I've been on this site off and on a year now and has help quite a bit. I see a lot of topics with positives and negatives.

One thing I do not see much of is engine complaints. I have the 2.4 in mine and runs just great.

 

The Eco is a great engine. It may be one of the best GM has made. THey have had few problems and have used this engine to big HP limits in racing.

It shows what can be done if you do it right.

 

i read an article about gm racing designing their race ecotecs and it took alot to break em. GM built a great motor with the ecotec.

 

The Ecotec is bullet proof, Gm did a great job with it John Lingenfelter was killed racing a car with a 4 banger Ecotec with over 1000 hp. These engines can take some hell.

 

Not trying to be a pain but he died in a Cobalt with the V6 Turbo.

He had the year before run the Eco and was pushing in on 2,000 HP. He was breaking the heads and most of the parts were stock based. GM moved him over to the 3.6 V6 based engine if I recall correctly.

Not to get off topic but the sad part is the crash did not directly kill him. He needed to have his broken neck reset and they put him under for surgery. The medication stopped his heart and he suffered brain damage. He lived for a year in a coma and passed away.

He was a great guy someone I got to know and we miss him yet.

He built a 9 second street legal Sonoma. Imagine what he could have done to a HHR SS?

 

And im not tying to be a pain but the cobalt didn't come out until 2005 he died before that and if im not mistaken he was in a 4 cylinder cavalier I kept up with what happened at the time to the T cause i did a report on him in high school about his life. An i knew he didnt directly die from the crash but it was what sent him to the hospital. Here is a little bit about the car he was in when he was in the accident.

Title: Lingenfelter 6 Sec Cavalier
6.993 seconds at 197.67 mph

1080 HP LPE Ecotec 4 cylinder/16 valve 2.2L engine

Garrett ball bearing turbocharger

Hogan intake manifold

MSD 8 Ignition

Autoverdi 4 stage scavenge/1 stage pressure oil pump

Liquid to air intercooler with pump and reservoir

Big Stuff 3 EFI system

Goodyear tires

Lamb Struts

Lamb Brakes

Mark Williams 9" center section with 5.67:1 gears

NHRA Approved fire suppression system

Strange axles

Stroud 5pt harness and chute

Trick Titanium bell housing

Turbo Start Battery

Weld Wheels

Weldon fuel pump and regulator

And here is another little something about the crash
His pursuit of top speeds took him to Nevada for the Silver State Classic and then back to Bonneville, but he ultimately returned to drag racing in the late 1990s; Lingenfelter even started to dabble in sport compact racing in 2002, in which he made the first four-cylinder six-second pass. However, a crash in his Cavalier race car at the NHRA Sport Compact World Finals in Pomona, California, in October 2002 sent him into a coma and caused massive injuries that ultimately led to his death on Christmas Day 2003.

 

The only complaint I have with the 2.4 is when it is in cruise mode and going up hill it kicks in and sound horrible. I wish it had a little more hp for hill climbing.