the plastic pipe i am holding in my hand is the old elbow that connectected to my throttle body .it was a busy place and seemed a little restricted .so i bought a new silicone T fitting and a cast aluminum elbow and cleaned things up a bit .i also got my AEM guage type boost controller and hope to have it working this week .still have not made it down to the strip yet , work keeps getting in the way .
all packed and ready for waterford hills track day on thursday : i painted my front scoop silver so it would blend in better : i hope to meet some of you at the 25th .i am only there thursday for the track day and overnight at the host hotel .leaving about noon on friday .have to work nights all weekend .
i ordered a bunch of parts the other day .this winter i hope to ;relocate the turbo and use my solstice cat ,build a new centre console and new stereo , and a general cleanup of the wiring and engine bay plumbing .i will post some pics when the parts come in .
Wftb, I love everything about the ecotec and would love to put one in my car...preferably a 2.0 turbo (HHR, Solstice, Cobalt) but I don't want to run water/meth injection. I just want to run the engine and an intercooler - an air/water intercooler since an air to air just doesn't work too well in a fiero...I don't want to hack up my car. My question is, can an good air to water intercooler cool down the intake charge sufficiently such that the turbo can run it's 18 p.s.i - correct me if I'm wrong but the 2.0 litre turbo ecotec's produce 18 p.s.i.
So is it possible to do this with an air/water or am I just dreaming?
it is very much do able .but you will need hp tuners to set up the power enrichment tables to make up for the extra cooling the water meth provides .other things i have is a vortech 6:1 FMU , an air to air intercooler and bigger injectors .water meth injection is pretty easy to install and the tank can be mounted any where you have room .HPT is probably the easiest way to tune for a turbo ,especially with the wealth of info on their website .
What about running a small air to air where the cat sits on a v6 fiero in addition to the air to water...assuming that air can be pulled from under the car and into the intercooler? Is this possible, benefecial in any way? That being said, what about a second water to air in the place of the cat with a high volume water pump. Provided that enough air can be directed through the second intercooler, this should help reduce inlet temps. Any opinions?
...very nice build. I've enjoyed your write up and have learned a lot from it so keep up with the updates. For myself, my first choice is also the ecotec due to its low weight and power potential. Regarding yours, is tuned to your liking? How much hp is it producing? How's the power band? Is it linear? Does it produce a lot of lag...the last performance turbo car I drove was an 86 porsche 944 turbo and this thing was worse off the line than a bone stock 90's civic but at 3500 rpm the turbo spooled up and it put you into the back of the seat. Wasn't the greatest for a daily driver but sure was fun at the track...turbo cars are a lot of fun!
one air to water intercooler would be plenty .my air to air sits where the v6 cat used to be .an air to water intercooler is more efficient than an air to air , with less pressure drop .i dont have access to a dyno .rough estmates using my G tech indicate about 200 WHP running 8 psi boost .lag is only a problem if you are too lazy to downshift out of 5th gear at less than 60 mph .boost builds at 1800 rpm . thanks for checking out my thread .
i have started my winter projects for this year .the first thing i decided to do was eliminate the cavalier ignition assembly .i no longer need it since i adapted the fiero ignition switch to turn on the engine and i useed HP tuners to disable the vats .to verify the vats was indeed no longer working , i disconnected the connector that joins the key assembly to the BCM .then i tried to start the car .engine started right up and runs normally so all is good there .next i took the cavalier ignition switch and disconnected it from the harness .then i checked with my ohmeter what wires need to be tied together to bypass the switch assembly .i found that with the switch on , all the large connector blades are common except the one for the starter solenoid .i made a harness to check my theory and hooked it up to the connectors and the car started up without the cavvy switch in the circuit .i now can get rid of two of the relays i have in place to allow me to leave the cavvy switch in the run position so i dont drain the battery .one was for the vats ,the other one turned out to be not needed any way as it enabled the key left in switch buzzer that i dont have .the other relay will stay in the circuit to disablepower to the ecotec circuitry when the key is off .as soon as i complete the wiring chages ,i will move on to this years turbo mods and interiour changes .i needed to finish the wiring first because i needed the engine operational to test everything . goodies just received from summit for turbo and exhaust mods .
i was really happy with the way it ran .with the broad power band , i could run the whole track without shifting out of third gear .the handling was great .if i got sideways , the car was easy to straighten out without having the rear end come around .i didnt do a lot of laps because my rear bumper was sending out smoke from the tailpipe being too close to the plastic and when they flagged me for it ,i noticed my turbo hanger was broken .since i still had to drive home i called it a day .next time i will be better prepped .the number of cars there meant you could put a lot of laps in .the organizers did a great job .
i am working on getting the turbo to work without an oil scavenger pump .to do this i am going to use the cavalier exhaust manifold with the turbo bolted directly to it like i did originally .only this time i am going to rotate the compressor in in relation to the turbine so that the oil return line points straight down .this will give me a gravity drop directly to the oil pan .but i will have to make a custom bracket to hold the waste gate on .before: after:
can u post some pics of the engine bay over all shots espeicaly on areas where clearence is tight? Thanks and at the end of the build can u give a (as detailed as possible ) list of parts you used? thanks and i aperciate it i know im asking alot.
