There's an Eco-Tec Miata that runs in Chump Car and they set the fastest lap of the race a month back at Watkins Glen. The field was 108 cars big so it was quite the lap time.
Great build and learning experience glad to see you posting videos likes these get the young ppl motivated to build something for themselves thanks speed academy keep it up
Robert Trujillo why do that when u can just get a mazda speed engine with more power and more tq for cheaper and you'll be keeping it in the family. I have a ms3 and I love that little motor I wana track 1st gen miata with a 2.3t disi speed motor it would be sick nice flat tq curve with stock turbo and tune it would be quick my cars quick i couldn't imagine shedding 600 to 700lbs
Ryan Rohauer that would be a great option. the only reason I brought up the ecotech is cause it would be easier to mount consider the dude already has a 2.4 in there.
That is what i thought when i clicked on this vid, some t2.0L have 272hp/295tq which is perfect amount of power for this car. Also the newer 2.4L makes 195hp which would be better for track use because lower tq and N/A
That car would've been alot of fun over the BP 1.6 that was in that chassis. They make something like 92HP to the wheels out of the box, so even with the 2.4 EcoTec, it would've been much more fun than it would've been from the factory. Even the 2.0 would've made for a much better experience than the 1.6 or 1.8. It was the odd combination that drew me to this video, but I have to admit that the supercharged Cobalt SS engine would've made for an amazing track car chassis. The turbocharged engine would've probably been a bit too much at 260 HP, but the 205HP of the supercharged version would've made for a much happier and tossable chassis with the NA Miata. As always, good work guys. Can't wait for future episodes on the Mullet Mustang and the Ass2000.
This video is awesome! We need more of this! I have only really watched your build videos, but man this is the ticket! Quick rundown of a viewer's ride, then rip it on track! If I were closer, it would be a blast watching you rip my Saturn around TMP!
I have an idea for some episodes. You guys should have viewers/fans bring their cars to TMP and you guys go over unique builds and test them on the track. Give your expert opinions and suggestions for future modifications. Would be like a more interesting "OneTake" from /Drive
This is... actually really cool! Retains the character of an N/A 4-banger which perfectly suits the Miata, cheap, plentiful, moddable, grunty, looks like it fits well. I'd gladly flog that. Bet that Evo was wondering what the heck an NB Miata was doing crawling all over his rear bumper! My wife and I have a Sky with that motor (2.4 N/A Ecotec). The chassis is a bit heavy but handles shockingly well for a parts-bin drop top. Just wish ours was a manual. Wifey had it before we met and she didn't know clutch. It's a little underpowered for the slushbox but I always felt like the motor would be fine if it was a manual. Then you could really drive it properly.
I was thinking the solstice gxp engine or it's twin the saturn sky redline engine, but the cobalt supercharger would work too! Either one would make good power. Aren't they similar engines? I'm more an import guy when it comes to engine knowledge unless we're talking V8's.
i am finishing my 2.2 ecotec conversion in my 84 alfa romeo spider..... 236 t5 transmission.. 10.5/1 compression.. polished oem rods...2.4 intake manifold. and the cbm throttle adapter. so i could mount the 2.2 throttle on the 2.4 manifold.. working on the exhaust right now.. not much room to work with.( 5 or 6th try,,,lol ) but getting closer to fixing that part.. and other stuff..12.19 vented disk on all 4 corners( rotor/ ht combo ) and brembos all 4 coners from 1999 porsche boxster. and brake master cly from boxster
Great video, as always. One small tip/request for the future, white text with black outline shows up well against any background. Little tough to see the text with the background in the video. Keep up the amazing work!
Ya, totally dropped the ball on that one. I changed the text to black but somehow managed to render and upload an older version of the edit and didn't notice. Ah well, it's going to be hot pink text from now on! :P
The 2.2 is better. Can't modify the 2.4 like you can the 2.2 and its only 10 hp difference. The 2.2 can make 400 hp easily with stock internals. Get the GM sport compact performance build book.
2.4 Stock: More HP as NA, Forged internals, sleeved / forged block, VVT. This combined with make your own parts like turbo manifold, brackets for relocated and more durable stuff. Just have to take the custom route versus the premade meta type engines like 2jz, 1jz and honda 4cyl swaps that are more common. There is nothing wrong with the 2.4 it simply was reknowned because of the cars it's sourced from are undesirable, which is great you aren't ruining anything by taking those out of commission.
