Composite “Supercharging 2.2L Ecotec (L61)” Thread
This is a thread made by me because of the numerous posts in the Boost forum
regarding people wanting to supercharge/intercool their 2.2L Ecotecs. I
thought I would make a thread to answer most questions about it.
First off, you want to boost your Ecotec. For whatever reason, you’ve
decided on a supercharger, like many of us have done. Myself included. You
have two options; there’s the RSM Racing supercharger. For more information,
search “RSM” in the Boost forum and enjoy reading.
The second and best option for the average car enthusiast is the General
Motors Performance Parts Supercharger Kit. This kit was designed to look
like OEM equipment and boost the otherwise stock L61 from ~140 horsepower to
~200 horsepower safely and efficiently. This setup comes intercooler ready,
more on that later.
Because this is a GM Performance Part, all GMPP dealerships sell this kit.
Of course they will try to rip you off. I was quoted around $3300 usd for
the kit from my local GMPP dealership. If you want to save money, buy your
kit from Pace Performance. Here is a direct link:
http://www.paceperformance.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=167186
From this website, the total price shipping included is $2459.95.
If you have a 2002 Cavalier LS Sport, or a 2002 Sunfire GT, you also have
the 2.2L Ecotec Engine. Some Canadian 2002 Cavalier Z24’s have the Ecotec
and some have the LD9. It would be best to check before purchasing this kit.
Supercharging this engine is slightly more difficult. The 2002 Ecotecs came
with a slightly different fuel delivery system. To use the GMPP Supercharger
on a 2002 Ecotec, you will need to convert to a 2003+ fuel system. The
differences are the fuel rail, fuel injector spacers, the fuel pressure
regulator, and the hard lines. You could find all of these things on eBay,
or classifieds. But here is a kit form Pace Performance that includes all of
these modifications.
http://www.paceperformance.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=184789
The price is a slightly higher $2695.95 because it comes will all the
necessary parts to do this conversion.
With these kits, it will be necessary to recalibrate your car’s ecu. The
easiest way to do this: take it to a dealership and have them reprogram
your computer with the GMPP Supercharger Reflash. You can drive it, but you
must be careful to stay out of boost or your car will run very lean. The
part number for the Reflash is 12593900. The GM dealership will have to call
their Tech Line to download the Reflash; their number is 1-800-828-6860 if
you need it. The calibration part numbers are 12590819 for an automatic
transmission and 12590820 for a manual transmission. If you have a manual
transmission and get the Reflash for an automatic transmission, your ecu
will show six or so codes. That is bad. The Reflash process should take
about 20 minutes. You will be charged for one hour of labor. In my case, it
took four hours; I was still charged for one hour of labor.
Like many others, I installed my supercharger myself. However, if you do not
feel capable of doing this yourself, you can pay a dealership to do it. They
charge a large sum of money an hour and it will take them quite a few hours
to do it. The install is an all day affair in many places.
Many people want to intercool their superchargers to lower the Incoming Air
Temperatures, iats for short. I have been told that this supercharger on a
non-intercooled motor will heat the temperatures to well over 200 degrees
Fahrenheit. This can cause detonation in the cylinders. I’m not saying
driving around non-intercooled will blow up your engine, but when combined
with higher boost levels, or other modifications, detonation is more potent.
The kit comes “intercooler ready”, but is not intercooled. This means the
intake manifold has intercooler cores within it. To take advantage of these
cores, you will need a heat exchanger, a water pump, a coolant reservoir,
and the cap to the reservoir. The heat exchanger and water pump I bought
from eBay. For the heat exchanger, type “NEW Liquid Heat Exchanger for
Intercooler Turbo N/R” into the eBay search bar. You will need something
like this. For the water pump, visit zzperformance.com
http://www.zzperformance.com/grand_prix/products1.php?id=425 Option 4 is
your best bet. I also bought my water pump off a Ford Lightning from eBay.
It did not come with a wire harness, but a fuel injector plug from a 1990
Corsica 3.1L will clip in without any issue. Some form of coolant will be
needed. I will be using Dexcool (antifreeze), which is recommended by both
GM and Ford for their applications.
The part numbers for the cap and reservoir are 15076936 and 22697069. You
will need to run radiator hoses to connect everything. To power your water
pump, you can use the thick pink wire under the steering column as a hot
wire. It will turn on when the key is in the accessory location. Ground it
anywhere.
Another way to get your iats down is by water/alcohol injection. Basically,
a cold mixture of water and alcohol is sprayed into the intake manifold
along with the hot air. I am not very knowledgeable about this, so I will
not say anything more about it. If you want to use this method, search
around this forum to learn more about it. It’s a necessity for the 2.4 L
Twin Cam guys because of a different intake manifold. We have more options.
Some unsorted information:
1. GM has rated the L61 rods to handle 250 horsepower, they can be pushed
above that, but it is not recommended.
2. The stock supercharger pulley is 3.34” in diameter and produces 10psi of
boost. There are smaller pullies available to increase boost. The 2.6”
pulley is as small as you can go on the supercharger injectors. This will
boost you to ~13psi, I believe.
3. After intercooling, your boost psi will drop, but you will still make
more power because of the colder air temperatures.
4. A full exhaust with a minimum of 2.25” exhaust piping will greatly help
your supercharger produce power.
