http://www.freep.com/article/2010021...reate-550-jobs

I love this little engine and can't wait to see what comes from this investment...

 

x2! Although I don't own an Ecotec myself, its potential is huge. I see it becoming this generation's small block Chevy.


flamesuit on.

 

[QUOTE=jg95z28;6273120 This generation's small block Chevy. [/QUOTE]

I've been hearing GM say that for years...but they limit the cool Ecotecs to a handful of VERY niche products...

 

The point is, if they support it on the aftermarket side and offer performance upgrades through GMPP, it really doesn't matter as long as one can buy a cheap one and turn it into a cool one on their own.

 

I had a rental 2009/2010 Malibu recently after I hit a deer with my car. For a 4 cylinder it got around pretty well. Shifts at a very satisfying 6500 when you are getting after it. For regular transportation it is entirely sufficient. Hell, it make 30+ hp than the 307 Olds V8 in my 1986 Cutlass.

 

If GMPP would offer stand alone support for the PCM like they do the LS engines , it very well might . Theres a rather large amount of people who'd love to use a LNF in anything from a sand rail to a compact drag car . As of right now , the electronics are so tied to the car their in , I dont see how one would run a LNF or any of the direct injected ecotecs in something it didnt come from originally .

 

Totally agree, which is why I said "if" in my follow-up post. The potential is there, GM just needs to be more supportive of the enthusiast.

 

they should reinvest that money in training their employees to pronounce it as E-Co, not "Echo", >.>

 

You expect salesman to know what their selling? What a crazy thought. I cringe every time I hear "Corvette Engine".

 

It is halfway there...many people are using the MEFI 5 from the boating application to run ECOtecs however, this doesn't seem to work on the LNF, only the ECOtecs like the LE5. Direct Injection is still the problem. There are other solutions too like the FAST XFI which is used in a lot of the racing ecotec applications. From what I can tell there might be a plug-n-play system in the works...I believe it is going through some CARB certification right now.

MSD has a MEFI 4 system for the L61 and LSJ... http://www.msdfuelinjection.com/mefi4.html

There are also 3 different bell housing options for adapting any ecotec to RWD.
The MA5 that the Solstice/Sky/Colorado/Canyon/H3 use.
The 5L40-E auto tranny
T5 adapter from quad4rods.com

I've been using a ton of my free time over here in Iraq to research this. I have plans to use this little engine in a few RWD vehicles in the next few years. There seems to be a potentially big market for this if GM would just comeout and offer the ECM with the crate engine.

Tons of good ecotec info can also be found here... http://gmtunersource.com/ including build books for the ECOtecs

 

I love my little LSJ. Would rather have an LNF, but whatever, would have had to wait afew yeats to get it.

 

I like the LSx variants. No plans to buy a 4cyl.

 

I'm no connoisseur but I'm pretty happy with the 2.4L 169hp Ecotec in my 09 Aura... 6AT to go along with it.

It's got a bit more NVH than I'd like when it's warming up for the first minute or two but after it gets warmed up it's very smooth.

Power isn't great but isn't frustrating either. Nice smooth power curve.

Fuel economy, which is rated by the EPA at 33 is great at 60 (gets 40-41), OK at 70 (gets 32-33) and not so hot at 80 (gets 28-29). Never seen a car/engine suffer so much with speed. My twin turbo I6 BMW 335i got 27-28 mpg at 80! Then again down at 70 it might get 29-30 and at 60 it'd get 32.

So this is $500M in R&D? I wonder what sort of tech/improvements they expect for that sort of investment?

Seems like a great segment to throw that money into though.

The new Hyundai Sonata is rated for 35 on the highway with 200hp, but it uses DI. I suspect if they add DI to the Malibu's 2.4 they'll hit 36 mpg though the power won't quite but at 200 if the Equinox is any indication.

 

I believe over $400 million is going into renovating the plant in Michigan where they will be building the updated engine line. So less than 20% of that $500 million is actually going into r&d.

 

I kept hearing "echo" so much I was starting to think I was saying it wrong