I'm pretty sure B2x4 swapped Miatas have been done I know there's an RX8 with a b204. The biggest thing is you can tune them to 425hp with stock internals. B234 about 450hp but more torque. B207 is only 300hp stock internals
I was under the impression that the ecotecs were Saab engines, I remember working on a supercharged cobalt SS and one of the block casting marks I saw said "Saab"
i want to do this swap into an NA miata, but cant find a cheap one in texas. i have a 2.2 ecotec pontiac g5 with 2.4 vvt head and m62 supercharger and other mods. car runs great and i cant imagine how fun a similar setup in an mx5 would be lol
I've always preached the Ecotec engines as great swap candidates...cheap, plentiful...but since they came in Cavs and Sunfires, I think people just assumed they were shit at first.
Aaron Henderson you are 100% right.....most people never even heard of the 'Iron Duke"....Chevy has been making a seriously underrated 4 cylinders for decades.
People forget that John Lingenfelter was breaking 4 cylinder records with the ecotec back in the early 2000's. Man, still miss that guy, was always making waves in the motor sports industry. RIP John.
Well...the 2.2L sohc that came in the Cavs and Sunfire before Ecotec, was junk..and the "Twin Cam" 2.4L was one of the worst in regards to reliability, and those cars seemed to never be looked after...so the Ecotec when it arrived was a godsend. When I worked at a shop, the pre-Ecotec Cavs / Sunfire were nothing but problem after problem, drive until they die type cars. Not sure anyone in history of those cars has performed factory scheduled maintenance at all.
It's going to be real hard to get 200whp out of an LE5 without forced induction. Early ones came with piston oil squirters. Long story short, the heads don't flow all that great and to rev it out with a cam you pretty much have to get rid of the neutral balance shafts and by the time you pay all that money you could have had an LSJ with pretty much any choice of forced induction. Real cool though to see an ecotec swap in something though. Would really like to see an LNF in a Miata but those still aren't cheap and do have DI valve coking issues.
Ha, that's the engine in my '09 Chevy Malibu. I'll admit it has a fairly decent induction note, but not above 5k rpm; it's not like a Honda engine. In the Malibu, there is no exhaust note to speak of, but it isn't half bad with the muffler unbolted. Unfortunately, it has almost no low end power. There is a nice wave of power that comes on at about 3.2k rpm.
Suggestion for displaying text: Use white text with black outline. That one will be visible no matter what. The text about wheels and tyres was close to not visible at first.
Ya, I switched it to black but rendered and old version like an idiot and didn't notice the text issue. Ah well, maybe I'll start a new trend of invisible text in videos? ;)
What's the word on Pete's S2K? Did you guys pull the engine or head yet? Dying to find out the verdict on that motor fellas.... Updates PLZZZZZZZZ!? And another great vid here, as always. Keep up the good work
We co-own the S2k, and we'll be taking it to Lavigne Motorsport soon for a teardown. We'll post a video about it as soon as it's apart and we know exactly what's wrong. We're just as curious as you are! haha
Or you could turbo the 1.6l base engine and get maybe less for a lot less weight as well as improved fuel economy. That’s what I would do but that’s still an engine swap. It’s cool
How did he solve the power steering problem? The later ecotec didn't have fluid p/s . The is now a gm rear wheel Lng part # 19328837 272 HP turbo. Of course you will need engine controller 19328839 and the Air intake completion kit 19332838
Question, will this engine be good for off roading? Because I want to use it on daihatsu rocky, I am thinking of pairing it with solstice transmission 5-speed manual, thank you.
What do you think this car is lacking, engine wise? I'm strongly considering doing this ecotec swap on my track/weekend driver NA with SM penskes/eibachs + SM F+R bars.
Hes sold the car since he had so many issues with it. I would personally pass on this engine swap. Just not worth the effort for the results. It doesnt deliver enough excitement
Someone was recently telling me that the Ecotec was a Mazda design or had Mazda influence of some kind. I am aware that the Ford Ecoboost 2.0 and 2.3 are based on the Mazda L engine, but has anyone heard this about the Ecotec?
