Ecotech engine blows

i have a rental car right now while my car is getting a new bumper put on it by the dealership so i have a 2004 Cav right now. Man that ecotech engine is horrible, for having 140 HP it performs pretty crappy. Its about equal to my 95 cav with exceleration. I really thought that engine would be better. . .what are your opinions?

well mines an automatic and runs high 15's...I can't complain.

maybe it was cause it was a rental, but it just didnt seem to have much. . .

hmmm...not sure...I know mine was a little sluggish until it was broken in at about 6,000 miles...then it ran tons better

oh well it was just a rental, back to my Z24 WAAHOOO!

the repair facility down the road a ways from us has a hp dyno he told me he dynod a new cav with the ecotec 4 and it came out to 102 hp at the rear wheels.

the rear wheels huh? tell me what cavalier was he testing that has rear wheel drive cause i really wish i had that one. . .and stock HP is 140 at the flywheel, so i doubt the car loses almost 40 HP to the wheels.

If it was a rental it had an auto, and the slush box behind the eco does blow. I have an 04 with the 5-spd and it is a world of difference. I would take the 5-spd eco over the old 2.2, 2.3, or 2.4 anyday. As long as it has the manual, if you have an auto get the 2.4!!!!

and it is ECOTEC!!! there is no H.

yes my 2.4 Z24 is an auto, but its kinda scary how fast it is, this is the first auto that ive ever been in that chirps between first and second. My brothers 99 Sho didnt even do that. Although the hard shifting from first and second is getting annoying cause its starting to pull my alignment off.

No complaints with my '03 5 speed Eco.

Exactly KJ, If I had not been able to get a 5-spd would have never bought a cav. The auto kills an otherwise excellent engine because is is only a what 3-spd. The lag to go from gear to gear kills that engine. Give it a 4-5 spd auto and it would do much better.

How's it going, Marchi1? I never even considered a 5 speed, which is why my car is black and not arrival blue. I try to avoid automatics with 4 cylinders, whenever possible.

it is a 4 speed, but it just doesnt give the power to the wheels. The engine gets loud and i got the RPMS up to 5,500, but it just never seem to get it. Like if i punched it from a dead stop, i would get a little chirp and thats it. And this car only had 11K miles.

I purchased an 04 Cav 5 speed ecotech about a month ago and was pleasantly surprised . It has more power than I expected it to have.

LOL You need to ride in my Eco when I bang gears at 6000 RPM. (Very rarely, though). I've chirped through 3rd without really trying. Don't think I beat on my car all the time, mostly I baby it (3-4000 rpm shifts). But I think we all like to see what they can do now and then.

whats the highest youve gotten teh RPMS up to on the eco tech? on the 2.4L ive gotten almost to 7,000 RPMs before it changes.

whats the highest youve gotten teh RPMS up to on the eco tech? on the 2.4L ive gotten almost to 7,000 RPMs before it changes.i have a 04 ls sport 5 speed and at first it was not all that fast but after 2000 miles the car has started to loosen up and it straight hauls i beat my buddys 96z24 auto by about 3 car's. and the echo has a 6400 redline. but i found that shifting at 6000rpm it pulls harder in the next gear.

if ur 04 ls sport beat a z24 by 3 car lengths id say there was something definitely wrong with that guys car or he just couldnt drive. Cuase when i had my 95 2.2L sedan w 3 speed, it wasnt a terribly slow car, i could stay even with my buddies DOHC Neon and my brother Ranger with the Vulcan V6. I really want to take my car to a track and to the 1/4 mile to get a start, but i dont know of any in my area. . .

What you need to realize is that the powerband comes on much ssoner in the ecotec (NOTICE NO H!!!) then it does on most other cars. Also the gearing is slightly different than what is on the older cavs as well.

KJ: Not bad, and yeah I have chirped my going into third when I was trying as well I shouldn't have to much trouble as I am getting 225's on 17" wheels on Monday!!!!

what was the mileage on the car? mines at 21K right now and it flies :) and it's an auto too.

