April 19 - 21, 2002
Long Beach, CA
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The times, they are changing. Once upon a time GM stood by idly letting other companies enjoy the spotlight in the tuner market. Once upon a time GM SPO / Performance Parts could have actually been called Performance V8 Parts. Welcome to the evolution.
Out with the old, in with the new; the Ecotec motor is here to stay. The General is putting all it's got into this new and exciting engine. Their hard work is paying off. The Ecotec racing program is producing many parts that will live on to see the tuner marketplace, and even the production line. Lessons learned are being adopted by the engineers to make these engines better and stronger.
Not to say that the Ecotec is not strong right now. A completely stock engine with intake and exhaust removed (ie. zero restriction) pulled 168hp on the engine dyno. The engine has been proven to consistently push up to 280hp on completely stock internals. Changing the rods and pistons, and using a copper head gasket (now available from GM) and the engine will hold up to 500hp. These numbers are very impressive and show that this engine fits in just right in the tuner marketplace.
With so many GM brands and cars that will be and already are receiving this engine, the aftermarket would be missing out big if they did not respond immediately. GM hopes to see production of this engine reaching the range of one million by next year. This abundance not only means a lot of engines on the road, but also a lot in the junkyard, making it very easy to get replacement engines.
The future for the Ecotec is huge. The Cavalier drag car will be running at Englishtown soon with an engine that has pushed 830hp on the dyno. This may seem big, but it's only the beginning.
For more, see the following press releases:
GM Performance Parts Announces New Race Parts For ECOTEC Engine
GM Performance Parts Announces New Supercharger Kit