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How About Those Ecotec´s?


monzta
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Hi.

I have a case of split mind here, so hope you can help.

I am currently wondering about the engine options for my A series project. I have a xe on stock, but it needs alot of work, and i have been offered a good £ or two for the head. I was wondering about the Ecotec´s from the Omega / Carlton.

That engine is fairly cheap, and since i will be using a EDIS ignition and webers in any case, that is not the issue. What i am thinking about is the floorpan and engine mounts. What are the options? Can i use a steel floorpan from any c20ne and make one myself (as i had intended for the xe) or ?? And what about the engine mounts, i figure theese need to be custom made as well?

Anyone with a ecotec in their Manta that can point me in the right direction ? I like the idea of the Ecotec as gearbox is a fairly easy issue to take car of as the Omega´s are RWD and i can use a gearbox from that car, maybe buy complete engine and box ?

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Okay perfect then :) It´s for a A series so 1,8 mounts won´t fit anyways.. The oilpan was the biggest issue, i have already bought one in steel from a Vectra that will be redone to take 1 litre of extra oil, oil temp fitting, etc. So thats great news!

What about the intakes are they the same as XE, can i use intake / exhaust manifolds from the XE ?

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But intake manifolds are readily available, and an xe exhaust manifold with the flange cut off and an ecotec one welded on would sort that. Omega gearbox is a lot better than manta one in terms of strength.

Ps re sump, use a steel one from 1990's cavalier 2.0 or. 1.8 and modify it to suit, look at Firenza project on our website to see a similar sump fabrication

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But intake manifolds are readily available, and an xe exhaust manifold with the flange cut off and an ecotec one welded on would sort that. Omega gearbox is a lot better than manta one in terms of strength.

Ps re sump, use a steel one from 1990's cavalier 2.0 or. 1.8 and modify it to suit, look at Firenza project on our website to see a similar sump fabrication

Exactly what i had in mind with the sump. Nice work by the way :)

Sounds good regarding the manifolds, sounds like a relativly easy project then. Also i would rather have the newer engine, event thoug it lacks 14bhp. What can you expect from a stock Ecotec running standalone ignition, and a set of 45´s ? Around 160 bhp perhaps?

I was out looking at the 2,2 16V ecotec but the guy selling was an idiot, he wanted 1400£ for it without the gearbox, so ill do buisiness elswere :) Found a complete 2,0 car though that has been damaged (totalled) but engine and driveline was intact. Can buy the entire car for 200£ and that sounds much more reasonable :)

Edited by monzta
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Unless you already have the twin webers, I would fit throttle bodies and an ecu to do fuel and ignition, it's barely more expensive than using carburettors, and much better.

Power wise, with twin 45 carbs or throttle bodies you should see around 160 to 175 hp ( an xe makes 180 to 200 so not too far adrift)

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Simon P = That look very tidy and nice :) What ignition were you running ?

Retro = Yeah thats propably right but i can get the intake manifolds machined (have cad programme) and weld it my self, so intake manifold is easy to make, and i have a set of triple 45s from my Monza with 40mm venturis on stock that i was planning on using on the XE. Also using the Edis is easy and cheap, and i have never been any good with electronics :) Webers / Dellortos always work for me, and are easy to maintain and adjust :)

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The only major drawback with the ecotec is the head design, the valves are positioned poorly compared to the xe ( it's a much narrower head design) and the port angles are not so good.

Paul exon who used to work for qed and who now runs exon race engines, did a lot of work at qed about 11 years ago on ecotec development as obviously at some point they are likely to supplant the xe due to being more common. They basically found, in a nutshell, a 20bhp lag between ecotec and xe for any given state of tune. The 1600 xe, which was designed much earlier than the other ecotec badged engines, actually shares most of it's design with the 2.0xe, and as such makes a similar 100 hp per litre on STD head etc etc but with IR intakes and good extractor manifold.

