1, borrowed from a Florida customer. Under its hood was what the Decatur gang calls its 415-cid LT5 package. Its ZR-1 V-8 is upgraded with steel cylinder liners to allow for the enlarged four-inch bores. Custom pistons and rods, a stroker crankshaft, and ported and polished heads with a custom valvetrain and a larger throttle body complete the package. Displacement grows from 5.7 to 6.8 liters. This surgery costs $33,900, which includes B&B exhausts and yields 620 of a total of 640 hp and 510 pound-feet of torque. This contestant had stainless-steel valves and an enlarged and polished intake manifold, which added $3500 and 20 horsepower. It also had a 3.73:1 axle ratio, a larger radiator, a single-mass flywheel, and silicone coolant hoses, which added another $2354. The front brakes are LPE/Alcon 13.5-inch-diameter slotted rotors with four-piston calipers. The $3889 spent on these binders included carbon-metallic pads fitted all around.Other than the owner-installed rocker panels, there’s not much to distinguish this ZR-1 until you start it, which takes a few extra seconds of cranking. The exhaust rumbles busily at idle, and a rattly patter emanates from the gearbox, thanks to the light flywheel. On the road, the V-8 offers effortless surges of thrust. The exhaust is a bit loud for everyday use, and the engine is so muscular that the stock traction control engages with annoying frequency. (We switched it off for most of our driving.) These are minor concessions for such impressive power. Politeness isn’t a factor at the track, where the raucous Corvette went to work with clockwork efficiency. Part-throttle clutch drops at 1100 rpm launched the car consistently. Full throttle could not be applied until second gear without provoking huge wheelspin. A slick-shifting gearbox kept the DOHC V-8 on full boil, and speeds wound up on the test computer like the altimeter on the space shuttle—60 mph in 3.6 seconds, 100 in 7.5 ticks, 150 in an astonishing 15.6 seconds. In the quarter-mile (11.6 seconds at 128 mph), the Lingenfelter enjoyed an untouchable lead over every other car.When we hit the brakes at 150 mph, some slight weaving was easy to control and fade was not an issue. Only the RENNTech SLR7.4 and the stock Corvette outbraked the Lingenfelter, but not by enough to topple this car’s overall lead. The red super-Vette won with a two-way average of 23.3 seconds, beating the runner-up Steeda Q by 2.8 seconds.Lingenfelter’s car is testimony to careful preparation. The final-drive ratio was selected to make for as few time-wasting gearshifts as possible. A new brain was fitted to the Vette’s electronic suspension ($210), making it squat for better traction in lower gears. This 640-hp Chevy completed the grueling tests without any broken parts, any degradation in performance, and not even a hint of detonation.We hope our 0-to-150-to-0 test becomes a new performance benchmark. Our first champion has done it in 23.3 seconds: the 415 ZR-1 from Lingenfelter Performance Engineering.Lingenfelter Performance Engineering; www.lingenfelter.com
Source: caranddriver.com