Are you looking for more power out on the water? Sixteen Power, LLC’s all-new V16 marine engine is the engine the marine market didn’t know it needed. After unveiling its all-new marine specific V16 engine at the Miami International Boat Show, Sixteen Power, located in Detroit, is currently continuing production validation of the engine. Sixteen Power and Katech, Inc. have collaborated for the past year to support the new powertrain, which is designed and manufactured for quality and durability.
Sixteen Power has designed a custom M16 block enabling multiple cylinder head specifications, robust dual cooling circuits and a dedicated top-end oil scavenge bay. The block is the foundation of the all-new marine powertrain. The physical size and power output of the engine requires some unique technical partners.
Katech has been instrumental in aiding this engine to life including some of the block machining such as line honing and cylinder bore deck plate honing as well as final dyno wiring harness support. The first firing on the dyno occurred in Katech’s workhorse dyno cell #2. Their assistance and data acquisition proved invaluable as the very first full power pull produced 1,100 HP and 1,100 lb.-ft. of torque with very cautious operating parameters.
“Katech is honored to work with Sixteen Power on this awesome new engine platform,” says Kevin Pranger, director of motorsports, Katech. “It is built on a long history of highly developed architecture and components, yet adds all new features and strategies to further support the high duty cycle of marine engines. The first day of running on the dyno made it immediately apparent how effortlessly this engine makes power and yet is amongst the most-tame engines at idle. The potential for the more aggressive models and boosted versions is tremendous and Katech looks to have a bright future working with Sixteen Power on this revolutionary engine.”
The collaboration between these two engine companies has formed from a long shared history. Sixteen Power co-founder Caleb Newman spent nine years at Katech and was the program manager of the Cadillac Sixteen engine program Katech completed for GM Powertrain in 2002. Katech saw the potential for the marine market after concluding the Cadillac prototype program. The new clean sheet engine design just unveiled opts for a strategy to use four standard V8 heads. That eliminated the cost and technology limiting aspect of tooling custom heads. After seeing the new design strategy, when Sixteen Power approached Katech to enlist its support, the answer was a resounding yes.
“Katech has long been a leader in engine development, supporting great leading-edge engines such as the venerable GM LS7 427 Gen IV small block, V6 race engines in Trans-Ams and the Cadillac XV16 concept engine,” says Katech President Steve Spurr.
The engine further employs Katech’s precision manufactured piston oil jets to cool the pistons and better control oil in the 5 scavenge stage oil system. The Katech piston oilers are the only ones readily available that enable a full 4-inch stroke. The block’s oiling system was designed for Katech’s components.
Sixteen Power knows that a great block needs to be built upon with great components. So the shop used billet, single-piece manufacturing with big block mains for increased journal overlap and stiffness on the crank. The cam is a billet single-piece 3-bolt with full length gun drill. The cylinder heads are production or aftermarket LS Gen 4 or LT Gen 5. The intake is production or aftermarket, but a XVI Power marine intake is under development. Cooling the engine is accomplished with two stage sea pumps, a twin circulating pump, two engine coolant heat exchangers, a transmission cooler, twin oil coolers, a power steering fluid cooler, and a fuel cooler. Lastly, the engine is fuel injected and has twin drive-by-wire throttle bodies.
The V16 engine features 90-degree V16 architecture, a 14.0L displacement, 10.7:1 compression ratio, and can offer 900 hp – 2,000 hp depending on the components and upgrades.
Engine of the Week is sponsored by Cometic Gasket
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