Club Loveless never said it was bad :P I actually really like seeing these sorts of builds that stray away from the norm, we have enough turbo miatas as is XD
No they aren't. They're Gen1 XIDA coilovers from 949 Racing, built by AST in the Netherlands and equipped with Hypercoil springs, 700 lb front 400 lb rear, just like Phil stated in the video.
6:55 - WOW! It sounds really nice. Nice to know that there are other swap kit options available other than LS & Honda K.
It honestly does sound really good lol
LFX swap kicks ass as well!
Be unique and build YOUR build, don't let anybody else's vision of what your car should be sway you.
Thank u
There's an Eco-Tec Miata that runs in Chump Car and they set the fastest lap of the race a month back at Watkins Glen. The field was 108 cars big so it was quite the lap time.
"almost the same chassis"
youre thinking of the NC
it's basically a short wheelbase rx8
the NB is a less floppy NA
the NC is a short rx8
yup that's exactly what I was thinking. Sorry, I'm old and easily confused? Where'd are my glasses? Get off my lawn!
Ecotec kicked in yoo!!
e-tec
Great build and learning experience glad to see you posting videos likes these get the young ppl motivated to build something for themselves thanks speed academy keep it up
You guys should do more of these on track reviews with people's build. Should be interesting and unique.
He looks like he's related to Engineering Explained.
Crazy thing was how similar the GM and Mazda engines look in the bay as well. It's different and really cool in my oponion
Totally thinking the same thing, from a distance that looks like my 1.6 haha
Ford did share the same NA6-8 and NB motor design, so I can see why!
I want to be old grumpy and tired like Dave. Rippin' hot ones.
thanks for the help! :)
looks super fun!!! I've been contemplating the ecotec for a year now!! phil def needs an lsd asap!!
The 2.0t ecotech would be a cool swap as well. 260 HP / 260 lb/ft.
Robert Trujillo why do that when u can just get a mazda speed engine with more power and more tq for cheaper and you'll be keeping it in the family. I have a ms3 and I love that little motor I wana track 1st gen miata with a 2.3t disi speed motor it would be sick nice flat tq curve with stock turbo and tune it would be quick my cars quick i couldn't imagine shedding 600 to 700lbs
Ryan Rohauer that would be a great option. the only reason I brought up the ecotech is cause it would be easier to mount consider the dude already has a 2.4 in there.
Robert Trujillo its awesome to know you are a car guy. i just saw Metallica here in San Antonio, TX
Jose Montes Lol, I'm not the real Trujillo. But James has a cool car collection.
That is what i thought when i clicked on this vid, some t2.0L have 272hp/295tq which is perfect amount of power for this car. Also the newer 2.4L makes 195hp which would be better for track use because lower tq and N/A
That car would've been alot of fun over the BP 1.6 that was in that chassis. They make something like 92HP to the wheels out of the box, so even with the 2.4 EcoTec, it would've been much more fun than it would've been from the factory. Even the 2.0 would've made for a much better experience than the 1.6 or 1.8. It was the odd combination that drew me to this video, but I have to admit that the supercharged Cobalt SS engine would've made for an amazing track car chassis. The turbocharged engine would've probably been a bit too much at 260 HP, but the 205HP of the supercharged version would've made for a much happier and tossable chassis with the NA Miata. As always, good work guys. Can't wait for future episodes on the Mullet Mustang and the Ass2000.
This video is awesome! We need more of this! I have only really watched your build videos, but man this is the ticket! Quick rundown of a viewer's ride, then rip it on track! If I were closer, it would be a blast watching you rip my Saturn around TMP!
I have an idea for some episodes. You guys should have viewers/fans bring their cars to TMP and you guys go over unique builds and test them on the track. Give your expert opinions and suggestions for future modifications. Would be like a more interesting "OneTake" from /Drive
This is... actually really cool! Retains the character of an N/A 4-banger which perfectly suits the Miata, cheap, plentiful, moddable, grunty, looks like it fits well. I'd gladly flog that. Bet that Evo was wondering what the heck an NB Miata was doing crawling all over his rear bumper!
