Tuning the GM ECOtec Petrol engine

"All you need to know about performance parts and tuning the GM ECOtec engine!"

Here we review ECOtec tuning and summarise the best upgrades. GM ECOtec make a good tuning project and with a few sensible modified tuning mods like remaps, turbo kits and camshafts you will definitely enhance your driving pleasure.

Best ECOtec tuning mods

Just because particular mods are are common on ECOtec it doesn't mean it is good, instead we will recommend only what we regard are the best mods that will give your ECOtec the best power gain for you money.

Altering your ECOtec cam will make a dramatic difference to the engine bhp. Choosing a higher performance cam profile raises the bhp accordingly.

Fast road camshafts normally raise the torque throughout the rev range, you could sacrifice a little bottom end bhp but higher rpm power will improve.

Competition camshafts, raise the higher rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

In a car driven daily you need to match your torque band to your cars usage.

I'd never find a ECOtec Motorsport and race camshaft is a pleasure to live with when on the daily commute.

Different ECOtec engines respond better to less aggressive cam durations so set your engine up on a rolling road.

The ecu map and fuelling also have an effect on the bhp gains you'll achieve.

Longer valve durations can alter the bhp band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

Stage 1 modifications: Panel air filters, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Fast road camshaft, Intake headers, Sports exhaust manifold.

Stage 2 modifications: Ported and polished head, fuel pump upgrades, induction kit, Fast road cam, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, high flow fuel injectors.

Stage 3 modifications: Twin charging conversions, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Engine balancing & blueprinting, Competition cam, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression.

Carefully think through your options and then acquire your upgrades and set yourself a power target to save yourself from expensive mistakes.

Mapping allows a tuner to fully realize the full potential of all the upgrades you've fitted to your ECOtec.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but figures achieved will differs on the upgrades you've applied and the condition of your engine.

It is the whole point to any performance tuning job to get air into your ECOtec

The intake plenum transmit the air during the suck phase from the air cleaner and allow it to be fed into the engine and mixed with fuel.

Shape and flow rate of the Headers can make a large difference to to fuel atomisation and engine efficiency on the ECOtec.

Commonly we find the intake are begging for performance upgrades, although some manufacturers provide well optimised intake.

Larger ECOtec valves, getting port work and head flowing will also lift power, the fantastic side effect is it will make space for raising the power increase on other upgrades.

Turbo upgrades

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your ECOtec

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes excellent power gains.

If the engine has a turbo already fitted upgrades are going to net you a larger power gain and turbocharged engines are built with harder and stronger components.

However engines have limits

We recommend you find these restrictions and fit stronger pistons, crank and engine components to utilize the power.

It's not unheard of guys spending a a stack of money on turbo upgrades on the ECOtec only to experience the motor go up in smoke soon after it's been finished.

Big upgraded turbo units commonly experience a bottom end lag, and low capacity turbo units spool up quickly but do not have the top end torque gains.

We are pleased that the choice of turbo units is always moving on and we now see variable vane turbo units, where the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp and torque.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust flow into two channels and flow these at differently angled vanes in the turbo. They also increase the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is not unusual that there is a restriction in the air flow sensor AFM/MAF on the ECOtec when considerably more air is being sucked into the engine.

We note 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor sapped performance at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large power gains, although more complex to configure. We have this article covering twinchargers if you want to read more.

Fuelling

Don't dismiss the need raise the fuel system when you are increasing the performance - it makes the car more thirsty. We strongly recommend you to over specify your injectors flow rate.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% when specifying an injector, this accounts for injector deterioration and gives some spare capacity should the engine need more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

Exhaust

You should look to increase your exhaust if your exhaust is creating a restriction.

On most factory exhausts you'll see your flow rate is fine even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Please dont run with the largest exhaust you can find you'll slow up the exhaust flow rate - the best exhausts for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Typically exhaust restrictions can be traced to the catalyst installed, so adding a freer flowing performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Weak spots, Issues & problem areas on the ECOtec

The ECOtec engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the ECOtec, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

History of the Engine

  • 1996–present GM Family 0 straight-3
  • 2013–present Small Gasoline engine straight-3
  • 1996–present Family 0 4 cylinder Opel
  • 2000–present L850 engine  4 cylinder Opel, SAAB, and GM Powertrain
  • 2012–present Medium Gasoline DOHC straight-4 (designed by Opel)
  • 2013–present Small Gasoline DOHC straight-4 (designed by Opel)

For more information on Tuning your engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

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We really like hearing from our readers, and hearing about which mods were the most effective for them, it helps us improve our recommendations and articles to reflect current trends in modifications and ensures that our guides and tips are kept up to date.

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