5. A minimum of 91-octane fuel is required.
I think this covers nearly everything. Feel free to add to this. I am by no
means an expert on this, but if you need advice or help, feel free to pm me
or contact me via aim. I hope this has helped.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Monday, August 14, 2006 10:25 AM
harging 2.2L Ecotec (L61)” Thread
This is a thread made by me because of the numerous posts in the Boost forum regarding people wanting to supercharge/intercool their 2.2L Ecotecs. I thought I would make a thread to answer most questions about it.
First off, you want to boost your Ecotec. For whatever reason, you’ve decided on a supercharger, like many of us have done. Myself included. You have two options; there’s the RSM Racing supercharger. This is complete crap and will not be discussed in this thread. For more information, search “RSM” in the Boost forum and enjoy reading.
The second and best option for the average car enthusiast is the General Motors Performance Parts Supercharger Kit. This kit was designed to look like OEM equipment and boost the otherwise stock L61 from ~140 horsepower to ~200 horsepower safely and efficiently. This setup comes intercooler ready, more on that later.
Because this is a GM Performance Part, all GMPP dealerships sell this kit. Of course they will try to rip you off. I was quoted around $3300 usd for the kit from my local GMPP dealership. If you want to save money, buy your kit from Pace Performance. Here is a direct link:
http://www.paceperformance.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=167186
From this website, the total price shipping included is $2459.95.
If you have a 2002 Cavalier LS Sport, a 2002 Cavalier Z24, or a 2002 Sunfire GT, you also have the 2.2L Ecotec Engine. Supercharging this engine is slightly more difficult. The 2002 Ecotecs came with a slightly different fuel delivery system. To use the GMPP Supercharger on a 2002 Ecotec, you will need to convert to a 2003+ fuel system. The differences are the fuel rail, fuel injector spacers, the fuel pressure regulator, and the hard lines. You could find all of these things on eBay, or classifieds. But here is a kit form Pace Performance that includes all of these modifications.
http://www.paceperformance.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=184789
The price is a slightly higher $2695.95 because it comes will all the necessary parts to do this conversion.
With these kits, it will be necessary to recalibrate your car’s ecu. You can do this yourself by purchasing a $650 computer program, or you can take it to a dealership and have them reprogram your computer with the GMPP Supercharger Reflash. Should you choose to take your car to a dealership, you can drive it, but you must be careful to stay out of boost or your car will run very lean. The part number for the Reflash is 12593900. The GM dealership will have to call their Tech Line to download the Reflash; their number is 1-800-828-6860 if you need it. The calibration part numbers are 12590819 for an automatic transmission and 12590820 for a manual transmission. If you have a manual transmission and get the Reflash for an automatic transmission, your ecu will show six or so codes. That is bad. The Reflash process should take about 20 minutes. You will be charged for one hour of labor. In my case, it took four hours; I was still charged for one hour of labor.
Like many others, I installed my supercharger myself. However, if you do not feel capable of doing this yourself, you can pay a dealership to do it. They charge $75 an hour and it will take them quite a few hours to do it. The install is an all day affair in many places.
Many people want to intercool their superchargers to lower the Incoming Air Temperatures, iats for short. I have been told that this supercharger on a non-intercooled motor will heat the temperatures to well over 200 degrees Fahrenheit. This can cause detonation in the cylinders. I’m not saying driving around non-intercooled will blow up your engine, but when combined with higher boost levels, or other modifications, detonation is more potent. The kit comes “intercooler ready”, but is not intercooled. This means the intake manifold has intercooler cores within it. To take advantage of these cores, you will need a heat exchanger, a water pump, a coolant reservoir, and the cap to the reservoir. The heat exchanger and water pump I bought from eBay. For the heat exchanger, type “NEW Liquid Heat Exchanger for Intercooler Turbo N/R” into the eBay search bar. You will need something like this. For the water pump, visit zzperformance.com
http://www.zzperformance.com/grand_prix/products1.php?id=425 Option 4 is your best bet. I also bought my water pump off a Ford Lightning from eBay. It did not come with a wire harness, but a fuel injector plug from a 1990 Corsica 3.1L will clip in without any issue. Some form of coolant will be needed. I will be using Dexcool (antifreeze), which is recommended by both GM and Ford for their applications.
The part numbers for the cap and reservoir are 15076936 and 22697069. You will need to run radiator hoses to connect everything. To power your water pump, you can use the thick pink wire under the steering column as a hot wire. It will turn on when the key is in the accessory location. Ground it anywhere.
Another way to get your iats down is by water/alcohol injection. Basically, a cold mixture of water and alcohol is sprayed into the intake manifold along with the hot air. I am not very knowledgeable about this, so I will not say anything more about it. If you want to use this method, search around this forum to learn more about it. It’s a necessity for the 2.4 L Twin Cam guys because of a different intake manifold. We have more options.
Some unsorted information:
1. GM has rated the L61 rods to handle 250 horsepower, they can be pushed above that, but it is not recommended.
2. The stock supercharger pulley is 3.34” in diameter and produces 10psi of boost. There are smaller pullies available to increase boost. The 2.6” pulley is as small as you can go on the supercharger injectors. This will boost you to ~13psi, I believe.
3. After intercooling, your boost psi will drop, but you will still make more power because of the colder air temperatures.
4. A full exhaust with a minimum of 2.25” exhaust piping will greatly help your supercharger produce power.
5. A minimum of 91-octane fuel is required.
I think this covers nearly everything. Feel free to add to this. I am by no means an expert on this, but if you need advice or help, feel free to pm me or contact me via aim. I hope this has helped.