waste gate actuator modded : just have to extend the actuator rod with some flat stock: this is the epoxy i use to seal and lock things in place like the bolts holding the actuator: as far as a build list goes ,it would take me a while to come up with one .the next ecotec build i do the build list is going to read : one 2005 2.2 litre ecotec powered cavalier + miscelaneous steel and piping .Cavaliers are getting to be pretty cheap used . there are no real clearance issues .i dented the passenger side strut tower to clear the upper engine mount and a notch in the cradle for the AC compressor .there is lots of room for this motor .
my build list (normally aspirated ) : 2.2 ecotec with f23 5 speed with clutch hydraulics still attatched from 2003 cavalier ,original rubber motor and tranny mounts still on . steering collumn with ignition switch and key . complete engine and car wiring harness with ecm and bcm . cavalier fuel pump assembly with wiring harness attatched . cavalier instrument cluster other than the usual assortment of nuts and bolts and hoses and about 50 bucks worth of steel from the local hardware store , i think thats about it . i will do an accurate turbo list once i finish this years final (i hope) version .
actuator rod extended .after i mounted the turbo and exhaust manifold back on the car , i realized i still have a problem with the oil return line. i have close to 6 inches of fall down to oil level in the pan , but the CV joint and axle are in the way .i have on order from Hahn racecraft an oil feed and return kit that uses the oil drain hole to send the oil back in so i wont have to worry about getting past the CV joint .
this is my new oil feed ,on the block instead of the cylinder head .the head feed worked fine but i was told that it bleeds off too much oil that the valve assembly needs .so ,better safe than sorry .since i will have a gravity return feed , i eliminated the check valve .
after a few frustrating days trying to get my turbo to not leak oil without a return pump , i had to give up and put the pump back on .but it still leaked oil even with the pump in place .i took the tubo apart thinking that i might have gotten something misaligned or some crap got in it .cleaned it , reassembled it and got the oil dump pointing straight down and put it back on and it still leaked .the problem seems to be the new return dump pipe that came with the no drill oil kit .it is noticeably smaller than the stock one(3/8" ID vs 1/2"ID) in order to utilize the 1/2"silicone hose that came with the kit .it was causing the oil to back up inside the turbo whenever i revved the engine past 3000 rpm .i put the stock dump pipe back on with some 1/2"ID hose to the pump and now i am smoke free again .but i still have the evac pump .i am going to try just running a larger line to the fitting on the oil pan and see if i can do away with the pump but not tonight .i have had enough oil slopped around for one night .i got my new turbo down pipe welded up and bolted on and have completed the new charge pipe .i am waiting on my new muffler and air cleaner to complete the exhaust and new cold air intake system .the weather has been so nice i wish i could go for a spin .i was shopping in shorts and a tee shirt today it was so warm up here . pics: the round bronze can is the solstice cat i got from mallet cars .notice how everything tucks up nicely underneath .hopefully i will be able to hide the mufler up there too .i am installing duals again and the goal is just to have the tips showing .
sorry about the double post .for a while that pic was a red x so i put it up again .here is a shot of the turbo with the AEM boost controller solinoid mounted .i also mocked up an old muffler and tips to see how much i can hide .i was sitting on the floor and the car is on jackstands and the muffler is barely visible from that angle .with the car on the ground i dont think it will be visible within 50 feet .
got my new muffler and a new air filter in the mail today .got the exhaust mostly figured out : just have to clamp it all together now and decide on some tips .have to work on the rest of my intake .join this: to this : and put this in between: the open end of the air filter housing fits right over the original cold air inlet that the blue coupling in the picture is attatched to .the coupling will not be used .this will give me a better source of outside air than having the filter shoved up behind the passenger side door .i started it up and i really like the new sound .if i ever learn how to post a video i will give everyone a listen .it has lost the bit of raspyness it used to have and sounds deeper .a little quieter to .i am off to work 12 hour days thurs and friday and then off to mesquite nevada for some golf for a week.when i get back i will figure out exhaust tips and finish the intake .
the new intake is almost complete .the piping is 2.5"OD diameter stainless made from bends and straight pipe i got from summit racing .the couplings are 2.5 " ID from silicone intakes .com .they have a great website and the only place that i found the blow off valve T 's that i used for the recirculating BOV that i am using because my engine uses a map sensor .if you use a maf sensor you dont need to recirc your BOV .i dont have that option .pictures:
the new intake is almost complete .the piping is 2.5"OD diameter stainless made from bends and straight pipe i got from summit racing .the couplings are 2.5 " ID from silicone intakes .com .they have a great website and the only place that i found the blow off valve T 's that i used for the recirculating BOV that i am using because my engine uses a map sensor .if you use a maf sensor you dont need to recirc your BOV .i dont have that option .pictures:
I'm pretty sure you have that backwards. If you have a Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) you can vent pressurized air. If you have a Mass Air Flow (MAF) meter you need to recirculate the air. The reason being the air between the MAF and the throttle plate is measured, so you would be venting air 'accounted' for by the ECU. With a MAP system whenever you close the throttle the intake sees vacuum, so unless you are venting the intake plenum then a boosted closed throttle is pretty much the same as naturally aspirated closed throttle.
