GM 2.2 and 2.4 ecotec motor, will it become the "hot swap"?

[barrelroll]

The gm ls v8's have become what swapping in a 350 was 10 years ago. Will the 2.2 and 2.4 ecotec ever swap on as a jeep motor.

Here's some info on the ecotecs GM Family II engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They make darn near the horse power of a 4.0 but less torque, they are a ton cheaper for a low miles used motor, light as can be, and you could probably still pull over 20mpg in a swb jeep with one. That "new" CJ3B uses the ecotec as it's "factory" motor.

They have saved class 10 in desert racing, it's a class that allows for unlimited suspension/ wheel base/ tire size but a limited motor. Before the ecotecs were allowed in the class people were running $10,000 + Honda and VW motors with some people blowing up motors every race.

What are your thoughts? Will we start seeing people swapping in a GM 4 bangers instead of rumbling v8's?

[Jim_Lou]

Could be. I've always maintained that in a trail Jeep a wide torque band and good throttle response are more important than horsepower. I do very well with my 258 even though it doesn't have as much torque as most engines because a usefull amount is available at almost any engine speed.

Every modern engine I've driven has throttle response in spades. If the Ecotec has a wide, flat torque curve it should be a pretty good little engine for everything except deep mud and soft sand, where there's no substitute for lots of power.


No four-holer will never keep up in the sonic drags, though.