Ecotec le5 Turbo 2.4 Build (Page 26/28)
4thfiero AUG 06, 05:26 PM
KK that makes sense. Yeah, my tuner said i was getting around 400hp to the crank in the winter time due to the super cold air lol....i wanted to test that and see. She is lightning fast though, specially when that turbo kicks in, you just get launched....

In the future after all the body mods, i might go stage 4 and get 650 hp to the crank...hunt me some lambo's....lol

[This message has been edited by 4thfiero (edited 08-06-2015).]

jediperk AUG 06, 05:34 PM
Eventually I want to do one of these in an 88 formula with a manual, but I will use the LSJ with upgraded TVS blower. It will be a much lighter, cleaner and easier install b/c the S/C inlet will face the proper direction in the proper spot for the intake. It will have no extra weight due to piping, intercoolers, etc... The exhaust weight will be lighter than stock and just about any other swap you could do as well. I'll give up potential power to what could be had with the turbo, but it won't matter to me b/c I can make more power than I want too with the S/C as is. We'll see though... I'm glad some people are finally starting to do these swaps. I think you will enjoy yours for years to come.
jediperk AUG 06, 05:37 PM

quote
Originally posted by 4thfiero:


In the future after all the body mods, i might go stage 4 and get 650 hp to the crank...hunt me some lambo's....lol




I'd be careful with that. There comes a point where you can't put the power down and it just becomes dangerous or you do manage to get the power down and grenade part of the drive-train. That's part of the reason I'm going with the S/C. I know I can hit the "safe" limit with it and probably go past it if I wanted to. I think you are probably at the "safe" limit right now...
4thfiero AUG 06, 06:15 PM
The stage 4 kit requires pistons, rods and stuff like that....you have to build the block up, but alpha fab tests these engines over 650plus hp with those settings and parts to achieve that new safe limit. i would never put that much power down without upgrading the drive train.

I was considering LSJ and supercharger stuff, i never went down that route bcc i like the VVT on the LE5 engine, and the S/C is always on since its belt driven...so my MPG might suffer a little more than a turbo (when not boosting) right now i have the car tuned so that i can daily drive with the 200ish hp N/A just fine, sips gas...then if i put more throttle down, the turbo kicks in when i want it to (maybe half a second or so of lag) and i get full power...a good balance between daily driver and track monster. I actually cant believe how good this engine is on gas (when driving normal)...im really happy with it.
jediperk AUG 06, 07:54 PM
I thought about the fuel economy issue myself, but the reality is that with the new TVS S/C (the one darn near as efficient as a turbo) now available for the ecotec engines that makes the turbo/s/c fuel economy argument a mute point (especially with .4 liters less displacement to have to feed). Remember, the blower is always turning, but the exhaust restriction of the turbo is always in play too. My car won't be for D/D duties anyways. I have that Fiero already. My concern for fuel economy is more the small fuel tank we have to work with. As far as safely achieving big power numbers with the ecotec, zzp has taken them to a 1000 HP. That's not the safety issue I was talking about though. Drive train and traction are the Achilles heal of big power Fiero's due to lack of traction control and robust transverse drive-train options. I think that's 50% of the reason Darkhorizon is stuck at 10.08 in the 1/4 (the other probably being the have to put in a role cage to go into the 9's at most tracks...). I think you have yours at the perfect power level right where it is. It's the brakes and suspension that I would advise you to work on followed by the wide body stuff you want to do.
dobey AUG 06, 10:32 PM
So what MPG are you getting now with the current tune? And what's the actual displacement of the engine? Is it a stock bore/stroke LE5?
jediperk AUG 07, 05:51 AM

quote
Originally posted by dobey:

So what MPG are you getting now with the current tune? And what's the actual displacement of the engine? Is it a stock bore/stroke LE5?



That's a good question b/c the LE5 in our HHR does not get anywhere near the real world fuel economy the LNF got in my Cobalt. Yeah, it's toting around a couple hundred pounds more weight and not as aerodynamic, but still it doesn't even come close on the highway (I'm talking more than 5 mpg difference) and the highways I was traversing in the Cobalt SS were in Germany...
dobey AUG 07, 09:44 AM

quote
Originally posted by jediperk:
That's a good question b/c the LE5 in our HHR does not get anywhere near the real world fuel economy the LNF got in my Cobalt. Yeah, it's toting around a couple hundred pounds more weight and not as aerodynamic, but still it doesn't even come close on the highway (I'm talking more than 5 mpg difference) and the highways I was traversing in the Cobalt SS were in Germany...



Gearing/tire size probably also had a play in the difference. Probably also a difference in percentage of highway versus city miles? What sort of economy did you get with those (or how many L/100 km)?
jediperk AUG 07, 12:11 PM
My combined average over roughly 10k miles was a little over 28 mpg. I normally drove on the unrestricted parts of the autobahn at around 160 km/h (100 mph). Yeah, I had my fun and took it up to 145 a couple times, but mostly I stayed right around 100 mph unless there was a speed limit and then I would usually stay about 5 over. It's annoying driving over 100 mph b/c you can't maintain the speed and are always having to hit the brakes hard and speed back up all the time due to traffic. Most of the areas that have speed limits are 130/120 km/h which is between 72-78 mph. I drove a lot of the back roads when we traveled however b/c they had so many good driving roads that reminded me of where I grew up in southern ohio with lots of turns and elevation changes going through really scenic country side. Over all, I would say probably 40% bahn, 30% city, 30% rural two lane. I still can't believe that GM only rated that car at 30 mph highway. Its way better than that...
jediperk AUG 08, 09:28 AM

quote
Originally posted by 4thfiero:

I was considering LSJ and supercharger stuff, i never went down that route bcc i like the VVT on the LE5 engine, and the S/C is always on since its belt driven...so my MPG might suffer a little more than a turbo (when not boosting) right now i have the car tuned so that i can daily drive with the 200ish hp N/A just fine, sips gas...then if i put more throttle down, the turbo kicks in when i want it to (maybe half a second or so of lag) and i get full power...a good balance between daily driver and track monster. I actually cant believe how good this engine is on gas (when driving normal)...im really happy with it.



Two questions: First, what kind of fuel economy are you getting? Second, is it turbo lag or did they just design the turbo to spool higher in the rev range so as to maintain boost all the way through redline while giving you decent fuel economy during normal driving?