GM RACING TECHNOLOGY: ECOTEC
Not since the debut of the GM small-block V-8 in
1955 has an engine created such excitement in the
performance community. The inline four-cylinder
Ecotec is poised to become the next big thing
from GM in high-volume production cars,
high-performance specialty vehicles and
high-horsepower competition applications.
The Ecotec engine has many of the virtues that
previously propelled the small-block V-8 to
greatness: simplicity, versatility, reliability, innovative
design, smoothness and boundless potential. The
Ecotec engine family – GM’s first truly global engine
design – is a class leader in power, torque and
refinement.With lightweight aluminum construction, four-valve cylinder heads and dual
overhead camshafts, Ecotec has the right stuff to engage a new generation of performance
enthusiasts. As Ecotec production accelerates, the supply of these sophisticated yet affordable
GM four-cylinder engines is growing rapidly.
GM is expanding Ecotec’s performance envelope in production applications and showcasing
its potential in competition. GM has developed several high-output production Ecotec
engines: a supercharged 205-horsepower Ecotec in the Saturn Ion Red Line and Cobalt SS
Supercharged, and a turbocharged 210-horsepower version that powers the Saab 9-3.
GM is introducing the Ecotec 2.0-liter Turbo engine in the 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP,
GM’s first engine in North America with direct injection. The Ecotec 2.0-liter Turbo produces
260 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. of torque (SAE certification pending) making it the most
powerful production engine in the Ecotec family. It is also GM’s highest specific output engine
at 2.1 horsepower per cubic inch of displacement.
GM Racing has established Ecotec’s performance credentials on the track by setting speed
records on the Bonneville Salt Flats with race-prepared turbocharged Ecotec engines and
winning championships in NHRA and NDRA front-wheel drive sport compact drag racing
classes with turbocharged Ecotec engines that produce more than 1,450 horsepower.
Race-prepared versions of the Ecotec engine propelled Vauxhall to four consecutive titles
in the British Touring Car Championship.
GM Performance Parts offers a supercharged Ecotec crate engine to meet the needs of sport
compact enthusiasts and street rodders. Competition-proven Ecotec components developed
by GM Racing are available through GM dealers and aftermarket suppliers. In short, the
pieces are now in place for Ecotec to star in the sequel to the small-block V-8’s remarkable
success story.
Designed for efficiency and performance
The Ecotec engine,GM’s first truly global
powerplant,was designed and developed by an
international team of 230 engineers and technicians
that included personnel from Opel’s International
Technical Development Center in Rüsselsheim,
Germany; GM Powertrain in Pontiac,Mich.; and
Saab in Trollhättan, Sweden. All of the engine
components were modeled in three dimensions
using GM’s advanced computer-aided design
software. The Ecotec is manufactured in modern
GM Powertrain facilities in Tonawanda, N.Y., Spring
Hill, Tenn., and Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Ecotec’s architecture offers tremendous versatility.
Introduced in 2000, the Ecotec now powers 16
GM vehicles worldwide, including Saturn, Pontiac,
Chevrolet, Saab, Opel and Vauxhall models. It is
produced in 1.8-, 2.0-, 2.2- and 2.4-liter versions.
Ecotec engines are available with naturally
aspirated, supercharged and turbocharged induction
systems; power ratings range from 140 to 260
horsepower. Although each engine has different
specifications, all share the Ecotec family’s basic
architecture.
In all-out racing trim, the Ecotec delivers prodigious
horsepower. The turbocharged Ecotec engines that
propelled a modified Saturn Ion Red Line to a
212.684-mph speed record on the Bonneville
Salt Flats and a Cobalt SS Speedster to 243 mph
produced more than 700 horsepower under
sustained full-throttle operation. GM Racing’s pro
front-wheel drive entry in the NHRA Summit Sport
Compact Drag Racing Series sprints the quarter-mile
in 7.1 seconds with its 1,450-horsepower raceprepared
turbocharged Ecotec engines.
“With the GM Ecotec global powerplant,we’re
producing 1,450 horsepower, and many of the
engine components are production parts,” said
Carmen Smith, GM Racing sport compact drag
racing program manager. “We’re using a production
block, production main bearing girdle, production
cylinder head, a production oiling system and a
production drive chain. It’s simply amazing what
we can do with this basic engine package.”
All Ecotec blocks share a rigid structure that
emulates a classic racing engine, with a one-piece
bottom end casting that incorporates five main
bearing caps and mounts a cast-aluminum oil pan.
The Ecotec 2.0-liter Turbo that powers the 2007
Pontiac Solstice GXP uses a stronger Gen II Ecotec engine block, which was developed with
input from racing experience to support increased horsepower and torque. The cylinder block
bulkheads – the areas where the main bearing caps are attached – and the bore walls are
enlarged for strength. This architecture is shared with the 2.4-liter Ecotec engine that debuted
in the Pontiac Solstice roadster.
The Ecotec cylinder head takes breathing to the next level with dual overhead camshafts and
four valves per cylinder. Ecotec’s spark plugs are centrally located in pent-roof combustion
chambers to provide fast, efficient combustion with the shortest possible flame travel.
Technology transfer
Lessons learned in the NHRA and NDRA sport compact drag racing series were applied to
the production Saturn Ion Red Line’s and Cobalt SS’s supercharged Ecotec engines to improve
durability. Upgraded components include sodium-filled exhaust valves, a forged-steel
crankshaft, forged connecting rods, heavy-duty pistons, a block-mounted oil cooler and
a high-capacity seven-quart sump.
GM Racing is filling the parts pipeline with factory-engineered components for performance
enthusiasts. GM Performance Parts has released an over-the-counter Ecotec crate engine that
is based on the supercharged Saturn Ion Red Line/Cobalt SS engine. This addition to GM’s crate
motor portfolio makes it possible to install an Ecotec in a sport compact coupe or a high-tech
street rod. Heavy-duty Ecotec components developed by GM Racing are also available through
GM Performance Parts. These include a race-prepared block, ported cylinder head, billet steel
crankshaft, copper head gasket, aluminum intake manifold and racing camshafts.
GM Racing has also published the GM Sport Compact Performance Build Book. This publication
provides information on modifying and preparing the Ecotec engine, Hydra-Matic 4T65
transmission and the Cobalt Phase5 race car for competition in sport compact classes. The
book is available at the GM Tuner Tour and on-line at
GMTunerSource.com. Customers
can also order books from GM Performance Parts dealers as part number 88958646.
Just as the legendary GM small-block V-8 became the cornerstone of America’s speed
equipment and racing industries, GM’s Ecotec engine promises to become the small-block
of four-cylinder engines.
# # #
DOWNLOAD | X05MO_TC004
The turbocharged Ecotec four-cylinder
engine that powers GM Racing’s frontwheel
drive sport compact drag racer
produces more than 1,450 horsepower
from 132 ci.
DOWNLOAD | X04SV_CH025
A 2.0-liter turbocharged and intercooled
Ecotec engine propelled GM Performance
Division’s Cobalt SS Speedster to 243 mph
on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Ecotec engines
also powered a streamliner and a vintage
roadster at the speed trials, demonstrating
the versatility of GM’s world-class fourcylinder
engine.
DOWNLOAD | X2MO_CH024
GM Racing’s record-setting Ecotec engines
retain the production four-valve cylinder
head design. Dual overhead camshafts and
production roller finger follower rocker
arms operate the matched pairs of intake
and exhaust valves.
