GM Reveals Small-Block V-8 with Direct Injection
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 1,308
From: Calgary
Direct injection has to be one the automotive industries longest worked on engine projects. I remember years back reading about prototypes with DI.
Its a win-win situation for everyone.
I wish my 2.4L Cobalt had it---then it wold run on regular gas and have more power! The ecotec was designed for DI--and only now--and only the Turbo has it
Its a win-win situation for everyone.
I wish my 2.4L Cobalt had it---then it wold run on regular gas and have more power! The ecotec was designed for DI--and only now--and only the Turbo has it
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 7
From: salisbury Maryland
Count me in here as well.
Do many people on this board (much less the rest of the world) realize just how hard it is to keep 500hp planted firmly to the road? For any period of time? I had a '71 Mach 1 with about 425hp get away from me on a dry 2-lane road when I was 20... I pulled out to pass about 6 cars that were poking along at 40 in a 55 zone... I downshifted 2 gears and nailed the gas at the same time I did the lane shift into the left lane... rear broke loose and came around on me clockwise. From that day forward I found new respect for real power, and I totally understand how hard it can be to handle. That's why even I think these 600hp Vipers and 725 hp SuperSnakes are simply over the top and should not be allowed on the streets.
Anyone read about this... AutoBlog.com Freelance Writer Frank Filipponio Involved In Fatal Shelby GT500 Wreck
Here is a person who supposedly knows about cars and power, yet he is responsible for the death of a girl because he couldn't handle the car in the environment they were in. He had no business doing what he did in an area where people were walking, but the fact is it got away from a guy who knows how to drive hot cars - it CAN and does happen - even to the best.
Once you surpass 250-300hp in todays vehicles, there is simply NO USE for the excess power. A run from 15-70 to merge onto a freeway in 13-16 seconds or a 10-second 30-70 high-speed pass is all that should ever be needed from a passenger car. Anything more than that is simply wasting energy on the streets IMO.
I said 2-3 years ago on this board that I want to see cars stop the power surge and start the efficiency surge instead.
I have several V8 rocket-ships at home, and yet I drive a 4-banger to work every day to reap the 40mpg savings. Those savings help allow me to play when I want. I have seriously thought about spending some time and money on my 93 4-banger Mustang to see just how far I can take it into the mpg stratosphere... like swapping the 3.45:1 for a 2.73:1 gear, going from 14"rims to 15 or even 16" rims and max O.D. tires, removing the silencer in the air box, etc, etc. My best so far (stock) is about 40.8 mpg achieved this past May. Averaging 35-38 during the summer (A/C running is a hit in the afternoons). Not bad for 1993 technology, 87 octane gas, and 171k miles to boot. If we could do it then, we should be able to do it now, just add more power to the 105 hp engine and keep everything else the same and I'd be exstatic.
Honestly, it would be awesome to have 200-240hp in a LIGHTER car that still stoked about 40 mpg. That IS and should be an achievable goal in this day and time IMO.
I personally think the direct injection prospects are good, but I think they are just a stepping stone to another technology - I don't think they will provide the long-term solution for more efficient gas vehicles. As I have said before, I personally see the long-term future in electrical motivation.
It would not surprise me to see electrical propulsion erode the market out from under all gas and diesel vehicles in my lifetime - maybe even in the next 2 decades.
So for now, let's start looking at lighter more efficient cars instead of basic "more power" strides.
Do many people on this board (much less the rest of the world) realize just how hard it is to keep 500hp planted firmly to the road? For any period of time? I had a '71 Mach 1 with about 425hp get away from me on a dry 2-lane road when I was 20... I pulled out to pass about 6 cars that were poking along at 40 in a 55 zone... I downshifted 2 gears and nailed the gas at the same time I did the lane shift into the left lane... rear broke loose and came around on me clockwise. From that day forward I found new respect for real power, and I totally understand how hard it can be to handle. That's why even I think these 600hp Vipers and 725 hp SuperSnakes are simply over the top and should not be allowed on the streets.
Anyone read about this... AutoBlog.com Freelance Writer Frank Filipponio Involved In Fatal Shelby GT500 Wreck
Here is a person who supposedly knows about cars and power, yet he is responsible for the death of a girl because he couldn't handle the car in the environment they were in. He had no business doing what he did in an area where people were walking, but the fact is it got away from a guy who knows how to drive hot cars - it CAN and does happen - even to the best.
Once you surpass 250-300hp in todays vehicles, there is simply NO USE for the excess power. A run from 15-70 to merge onto a freeway in 13-16 seconds or a 10-second 30-70 high-speed pass is all that should ever be needed from a passenger car. Anything more than that is simply wasting energy on the streets IMO.
I said 2-3 years ago on this board that I want to see cars stop the power surge and start the efficiency surge instead.
I have several V8 rocket-ships at home, and yet I drive a 4-banger to work every day to reap the 40mpg savings. Those savings help allow me to play when I want. I have seriously thought about spending some time and money on my 93 4-banger Mustang to see just how far I can take it into the mpg stratosphere... like swapping the 3.45:1 for a 2.73:1 gear, going from 14"rims to 15 or even 16" rims and max O.D. tires, removing the silencer in the air box, etc, etc. My best so far (stock) is about 40.8 mpg achieved this past May. Averaging 35-38 during the summer (A/C running is a hit in the afternoons). Not bad for 1993 technology, 87 octane gas, and 171k miles to boot. If we could do it then, we should be able to do it now, just add more power to the 105 hp engine and keep everything else the same and I'd be exstatic.
Honestly, it would be awesome to have 200-240hp in a LIGHTER car that still stoked about 40 mpg. That IS and should be an achievable goal in this day and time IMO.
