which is a better motor the 2.2 ecotec or the 3400 sfi just wondering which one i could get more power out of thanks
Depends on how deep your pockets are,lol.I'd say the ECO seeing GM does have a build guide to make 1000 hp out of one
15.2@89mph 2.171 60ft. 9.830 1/8 R.I.P. "LULU"
Ecotec has alot more aftermarket support than the 3400. that being said, are you planning on boosting or going n/a?
i plan on a turbo setup i already have an eco. a buddy of mine thinks the 3400 would easly take the eco i dought it from my expieriance
I would boost the Eco. You already have it.
You'd be spending money to get a 3400, and all the stuff to swap it over. Thats money that you can be putting into the turbo parts, and performance parts on the eco.
PLENTY of power can be made with the ECO.
"A car just isn't a car without a little blood, sweat, and beers." -- Shadowfire
for what it's worth, my cavalier (02 ls sport sedan with the eco/5spd) outruns my buddy's grand am gt... he's got more low end but he runs out up top and i get by him. (my mods are in my profile, he has an cold air and a catback)
i walk on 3400's so i vote eco
I'll take boosted 3400 - eventually.
I expect my 3400 car without boost to be in the low 14s next spring, that's just with bolt on parts only, and a stock tb, no internal work at all, and on street tires.
Lets see an Eco do that.
Then RMT the following winter and I should be set to see 300hp no problem on stock internals. Oh yeah over 350 ft lbs of torque.
There's no replacement for displacement, especially if you boost the bigger displacement engine.
I should have mentioned, 3500 is actually where its at if you're going to go through all of the trouble.
You will however need an external crank position sensor as the 3500 uses a 52x sensor exclusively.
If you do like most and use Grand Am parts you'll need the external sensor as the Grand Am stuff is only set up to read a 7x sensor (the one on the back of a 3400 block) and a 24x sensor (the one that reads off of the wheel pressed onto the harmonic balancer.
The external unit is a 7x sensor.
Small displacement engines are God's gift to lightweight FWD cars. The 3400 and 3800 series engines can make a considerable amount of power at very low boost, but 3.0L+ engines are notorious for wheel spin due to their high/flat torque curve. Case and point: Raven should be deep into the 10's if he could hook-up (last time I checked he wasn't, so someone correct me if I'm wrong), whereas Hahn has already accomplished that feat. Similar max horsepower numbers, but statistically, Raven should crush Hahn if you consider the total horsepower under the power curve between shifts. If we were talking about AWD or RWD powerplants, then that would be a different story. In either case, both are decent engines to build and it more depends on what you want out of the car.
strat81 wrote:for what it's worth, my cavalier (02 ls sport sedan with the eco/5spd) outruns my buddy's grand am gt... he's got more low end but he runs out up top and i get by him. (my mods are in my profile, he has an cold air and a catback)
I can assure you that's not the engine at fault. The car itself weighs significantly more, and the 4T40e and 4T45e have a very tall 3rd gear, which makes them horrible for 1/4 mile drags.
I have no signiture
If strat81 and his friend raced on a long enough stretch of road my money is on the GAGT and its 129mph fuel cut
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Tuesday, November 11, 2008 10:30 AM
KFLO wrote:I expect my 3400 car without boost to be in the low 14s next spring, that's just with bolt on parts only, and a stock tb, no internal work at all, and on street tires.
Lets see an Eco do that.
stock tb
stock ignition
stock block (including balance shafts)
stock intake manifold
full interior
bfgoodrich g-force drag radials, but they were DOT approved so those count as street tires right? I drove with them on the street... also had a patriot head and mild cams, but since they "bolt on" I guess that counts right?
before I broke it cuz I'm stupid it would run 14.0-14.3 depending on how i was driving. After crapping it up I was between 14.5 and 14.8.
but who cares about 14s. Or how little mods you have.
eco has way more support. V6 swap is a lot more work, and while I respect those who go through all the effort, I just really don't see the point of using a V6 when the 4 cylinders we have at our disposal are much more capable of doing the job, and bolt into the car.
I'm just speculating what my car will run. I'll be on stock heads and cam when it happens, and true street tires, not a good excuse for street tires.
But like I said, this is just speculation, and its in a Beretta aka I have an easier time swapping to a 3400 than any 3rd gen J does swapping to any different engine than what it came stock with.
