Great article on the technology and evolution of the Ecotec engine

[jpk]

Just read a great article in an online car magazine, windingroad (www.windingroad.com) Talks about the global collaboration and technology of the ecotec engine found in the 4 cylinder 9-3's. Worth checking out if you're a technical type...

[bwik]

thanks for the tip. It is in the new March issue.

Winding Road is a new internet car magazine published by David E Davis, Jr., the founder of Automobile. It is a really nice publication and available for download 100% FREE. Good stuff!

It must be free because of the failure of MPH, another mag with really great writing+photography IMO, that failed on the newsstands.

[bwik]

PS, the Ecotec article brings up the question... why doesn't Saab use the 260hp version of the motor in the 9-3 and 9-5?

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by bwik

PS, the Ecotec article brings up the question... why doesn't Saab use the 260hp version of the motor in the 9-3 and 9-5?

Because the US market wants a V6 under the hood even if an I4 can do the same job more economically, and now the V6 puts out 260 to put the I4 in there would cannibalise the V6 sales (or at least make it pointless).

And prior to the V6 I would guess because the 9-5 needs to be the more powerful car so they could not have a 260hp 93 and 260hp 95.

[bwik]

Yeah, marketing is in favor, for sure. But the 2.0T motor continues (20 years on) to be a better choice for many vehicles. Look how successful VW is going to be with their new 2.0T FSI motor.

I applaud Acura RDX and Maxda CX-7 for putting 4cyl turbos on SUV duty. This is a good option. They didn't do it because it was easy. They did it because 4cyl turbos are now mechanically superior to V6s up to about the 240hp level. Or, that is my take on it.

[Melovesha]

Originally Posted by bwik

PS, the Ecotec article brings up the question... why doesn't Saab use the 260hp version of the motor in the 9-3 and 9-5?

uh, the 260HP version is in the 95.

[bwik]

Nah, I believe the 9-5 has a 2.3l motor related to the 1993 Saab 9000 Aero. That is also a nice motor, but is not related to the GM Ecotec family.

Since I often drove our 1995 9000 Aero, I would say the 2.0 Ecotec 210hp is a smoother motor, but less powerful. The 2.3 has at times had torque "overboost" up to ~270 lb-ft torque.

Anyway, the 260hp 2.0T Ecotec is available in the Saturn Sky Red Line right now. I guess it has a bigger turbo to get the impressive 130hp/liter. Heck, you could probably chip that beast to 300hp!