STS Turbo and Hurst Performance offer a solution to the perf-economy paradox
Hurst and STS’ turbo-6 Camaro opens-up a ground-breaking chapter in performance tech
In an age of modern-horsepower antics, where motoring enthusiasts are trying numerous configurations, set-ups for premium engine building, that are or would-be econo-friendly, there are only so many options that work with the new, electronically-controlled drivetrains available from the major, American automakers. Truth be told, electronics and the digital format have altered the ways in which we are able to modify late-model, automotive platforms, but the availability of parts/services is still relatively vast, and no one illustrates this better than STS Turbo of Orem, Utah.
Working in-connection with Hurst Performance, STS, or Squires Turbo Systems, has developed a turbo-V6 version of the 2011 Camaro that is to be produced in a limited number, 50 units to be exact. The Camaro, called by Hurst and STS the “Redline Series Hurst Camaro,” is produced in association with BFGoodrich as part of the tire manufacturer’s 40th anniversary of the Radial T/A Redline Spec Edition tire.
By using a V6 platform, Hurst and STS Turbo had hoped to achieve substantial gas mileage while putting out street and strip-worthy horsepower. STS themselves achieved this, gaining a 30% increase in fuel economy while gaining a wheel horsepower of 400 whp, a 160-horse increase over a stock V6.
By using an advanced turbo set-up on a reliable, small-displacement engine, STS Turbo and Hurst Performance Vehicles were able to build a car that is not only more efficient than the LS3-powered SS, but can either equal or outrun it on the test track.
Not only significant in its balance between performance and economy, but also noteworthy is the fact that this Hurst-edition Camaro utilizes the same 3.6 liter, LLT V6 that debuted in the ’08 Cadillac CTS and STS sedans. The main difference between the LLT platform and its predecessor, the LY7 motor, is the change from head port to direct injection, a fuel-management system that has so far proven successful for use in the world of late-model, GM performance.
But no matter which aftermarket or factory applications a car-builder like STS decides to use, one thing that can always be counted-on is that the OEM and aftermarket sectors of the car industry will continue, as long as technology allows, to merge together the radically-different worlds of large and small-displacement performance. Thirty years-back, this kind of a merger would probably not be scientifically possible, but ah, thank goodness for the possibilities offered by EFI and digital O2 sensors!
- Sal Alaimo Jr., B. A. (3/30/11)
S. J. A.