Funnily enough though PJ, I was thinking of you the whole time I typed that out.
Because you are my favorite.
Stock motor
stock head
stock cams
stock ignition
stock tb
stock intake manifold
stock clutch
Falken Azeni RT 615 street tires
100,000K Miles
custom turbo kit under $5,000 w/o all the extras i did
13.5 @ 106.
i agree with pj, so much more support than the v6. plus its there and for cheap, its fast. plus i STILL get 30+ mpg after being boosted.
^----- Now that's what I'm talking about. That is a good reason to go Eco.
I'm still more a fan of big torque, but I also don't have any good reason to swap to an Eco.
Now on the other hand, I would get rid of my 99Z for an 02 LSS Ecotec 5speed if the opportunity arose. But I think that would be the only way I'd end up with an Ecotec engine.
worst part is i usually run a 13.7-13.8 @ 104...
my first run of the night at one of the test and tunes was a 14.2 @ 105 missing 2nd gear..... explain what that pass could have been haha. but thats why there is driver error!
Let me first say that I totally respect anyone who takes the time and money to swap the 3x00, but the 3400 swap is a really just a novelty to say you did something different. It's never really cost effective if you already have an eco. Yes it can make more power on less boost and has a mile wide torque curve, but in terms of dollars/HP, its going to fail when its done right (unless you can get the engine and labor for free...hmmmmmm)
strat81 wrote:for what it's worth, my cavalier (02 ls sport sedan with the eco/5spd) outruns my buddy's grand am gt... he's got more low end but he runs out up top and i get by him. (my mods are in my profile, he has an cold air and a catback)
Let me be very honest with you. There is a large amount of difference between a 3400 in a GAGT, and a 3400 sitting in a 5spd J-body.
In fact, the only thing giving you advantage over me without you having a turbo, is the fact that you have less low end tq which makes it harder for you to break traction in first and second gear and lose precious time. Though, I will also say that you would likely spank me in AutoX with the extra weight of the front end of a 3400 Cav.
SHOoff (Tuner Bash Beer God) wrote:strat81 wrote:for what it's worth, my cavalier (02 ls sport sedan with the eco/5spd) outruns my buddy's grand am gt... he's got more low end but he runs out up top and i get by him. (my mods are in my profile, he has an cold air and a catback)
Let me be very honest with you. There is a large amount of difference between a 3400 in a GAGT, and a 3400 sitting in a 5spd J-body.
In fact, the only thing giving you advantage over me without you having a turbo, is the fact that you have less low end tq which makes it harder for you to break traction in first and second gear and lose precious time. Though, I will also say that you would likely spank me in AutoX with the extra weight of the front end of a 3400 Cav.
i'm not saying that a grandam gt is the same thing as a 3400 in a cavalier. i also realize that a j-body 5spd is geared differently than a 4spd auto and the n-body weighs more than a j-body... i was just sharing my experience with the 3400.
personally I prefer the ecotec... aftermarket is alot larger, you're not adding weight to the front end and upseting the balance of the car (assuming you use your car for anything other than straight line racing), and pj as well as others on here have shown what the eco is capable of. the engine also drops/bolts in with alot less fab work than the 3400.
btw, how's changing the spark plugs on the rear bank? i'd a bitch in his car... i can only imagine how it would be in a j-body...
just my .02
ecos have no problem breaking lose the tires i can barely touch the pedal all i have for mods is shorter surpatine belt and motor side poly mounts and a short ram intake
Quote:
i'm not saying that a grandam gt is the same thing as a 3400 in a cavalier. i also realize that a j-body 5spd is geared differently than a 4spd auto and the n-body weighs more than a j-body... i was just sharing my experience with the 3400.
personally I prefer the ecotec... aftermarket is alot larger, you're not adding weight to the front end and upseting the balance of the car (assuming you use your car for anything other than straight line racing), and pj as well as others on here have shown what the eco is capable of. the engine also drops/bolts in with alot less fab work than the 3400.
btw, how's changing the spark plugs on the rear bank? i'd a bitch in his car... i can only imagine how it would be in a j-body...
just my .02
on my 3800 cav it easier to change the rear bank plugs than the rear bank on a gen 2 cav
