Titanium Exhaust
The 26-pound titanium muffler and tailpipe assembly of the Z06 replaced the 44-pound stainless steel system used in the base-model C5. Titanium has a natural oxide layer that provides immunity to external corrosion from road salts, as well as to internal corrosion from sulfur-rich engine exhaust. Although common in 2010, titanium exhausts were very rare when the Corvette Z06 was developed in 2001. At that time the manufacturing technology to produce titanium mufflers in mass-market quantities didn't exist. Working with TIMET to optimize an exhaust grade of titanium, ArvinMeritor, the manufacturer of the GM system, adapted its stainless steel stamping, bending, cold forming and welding methods to accommodate the structural differences between stainless steel and titanium.
Read more about this topic: Chevrolet Corvette C5 Z06
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