GM LTG 2.0 Liter Turbocharged Crate Motor

[MightyMike]

Do you think this little beauty could go into a seven?

 

http://www.crateenginedepot.com/LTG-20L-Turbocharged-19328837-P51443C606.aspx

 

 

 

http://i62.tinypic.com/33ac9lg.jpg

[Off Road SHO]

Yes it could but the 15,000.00 all-in cost could be cost prohibitive to some.

 

Tom

[jlumba81]

Is it using a cast in head exhaust manifold?

[xcarguy]

Do you think this little beauty could go into a seven?

 

http://www.crateenginedepot.com/LTG-20L-Turbocharged-19328837-P51443C606.aspx

 

 

 

http://i62.tinypic.com/33ac9lg.jpg

 

 

Well, if you can shoehorn stuff like this ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAaOuS4UWSQ ) into tiny little go-kart . . . . . then why not! :smash: . . . :jester:

[TurboWood]

It looks like the engine still has a separate exhaust manifold, but this is something you will see less and less of in the future. The 1L Ford Ecoboost has an in-cylinder head exhaust manifold already.

 

This could turn out to be a good engine and it's nice that GM is making it aftermarket friendly. As I'm down the road of trying to put the predecessor of this engine (LNF/LDK) into a Caterham I can highlight a few obstacles. For Caterham's the GM transmission is very unlikely to fit, but it might in some bigger 7's. The gear ratios will be ok, but 1st is more or less useless (>4:1). 2nd gear is actually still shorter than the 1st gear of the 5spd I'm using, but very close to the Caterham 6spd 1st so about right.

 

This engine is clearly an evolution of the earlier ecotecs and is surely improved, but looking through the specs it isn't immediately obvious what is better. Both are aluminum block, aluminum head, direct injection, sodium filled exhaust valves, twin scroll turbo, and with dual VVT. The power and torque are also similar. The main things that stand out are they moved the balance shafts/mechanism to the sump (which is nice for those that want to remove it) and it has a variable output oil pump (maybe not so important for us).

 

The other thing I'll mention is that currently you can buy the earlier ecotec for ~$3500 in the same condition as this crate engine. Getting all the adapting parts is more difficult, but not impossible. The earlier ecotecs also have the advantage of available off the shelf dry-sump kits and some racing background with GM. Hopefully GM will push the same with this new engine, but I'm not so sure. They did build a 1400hp drag car with a few generations old ecotec (which shares many of the pierce points as the LNF/LDK that I'm using). They also released a build book that outlines what upgrades to perform at various hp levels. This is quite handy.

 

But don't take my skepticism as a roadblock, somebody should do it!

 

Daniel

[MightyMike]

Sounds like a good project for someone contemplating a new Birkin XS.

[Warren Nethercote]

It is an obvious choice for a 'not so Locost 7' but putting it in a Cat or a Birkin requires a willingness to cut and weld ....

 

I got my SR20DE Autech and six-speed because the original buyer discovered that there was no way it would fit in his Birkin without cutting and welding: he wanted a bolt-together kit and went out to find a Toyota and a Ford gearbox. The same would apply to this engine. Better for the scratch builder with money.

[TurboWood]

It may not be that dire of a situation. I think the LNF/LDK engine will fit and it is bigger than this LTG engine. I'm not sure about the bellhousing bolt pattern, but I was able to adapt the LDK to the Ford Type 9 so maybe it's possible with this engine too. Incredibly the input shaft splines are the same from 80's Ford and 2010 GM.

 

The cost will start adding up if the stock manifolds won't fit (as they don't for me) and finding/making a dry sump in order to keep enough ground clearance. Maybe the bigger 7's wouldn't have this issue, but in a Cat it's a must. The ford Duratec is 23" from top to bottom with a dry sump pan and it doesn't have an excess of ground clearance.

 

Daniel