Anyway, nothing wrong with the ecotec, xe is better but if you struggle to get one then an ecotec is still easy to fit, and tuning bits very cheap

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Oh that is very good info. I have actually thought about using a x18xe as this has a lesser power output and can be installed into the Manta without having to pay extra tax for it (here in Denmark you have to pay tax on your car if you increase power output with more than 20%) so as my car is registered at 105bhp it can carry a 122bhp engine (and then i can go nuts on it afterwards) rolleyes.gif

Is this an option, and does it use same intake and exhaust as the 2,0 ? Does the Cartlon gearbox fit on the 1,8 or should i go the 2,0 way instead and just pay the taxes?

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Not to sidetrack you, but what about doing a z18xe??? Now they are a very good engine, and smaller much lighter block too!

Recently worked on a nova with one in

Would absolutely be a very nice engine but they are very hard to obtain here. Not many of them around, and if they are for sale they are expensive. I might as well go for the 2,2 16V ecotec..

The Omega´s / Carltons (or vectra if going 1,8) are very cheap here, and even cheaper in Germany. I can pick up an entire car in Germany for as little as 300 Euro´s ! Can sell the rest for scraps and have a very VERY cheap engine and driveline.

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Ok i have found a X18XE that has been in a car that burned. The engine is okay, the wirering however is pretty screwed. Theres a little burnmark on the valve cover, but nothing that has burned the alloy. The engine has travelled some 180K km and the car it is in was owned by an elder couple, so i am pretty sure that the engine will be very good.

As i don´t need anything from the loom anyway it should be perfect especially as the engine can be mine for 40£ :)

So what now, can i use the Omega gearbox on the 1,8 ? If it is a direct fit, i will go pick up the engine this weekend :)

Also if i get the engine i have found a set of timing belt at a ok price on Ebay complete with spanners and everything, and i have also found a complete head overhauling set with new gasket, bolts etc for very few bucks. I think that this would be a good idea as the car has been burned, don´t want to risk it snapping the belt at the first startup or something stupid like that. But if i do this, when the head is off the engine anyways, are there anything i can get done to it that will up the power just a tad ? My budget doesn´t allow sportscams, or bigger valves but could i increase compression a bit, or get the intake channels worked over with a good result?

Cheers thumbsup.gif

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  • 1 month later...

was the x16xe not built by (or had input from) lotus?

I seem to recall something along those lines which is why the 2.0 based x18xe was ditched in favour of the x18xe1/z18xe which was based on the 1.6. (also why the later 1.8 have 10bhp more)

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Ok i have found a X18XE that has been in a car that burned. The engine is okay, the wirering however is pretty screwed. Theres a little burnmark on the valve cover, but nothing that has burned the alloy. The engine has travelled some 180K km and the car it is in was owned by an elder couple, so i am pretty sure that the engine will be very good.

As i don´t need anything from the loom anyway it should be perfect especially as the engine can be mine for 40£ :)

So what now, can i use the Omega gearbox on the 1,8 ? If it is a direct fit, i will go pick up the engine this weekend :)

Also if i get the engine i have found a set of timing belt at a ok price on Ebay complete with spanners and everything, and i have also found a complete head overhauling set with new gasket, bolts etc for very few bucks. I think that this would be a good idea as the car has been burned, don´t want to risk it snapping the belt at the first startup or something stupid like that. But if i do this, when the head is off the engine anyways, are there anything i can get done to it that will up the power just a tad ? My budget doesn´t allow sportscams, or bigger valves but could i increase compression a bit, or get the intake channels worked over with a good result?

Cheers thumbsup.gif

Yea, omega box will go straight on, clutch I am not sure about but it is possible using off the shelf bits, just can't remember which bits!

was the x16xe not built by (or had input from) lotus?

I seem to recall something along those lines which is why the 2.0 based x18xe was ditched in favour of the x18xe1/z18xe which was based on the 1.6. (also why the later 1.8 have 10bhp more)

Exactly right, (except its the C16XE I think) the 1600 16v is a cracking, very underrated engine, and the 1800 is much the same but with a few more cc.

We recently worked on a nova with one in and were very impressed.

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I have just got the 1,8 ecotec :) So will be looking forward to it when i get that far :) Will need to sort ALOT of other stuff before i can turn my attention to the engine. I will be very happy if i can get the 1,8 to make me 150bhp with 40 dellorto´s on it cool.gif

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