next ga to have a v8

[waffler]

well remember when spoon said the next ga will have a 3.9l engine he didnt say if it would be a v6 or v8 and since gm already produces a 3.9l v8 wouldnt it make sense that, that is what will be in the next grand am

[MidwestJosh]

I won't believe it until I can go to my dealer and test drive one. That would be nice if that happened. But I wouldn't bet on it.

[BMOBYLE]

Originally posted by waffler
well remember when spoon said the next ga will have a 3.9l engine he didnt say if it would be a v6 or v8 and since gm already produces a 3.9l v8 wouldnt it make sense that, that is what will be in the next grand am

I doubt it Knowin GM it'll probably be a 3.8L and be slower than a G.P. SE:rolleyes:

[qwik99gt]

The GM 3.9L V6 being used in the next Grand Am is:

A.) A six cylinder, for size reasons
B.) A completely new engine
C.) High tech, with variable valve timing and overhead cams
D.) Powerful enough to make a 3.1L Grand Prix SE Owner cry and bow down in reverence to the new God of the sport not-so-compact market.

Answer: E, all of the above. You can bet on it. Have some faith in General Motors for once, people.

[red rocket]

Powerful enough to make a 3.1 L GP SE owner cry? That doesn't say much.

How many ponies will this 3.9 V6 have? Will it get in the range of the 3.5 V6 Altima - 240 HP?

[Sternie]

I think it was said to be at 250hp.

Tony

[Travis99Gt]

Ooooooooo I'll hafta get me one of those. Overhead cams and variable valve timing, that sorta setup in itself will make things MUCH more interesting.

[Mike3800]

Originally posted by qwik99gt


Answer: E, all of the above. You can bet on it. Have some faith in General Motors for once, people.

I used to until the Aztec days (current).

I hope they turn things around. I do like GM, they should still be on top.

[Milkman Dan]

Originally posted by Mike3800


I used to until the Aztec days (current).

I hope they turn things around. I do like GM, they should still be on top.

Ok then have faith in Lutz. I think he is the best this to ever happen to GM.

[Mike Reyna]

Originally posted by waffler
well remember when spoon said the next ga will have a 3.9l engine he didnt say if it would be a v6 or v8 and since gm already produces a 3.9l v8 wouldnt it make sense that, that is what will be in the next grand am


I seriously doubt the "next" GA would have a V8. If the next Grand Prix will have a V6, the GA will also have one. :)

[GregFarz78]

Why would you want a v8 under the hood? Add more weight onto an already heavy GA. Here's what they should do put the GA on a diet get her down to like 2800lbs...GT version standard 5/6 speed manual, supercharged 4/6 cylinder.

[bunanaboat]

that would totally change the classification of grand am.. and by the way did anyone catch the article on car rentals in the Wall Street Journal stating how grand ams are sometimes classified as compacts..sometimes midsizes..n sometimse... one more catagory haha

[qwik99gt]

Okay, I have been corrected. And humbled.:( Some of my engine information was incorrect. Here is the correct info:
3.9L V6 based on the current 3.4L. Will be a pushrod style engine but still has Variable Valve Timing. GM has rated this new engine at 235hp, I don't know what the torque rating is.

I used to until the Aztec days (current)

Understandable. But they were designed from the inside out. The interiors in them are incredible. That doesn't excuse the fact that they look like an abstract painting on wheels. At least they finally removed all that grey body cladding.:) The Vibe is a good compromise.

[adorai]

everything I have heard says the new grand am will come with an ecotech standard, or a 3.x liter inline 5 as an option.

[qwik99gt]

Ecotec is standard on the SE's 3.9 V6 is standard on the GT's. This is direct from the source. You could say I have friends in high places....:D

[MidwestJosh]

Originally posted by qwik99gt
Ecotec is standard on the SE's 3.9 V6 is standard on the GT's. This is direct from the source. You could say I have friends in high places....:D

This is good info and all, but what kinda gearbox, hp, tq it has. Got more details???:D :D

[Kitt]

pushrods? youd think by now that GM would evolve some more out of the pushrod area and into more OHC for the GA....

[VTECSiGAH8R]

Originally posted by Kitt
pushrods? youd think by now that GM would evolve some more out of the pushrod area and into more OHC for the GA....

You do know that OHCs add more weight, take up more room, add more costs, increase complexity, etc right?? And I haven't seen any hard data proving that pushrods are inferior to OHC engines for GM applications, I mean yeah they are limited to lower redlines but I don't think GM wants a 7000 RPM screamer in the lineup anyway. The problem with OHC is that in a V form it really negates the engine space saving features. OHC is best suited for inline applications and they are also effective in the VR6 15 degree V form since it is so narrow of a V that it only has one set of heads and is similar to an inline 6 in balance. That's why GM uses OHC in the Ecotec and not on most of their V6's and V8's.

I was really hoping that GM would have an inline 6 w/ DOHC tho because then it might have been similar to a Skyline or Supra engine and it could have been turbocharged pretty nicely and if it had 4 valves per cylinder it could breathe easier and Variable Valve Timing would have been more effective with a somewhat wider RPM range. But I think if they couldn't fit an L6 under the hood then a pushrod V6 was the best way to go.

