ecotec swap (Page 43/98)
Eau_Rouge JUN 28, 11:47 PM

quote
Originally posted by wftb:

my new air to water intercooler set up runs 12* C cooler under boost than my old air to air setup did .the old IC showed 40* C IAT under boost and the new one shows a max of 28* C .so it is a big improvement .




Did you mount your heat exchanger up front - in front of the radiator? How does the fan work, does it come on automatically depending on inlet temps? If it does or can be made to do so, it would be great as it would help to control/eliminate heat soak.
That's a pretty impressive drop in temp...how much boost are you running again?
Now that your inlet temps have dropped so dramatically, do you still see a need for water/methanol?

Once again, great build and always look forward to reading about your updates!
wftb JUN 29, 11:47 PM
i mounted the rad right in front of the lower rubber air dam .there is not enough room to get it vertical , but it seems to catch lots of air .i didnt want the fan running all the time , so it is wired on the same circuit as the water meth pump .when boost hits around 3 psi they both come on .the snow controller hits max injection at 8 psi and then both the water meth pump and the intercooler fan are going full out .i am still running at a max boost of 10.75 psi . i never did figure out how to get the AEM boost controller to work right but it makes a great boost guage .i am thinking about increasing my timing to get some more power , i get no KR at all now on a scan .i could up the boost instead but i would have to buy another controller .i dont really know what people mean when they talk about heat soak with regards to water to air intercoolers .with a constant flow of water from the tank to the rad to the IC and back to the tank i cant see anything but even temps all the way around .the IC is where my old air to air used to be , in the former cat converter location .
thanks for posting ,and thanks for helping my thread hit over 20,000 views .
Fosgatecavy98 JUL 07, 09:52 PM
Hey any engine bay pictures that are new? Im looking at doing something new with my intake. I am having some way high IATs with my current intake setup.
wftb JUL 08, 11:38 PM
nothing new in the engine bay these days .when i ran without the turbo i just hooked the stock 2.2 eco airbox to the stock 2.8 fiero cold air intake and air filter .that seemed to work really well .the stock fiero intake is one of the best flowing out there .i got my stuff from roger thelin the other day and i will post some pics .good to hear from you fosgate .
Fosgatecavy98 JUL 09, 12:02 PM
Yeah I have been going through alot of changes with my shop and office areas, my income has been severely smaller last few months and cars sitting in need of a new wideband. I am still driving it whenever I can just not much power

Eau_Rouge JUL 24, 06:54 PM
Wftb, how does the engine noise compare in your car with the ecotec versus the stock 2.8 you had before. Is is quieter? The reason I ask is because I am planning an ecotec SC swap and am hoping that the ecotec is quieter then the 2.8 that's in the car now.

Also, about how many km are you getting per tank of gas (my car is an 86SE v6 4 speed standard). I average about 320 km per tank and usually fill about 32 - 33 litres of fuel at each fill up, so that's around 10 litres per 100 km and this is about 80% highway/rural road (easy on the car) driving. I'm hoping that the ecotec will be more fuel efficient and raise my cruise range to atleast 400 km per tank under the same driving conditions. Is this realistic?

Thanks!

[This message has been edited by Eau_Rouge (edited 07-24-2009).]

wftb JUL 24, 09:22 PM
the 2.8 was noisier but the muffler was shot so it is hard to make a comparison .when i did the swap i took a lot of the sound insulation off of the firewall.so i do get some unwanted valvetrain noise coming in to the cabin , but only at low speeds .when i drop the cradle to put in the shifter mods i bought from roger thelin , i am going to put in some proper new sound deadening .overall , unless i am pushing it hard it pretty much sounds like a GM built unmodified 4 cylinder cavalier .it is muffled down quite a bit with the turbo and the muffler and solstice cat.it makes a real snarling sound under boost .it is an amazing difference when you run it hard .i check my mileage a lot and with mixed driving around here i get between 13 to 15 km per litre of gas or 30 to 33 miles per american gallon(3.78L) .so that should translate to about 500 km with a little left in the tank .my gas guage does not work so i fill up when i hit 250 to 300 KM on the trip odometer .that is usually less than 20 litres of gas per week of driving to work and golf etc .
Eau_Rouge JUL 24, 11:15 PM

quote
Originally posted by wftb:

the 2.8 was noisier but the muffler was shot so it is hard to make a comparison .when i did the swap i took a lot of the sound insulation off of the firewall.so i do get some unwanted valvetrain noise coming in to the cabin , but only at low speeds .when i drop the cradle to put in the shifter mods i bought from roger thelin , i am going to put in some proper new sound deadening .overall , unless i am pushing it hard it pretty much sounds like a GM built unmodified 4 cylinder cavalier .it is muffled down quite a bit with the turbo and the muffler and solstice cat.it makes a real snarling sound under boost .it is an amazing difference when you run it hard .i check my mileage a lot and with mixed driving around here i get between 13 to 15 km per litre of gas or 30 to 33 miles per american gallon(3.78L) .so that should translate to about 500 km with a little left in the tank .my gas guage does not work so i fill up when i hit 250 to 300 KM on the trip odometer .that is usually less than 20 litres of gas per week of driving to work and golf etc .



Wow, 500 km per tank - very impressive...can't wait! I'n the mean time, I guess I should look at replacing my firewall insulation as its now 23 years old as are my suspension and drivetrain bushings - this should make it a little quieter and easier to live with.

One more question, what rpm do you turn at 100 km/h. Also, is the ecotec a smoother, more civilized engine than the stock 2.8?

Thanks again and once again, love the project!
wftb JUL 25, 09:20 AM
the ecotec is a very smooth motor as it has balance shafts .roger thelin told me he used to run his without a dog bone and i believe him .mine just barely shakes a little when it idles ,but when i ran it NA with the stock airbox it behaved like an electric motor .i rev about 2100 rpm at 100km/hr .if you plan on running a 2.2 stock with the factory airbox, you wont hear the valvetrain noise as it acts like a muffler for that noise .and i used to get over 40mpg when i ran it stock , but i couldnt resist a turbo setup .thanks for the comments and questions .
wftb AUG 15, 04:46 PM
i was at the SOFA show in london the other day and got a few ideas from the people there .too bad it rained , i relly wanted to hit the drag strip .show was really well organized , thanks to SOFA and the volunteers .one idea about relocating my air filter to the fender well where the old water seperator resided sounded good to me .puts the air filter out of the engine bay and protects it from rain as well as getting rid of my ugly rainshield .cant seem to post pics at this time .i keep resizing but pip keeps telling me they are too big .i will try again tomorrow .