I personally think the direct injection prospects are good, but I think they are just a stepping stone to another technology - I don't think they will provide the long-term solution for more efficient gas vehicles. As I have said before, I personally see the long-term future in electrical motivation.
It would not surprise me to see electrical propulsion erode the market out from under all gas and diesel vehicles in my lifetime - maybe even in the next 2 decades.
So for now, let's start looking at lighter more efficient cars instead of basic "more power" strides.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...ck=1&cset=true
Any thing used in the wrong hands can be dangerous.
WOW... I would like to think that that most of us here are responsible enough to know where and when to apply the throttle.....there are always a few who have more $$$ than brains, with that said do not let the ignorance of a few bad apples spoil it for the rest of us, I want nothing more than that 500+ horsepower direct injection beast under my hood when I pay for my new toy! When the electric cars become more available maybe I will consider it as a daily driver, I will not be purchasing one to cruise in..... People typically do not purchase large displacement cars to use as a daily driver, most of us use the 4-6 cylinder chevy dodge etc to commute to work get groceries etc, We want our other (cruiser) cars to not only look good but in certain situations be able to provide that 11-12-13 second quartermile time slip.
"Give me liberty or give me death"
Last edited by fiveohh; Sep 4, 2007 at 06:12 PM.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 589
From: Flounderville, MI, USA
Anyone read about this...
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...ck=1&cset=true
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...ck=1&cset=true
far too far past my bed time to try and sign into anything.
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 2,712
From: Ontario
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 3,180
From: Yadkinville, NC USA
I for see stability control and traction control that you can not completely turn off on some of these high powered high porduction vehicles. Kind of like what Chrysler has done with the LX cars. Its a way to let the driver have fun with the power, but not give them complete control to kill themselves and others and keep another Ralph Nader away from another Convair.
FTM, I even question the capability of TC or SC systems to contain a 500hp manual trans vehicle in tight quarters... you know... a popped clutch at 3000rpm in a parking lot type thing.
Putting a tighter leash on the big beast is actually just neutering it IMO.
If that were the case, I'd just as soon swap my 500hp 4000-lb car for a 300hp car with 500 pounds less weight in it, better fuel economy, better weight distribution, and keep the regulatory entities off my back while I have some real fun.
Bottom line is the insurance companies and car makers are the ones that will determine where things go for the immediate future. Buying the car and insuring it are the 2 main costs associated with ownership outside of maintenance and operating costs (fuel, tires, brakes, etc), and those costs will determine the market and sales volumes. Insurance was a big factor in the 70s, and I think will be so again... SOON.
Regardless of all that, I still maintain that 90% of the people out here who COULD buy a car with 500+hp and/or super-performance levels do NOT have the common sense or mechanical aptitude to drive such a car anywhere near it's capabilities - especially on the street where other people and lives are around everywhere. One of the first things most instructors show us at performance driving schools is some photo or video of a student that put a Ferrari or Masserati into the tire barrier or Armco at a track, because the student thought the car was invincible and they drove it beyond the laws of physics (which they obviously did not understand). It's almost never the fault of the car (tire blew or engine let go, etc), but the fault of the driver. To me, given this huge slant towards driver incompetence, I can't continue to justify the persuit of more power in any given vehicle. I'd rather see the technology go into fuel consumption, economy, and weight control/management to enhance performance as we move into hybrid and electronically motivated vehicles. Simple enough, eh?
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Joined: Nov 1999
Posts: 188
From: Tampa, FL
There's already a very cheap (ridiculously cheap) and easy mod to bypass the TC in the LX 5.7 vehicles - splicing a switch into a wire. I havent bothered to do this in my Daytona since I dont do burnouts and such.
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,000
From: TX Med Ctr
To me, given this huge slant towards driver incompetence, I can't continue to justify the persuit of more power in any given vehicle. I'd rather see the technology go into fuel consumption, economy, and weight control/management to enhance performance as we move into hybrid and electronically motivated vehicles. Simple enough, eh?
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,502
I think it was Guy who said the real problem comes 10 years down the road when your average 18 year old dumbass can afford a cheap used car that gets 400-500HP.
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Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 10,285
From: Albany, NY
How about pull the ABS fuse
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,000
From: TX Med Ctr
I do think that education would in fact reduce drunk driving and street racing. Again why don't they drive drunk as much in Western Europe? But people will continue to drive idiotically even if every car only had 200HP. You can teach people how to respect the performance of a vehicle and you can certainly prevent people from driving who demonstrate that they do not have that respect.
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,977
From: SeVa
I for see stability control and traction control that you can not completely turn off on some of these high powered high porduction vehicles. Kind of like what Chrysler has done with the LX cars. Its a way to let the driver have fun with the power, but not give them complete control to kill themselves and others and keep another Ralph Nader away from another Convair.
Or torque management, with the drive by wire T-bodies on the current mustang when you engage the clutch, it closes the throttlebody, effectively granny shifting the car despite mashing the gas to the floor and not letting up. IIRC the GT500 (or maybe it was the Ford GT???) opens the throttlebody a maximum of 75% when the pedal is mashed to the floor.
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,502
I can't really disagree with this argument, I just think the insurance companies will find it simpler to jack up the rates rather than to try to sort out the good drivers from the bad.
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,502
I agree driver education can be improved, but realistically only by so much. Because US politicians can't tell bad drivers to take the train to work like they can in Germany.
And the government probably shouldn't be deciding who is cool driving a 500HP car or not.
And the government probably shouldn't be deciding who is cool driving a 500HP car or not.
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,179
From: Ballwin, MO
It is not the Government's job to legislate safety, nor quite a few other things that they have taken upon (or we have been stupid enough to let) themselves to do.