A 3.0L L5 would have been interesting too, put exhaust on one and it'll sound like a Viper, which is sure to get looks. And the performance opportunity is huge, cuz the Dahlback Jetta has a 2.1L L5 pushing 600-900 at the crank, depending on what turbo setup you want. Plus I dunno if they even got any steady dyno results because it lost traction at about 5700 RPM on the dyno and it was pulling like 600 or 700 hp and most power comes at over 8000 RPM on it I believe.

[Kitt]

yup i do know that it adds more weight, just 30+ year old technology gets old after a while lol

[VTECSiGAH8R]

Overhead Cams are older technology than pushrods tho. Specifically, the design that GM and others implement in pushrods now is older than newer implementations of OHC technology, so what needs to be done is a newer revision of pushrods rather than a switch to OHC or a continuation of the "30 year old technology."

[adorai]

personally, i prefer pushrod engines. It's a tried and true technology that is in general more reliable. I have nothing against OHC, i simply have a preference for pushrods.

[VTECSiGAH8R]

Originally posted by adorai
personally, i prefer pushrod engines. It's a tried and true technology that is in general more reliable. I have nothing against OHC, i simply have a preference for pushrods.

Well hasn't the GM 3.8L V6 been rated the most dependable and durable V6 ever?? It is a pushrod, and for that matter, so is the LS1 that has a very nice flat and broad torque curve (with a LOT of low end) and plenty of hp. I'd have to say I am a fan of pushrods too. But I think design changes are needed for more power output and efficiency, such as variably vented valves (which have shown very good fuel efficiency improvements as well as solid performance gains), solid roller lifters (to allow for higher RPMs for higher power output), variable intake (which is and has been done to increase torque on OHC engines too), and if possible put 2 cams in the block and control 4 valves per cylinder. I think the base engine of the next corvette will have 2 cams in the pushrod form.

I like pushrods for V engines and I like OHC for inline form, but I think the real future is in camless engines that use solenoids to activate the valves for truely infinitely variable valve timing, which is what the upgraded version of the C6 corvette should have. This should save space and weight too.

[qwik99gt]

The best technology will be variable compression engines. Saab had a prototype 1.0L Engine that put out 150hp and got around 60mpg. It operates on the basis of a pivoting cylinder head. When you accelerate the head swings down to increase compression, and at idle or low speeds it maintains a safe low compression. The technology is only a few years from production, and Saab is a GM Subsidiary as we all know.

As for drivelines and specs for the new GA, a 6-speed manual, 5-speed automatic, and maybe a 5-speed manual (for the SE's) As I said before Horsepower is 235, torque? probably 220-250...I really don't know. This has all been posted on the site before, with the exception of the 235hp spec.

Also, Camless small blocks will be replacing the LS1 based engines in the next decade, I assume. Usually the Vette (C6 in this case) leads and the brand follows. An often debated characteristic of this new engine may be a cylinder shutoff function. At highway speeds (high speed, low sustained RPM) half of the engine would "shut off". This would make highway mileage much better, but true performance buffs worry how quickly the cylinders could be reactivated on acceleration. Just something for you to ponder... a Corvette running on four cylinders....hmm

Sorry about the long post, as you can tell I love GM engines:D

[waffler]

isnt the grand am gonna be based on the same platform as the saab 9-3
http://www.caranddriver.com/image_cache/DATA/Caranddriver/Images/2002/october/charting/0210_charting_saab_93.jpg

[killercut]

damn that isn't such good news. the altima 3.5se would kick the future grand ams butt. what the hell

[VTECSiGAH8R]

Well, the 3.2SE weighs a bit more than the GA now (like 150 more lbs) and Nissan has ALWAYS overstated horsepower in America, and the shifter in the Altima apprently sux and the GA engine would have only 5 less horsepower than Nissan's ratings, but in actuality it'll prolly have 5 more horsepower than nissan's actual numbers, so I don't think there is much to worry about.

[HardD99]

Originally posted by waffler
isnt the grand am gonna be based on the same platform as the saab 9-3
http://www.caranddriver.com/image_cache/DATA/Caranddriver/Images/2002/october/charting/0210_charting_saab_93.jpg

thats a pretty nice saab... i might have to start looking for a new car if gm doesnt come out with some more power in our GA's...

[firehawk915]

Has there been any mintion of awd on any of the epsilon platforms?

[stanjk3]

I'm about to hit 40K miles and with all the problems I've been having lately, I don't see myself buying another GM, and I get the supplier discount. I'm thinking I should buy a Subaru shirt and wear it next time I go to the delear.

[rydog]

Actually it is going to be a 3.6 liter not a 3.9.

[qwik99gt]

Hard to say this early, but the 3.9 is still a good possibility. Don't believe everything you read, rydog.

[Macleod52]

Spoon said it himself. Either a 4-cylinder or a 3.6L V-6. Straight fromt he horses mouth, and if spoon doesn't know then I don't know who would!

[red rocket]

I agree it would be nice to have a GA with more HP. But if you think about it, isn't one of most important factors how fast you can get from 0-60 mph? Although the GA is aging versus other newer cars, it still gets you from 0-60 in less than 8 seconds, and that's one of the fastest cars in it's price range class.

To deck out an Altima to be in line with the standard features on a standard GA GT, you'd have a MSRP of about $26,000.

[rydog]

Originally posted by qwik99gt
Hard to say this early, but the 3.9 is still a good possibility. Don't believe everything you read, rydog.

I dont believe everything i read but i also dont post on that basis also.