11,000, i mean im not saying it was slow, but for 140 HP at the flywheel i expected alot more since my Z24 is really notiaceably faster than it with about 160 HP at the fly. Also the engine sounded really. . .weak. Like when the RPMS got high, it was like a lawn mower on steroids. Driving it reminded me exactly of my 95 2.2L 120 HP. But it still is a good fast engine, i was just expecting more from it.

::shrugs:: maybe the car was just that bad?

It is very possible to lose 40 HP to the wheels, if not more.

i hav a 2.2 98 automatic cavy, and i was wonderin if i should swap into a 2.4 Z24, or an ecotec... please help me
thx

the 2.4L is a nice powerful engine, it sounds and drives more like a V6 than a 4 banger. The ecotech still reminds me of a 4 banger.

if ur 04 ls sport beat a z24 by 3 car lengths id say there was something definitely wrong with that guys car or he just couldnt drive. Cuase when i had my 95 2.2L sedan w 3 speed, it wasnt a terribly slow car, i could stay even with my buddies DOHC Neon and my brother Ranger with the Vulcan V6. I really want to take my car to a track and to the 1/4 mile to get a start, but i dont know of any in my area. . .lol well he has a billion miles on it. but a kill is a kill. I think that i could do better if i could launch the car better. the sweet spot is waaaayyyyy to narrow.
and i had a 2002 base sedan and it was sllloooow. i could not keep up with my sons powerwheeles.lol

I purchased my 04 Cavalier 5 speed about 2 months ago...owned a 98 Cavalier Automatic for about 2 years...have to say I am much happier with the Ecotec.

yes i will say the ecotech is a nice upgrade from the old 115-120 HP engines they used to use. But i was just expecting more from the engine.

I own a 04 2.2l ecotec 4dr atomatic cavi and I hate to say it but if you cant drop down some good time with it as I said above hate to say it but its probly operator error.

Mine is still fully stock and I can wax stock hondas as well as slightly modded ones as well. Then again driving runs in my family blood.

We have a saying where I come from...it doesnt take a fast car to make a good driver it takes a fast driver to make a good car.

Please by all means dont take offense to my comment just an observastion from friends that cry about their cars being all kinds of slow till they let me give them a whirl. :lol:

i should have titled the thread differently, i was just annoyed by it when i wrote it cause i had the ecotech and i was used to my Z24. Its a good engine, but for only 10 less HP my Z24 seems to have alot more get up and go to it. But if driving is in your blood, why did you buy an automatic? that really doesnt require much driving skill. . .

Wife cant drive a stick and refuses to learn so that put that down the craper. :crying:

lol buy her a POS car thats an auto and then go buy a nice new cavalier stick, tell her she can drive which ever car she wants. . .shell learn. . LOL

it was my grandparents and they gave it to me jayson LOL im sixteen but yea

i've got an auto 4 door too, and i think its pretty quick :) or maybe i feel like that because ive been driving the same car for about 2 and a half years

My wife's an automatic person too, she can drive a stick if its an emergency (like if I get real drunk LOL) but otherwise she doesn't want to drive it. Actually, thats one of the reasons I bought my 5 speed.

My mother has a 2000 Saturn LS with the Ecotec engine. Although I wasn't sold on it at first, especially mated to the Variable Speed Transmission, It has been the best car she's owned. It has over 140,000 miles on it and it runs and drives like it's brand new. We have used synthetic oil since it was new, also.

The car doesn't accelerate quickly off the line, due in most part to the VST, but when it hits it's midrange it takes off. I've surprised many people with it's power and agility. It easily accelerates well over 100 mph while merging onto freeways, just as it's European clone does (The Opel Vectra, another very fine car). It has a strong passing gear, too, putting you ahead of anyone in a hurry. You just have to allow for the VST's wind up (floor it first, wait a second or two, and then pass).

Last week my family and I used it to pull a good-sized trailer up north where we were camping. The trailer by itself is at least 500lbs, and it was loaded up good. The car ran and pulled like a champ, even accelerating to over 80 mph going up over a very large bridge on a highway near Bay city.

The 2000 LS is one of the finest cars that GM has built and I wouldn't want it if it didn't have that Ecotec engine. It runs strong and smooth and has never leaked a drop of fluid anywhere.