| Re: [GMCnet] Possible engine and transmission [message #111348] |
Sat, 08 January 2011 15:20  |
Gary Casey
Messages: 448
Registered: September 2009
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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Interesting. I didn't know some of the Northstar Cadillacs were rear wheel
drive. I have a friend that was involved in the design - I think they did a
reasonable job, but certainly not as good as it could have been. It was about
that time that GM management came to the conclusion that for a V-type engine a
2-valve pushrod version was best. My friend said, "give me the money that the
4-valve engine costs and I'll put every high-tech gadget available on a 2-valve
engine and I'll give you an engine that is still cheaper and will be lighter,
more compact, more powerful, quieter and give better fuel economy than the
4-valve. He went on to spearhead the LS engine development. I think he was
right. He said that the Cadillac got the 4-valve engine only because the Lexii
and Mercs had them and the customers counted the valves before buying. More is
better, I guess. So what holds the record lap time at the Nurburgring for
4-door cars? The CTS-V with a pushrod V8. I don't think they have a problem
selling the CTS-V even when it is missing 16 valves :-)
Gary Casey
Bob de Kruyff wrote on Sat, 08 January 2011 07:07
> Harry wrote on Fri, 07 January 2011 19:50
> > Northstar engines are sideways. They are not good engines. Most of them need
>lots of work after 100,000 miles. It is a modular block and they leak. The
>starter is under the intake manifold.
>
>
>
> They are transverse or fore-aft depending on the car. The redo around 2008 made
>a lot of improvements esp for leaks. You're right about the starter.
OOps--the redo was 1998 not 2008
--
Bob de Kruyff
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| Re: [GMCnet] Possible engine and transmission [message #111362 is a reply to message #111348] |
Sat, 08 January 2011 17:22  |
Bob de Kruyff
Messages: 4260
Registered: January 2004
Location: Chandler, AZ
Karma: 1
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Senior Member |
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No-non of that--I was involved with that program from the start and it was always a premium engine. I was Director of Engineering for Isuzu at the time and we tried to bring 2 programs together. Interestingly the Duramax was off a common platform for a while but GM powertrain arrogance got in the way. In 1998 when we redid the STS transverse, we found out that the engine had been revised with a higher deck height and wouldn't fit under the hood. Powertain at that time did whatever they felt like without communicating with the vehicle groups.
Bob de Kruyff
78 Eleganza
Chandler, AZ
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