that was based on something i read when i first set up the turbo .you are probably right , now that i have read the explanation .but it doesnt hurt to recirc it so i am going to leave it the way it is .i want to get some matching silicone hose ,would look better than the black recirc hose i am using now .some people like the extra noise made by a vented BOV but i like the more muted sound of a recirc BOV .you can still hear it from inside the car and it still sounds neat .
now that the intake and exhaust are finished , i decided to relocate the water meth system out of the trunk .when i changed the turbo back to a direct bolt on setup ,i also relocated the heater and turbo cooling lines .they now run along the firewall towards the passenger side and then back and over the exhaust manifold .this freed up all the space over the transaxle for the new intake plumbing and to relocate the watermeth pump .i also moved the ecotec fuse blocks .the small one is now inside the car and the large fuse holder is under the drivers side vent .it has a cover on it so it wont matter if it gets wet .i am going to use the windshield washer tank for both the injection system and washing the windshield . it is a much bigger tank than what came with the kit and then i can have a trunk completely free of any equipment .maybe i will even carpet it again .i am redoing things on the car from the back to the front .once i have the watermeth reinstalled , i am going to run the wiring for my AEM guage type boost controller .then it will be time for the interiour mods which will include a new centre consule and stereo .new seats would be nice but not in the budget for this year .on the front end i have a worn steering rack bushing to fix and one headlight actuator to rebuild .thats all in the plan for this year , hope i can git er done . finished exhaust :
As you can see, I'm a "newby" here and just had to comment on your thread. I'm impressed, not only with the detail of the thread, but with the finnished swap. Remounting the turbo and cleaning up the piping was well worth the many extra hours of work. I just read in an hour what took you years to do. I have just aquired an 86 Fastback GT and plan on keeping it stock. Clean and restore are my goals. I'm not as ambitious as you are. Thanks for a very enjoyable time reading about your build
today i finished putting the water meth injection system in to the engine compartment : turned my ecotec 2.2 valve cover sticker around: this is where the feed for the water meth comes from now .out of the oem windshield washertank near the fluid pump : i have tomrrow off so i hope to get all the turbo boost reference lines run to the water meth system ,vortec FMU and to the AEM boost controller .
thanks for reading my thread .i dont get too many replies so it is encouraging when other people post .
Few replies does not mean few readers... I've read your entire thread at least 4 times now, and I love it! + to you for being innovative, creative, and fabricative (it's ok, it's a dubya word...)
Long time since ive posted on your thread, everythings looking good! Ive been patiently waiting for more parts to arrive to get started on my winter projects. And saving (and ALOT of that) for kerosene to heat my shop so i can actually work lol.
Looks good we are going to have to meet sometime this up coming summer.
Check out Ecotecforum.com you should get some interest there as well.
i was on ecotec forum quite a bit when i first put the turbo on .lots of great info there and the people are very helpful .i mostly just lurk on there now .i like your new motor .the honda guys call a combo like yours a frankenstein motor .another forum with lots of good info is the HP Tuners forum .my garage is not heated and the last couple of days i have not been out there much .i did get a start on my new centre consule : i got a new stereo to put in .nothing special except it has dvd playing on a small screen .
I only have a few more mods to the motor to do this winter, sadly I think I have to wait on cams. Im planning on a front splitter and hood extractor for aerodynamics and to get rid of some of the height. I put Konis/Eibach on it earlier and its getting grand am brakes all the way around, all planned to be done before march, that and ALOT of tuning!
going pretty slow on the centre console .cold out in the garage so a lot of cut and fit and then take inside to glue and dry and back out for more cutting and fitting .starting to look close to what i want .these parts will be painted with a textured finish that i hope will match the rest of the interiour .covering in vinyl might be an option but thats a job i would have to hire out .if i was more ambitious i would make a mold and make it out of fibreglass .all the corners will be rounded off with a router and then sanded smooth .you can make MDF look like plastic if you sand it right .i have one more piece to glue in and then i will figure out the cupholders and PW and PM switches .
thanks .the reason i have to make a new one is the original console wont fit over my modified shifter linkage .and a friend of mine said the first console i built was "redneckish".i had to agree with him .but it did have cup holders .
got some work done on the new centre console .installed the mount for the power windows and mirrors and made the cup holders .next will be cutting the mount holes for the AEM boost guage and oil press. and voltmeter guages.i also will be adding at least two 12 volt outlets .almost ready for paint : after i paint , i am going to make a padded arm rest that will be kept in place with velcro .this will also hide the mounting screws .
oooohh an armrest now im really super mega jealous.... seriously i like it. really neat. nice to see how you bypassed that key. man arent those things annoying
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I've read your entire thread at least 4 times now, and I love it! + to you for being innovative, creative, and fabricative (it's ok, it's a dubya word...) 