My wife and I have a Sky with that motor (2.4 N/A Ecotec). The chassis is a bit heavy but handles shockingly well for a parts-bin drop top. Just wish ours was a manual. Wifey had it before we met and she didn't know clutch. It's a little underpowered for the slushbox but I always felt like the motor would be fine if it was a manual. Then you could really drive it properly.
When I'm able to buy an Sr16 I will swap it in a miata can't wait :D
Needs a cobalt ss supercharger.
TheDustyaman no 4 cyl super chargers are silly it needs a turbo or at least a centrifugal charger
Ryan Rohauer yeah but he's saying put the cobalt ss supercharger on it
I was thinking the solstice gxp engine or it's twin the saturn sky redline engine, but the cobalt supercharger would work too! Either one would make good power. Aren't they similar engines? I'm more an import guy when it comes to engine knowledge unless we're talking V8's.
Yung Padawan technically the same motor
The LSJ blower doesn't fit unless you are going to chop it up. Better off going with a turbocharger for packaging.
Camera angle makes it look like a GIANT steering wheel!!!
i am finishing my 2.2 ecotec conversion in my 84 alfa romeo spider..... 236 t5 transmission.. 10.5/1 compression.. polished oem rods...2.4 intake manifold. and the cbm throttle adapter. so i could mount the 2.2 throttle on the 2.4 manifold.. working on the exhaust right now.. not much room to work with.( 5 or 6th try,,,lol ) but getting closer to fixing that part.. and other stuff..12.19 vented disk on all 4 corners( rotor/ ht combo ) and brembos all 4 coners from 1999 porsche boxster. and brake master cly from boxster
Great video, as always. One small tip/request for the future, white text with black outline shows up well against any background. Little tough to see the text with the background in the video. Keep up the amazing work!
Ya, totally dropped the ball on that one. I changed the text to black but somehow managed to render and upload an older version of the edit and didn't notice. Ah well, it's going to be hot pink text from now on! :P
Happens to the best of us, DP! Cheers :)
I have a cobalt with the 2.4 ecotec. And a 96 Miata. Know what I'm doing
The 2.2 is better. Can't modify the 2.4 like you can the 2.2 and its only 10 hp difference. The 2.2 can make 400 hp easily with stock internals. Get the GM sport compact performance build book.
2.4 Stock: More HP as NA, Forged internals, sleeved / forged block, VVT. This combined with make your own parts like turbo manifold, brackets for relocated and more durable stuff. Just have to take the custom route versus the premade meta type engines like 2jz, 1jz and honda 4cyl swaps that are more common. There is nothing wrong with the 2.4 it simply was reknowned because of the cars it's sourced from are undesirable, which is great you aren't ruining anything by taking those out of commission.
Great young man and swap. Gl
I love the duratec/jag swap... it just sounds so good.
That's quite a swap - not saying I'm a big fan of seeing a Chevy motor in a Mazda but a very entertaining video
when you run out of ecotec´s, you can put a Saab b204* turbo engine in it, iam pretty sure the Saab has the same bolt patteren as the chevy.
I'd be interested to know if that's true.
GM owned Saab all way till the end, so the opel C-/X20XE shares bell with the Saab, and if not the B204 then the later B207 and on should fit!
DragonDragon I'm working on this right now 😉
I'm pretty sure B2x4 swapped Miatas have been done I know there's an RX8 with a b204. The biggest thing is you can tune them to 425hp with stock internals. B234 about 450hp but more torque. B207 is only 300hp stock internals
I was under the impression that the ecotecs were Saab engines, I remember working on a supercharged cobalt SS and one of the block casting marks I saw said "Saab"
i want to do this swap into an NA miata, but cant find a cheap one in texas. i have a 2.2 ecotec pontiac g5 with 2.4 vvt head and m62 supercharger and other mods. car runs great and i cant imagine how fun a similar setup in an mx5 would be lol
Swapped Miata's are the best!
"young man in a modified Miata got into a race"..... The story of my life from 2007-2008 in my 2001 NB when I was 17-18 years old haha.
That's cool.
But for the money Ecotec 2.4 or K24?
In Australia we have a 3.8 v6 called and Ecotec engine that is in Commodores.
Hola from Europe, keep them videos coming and yes Miata is always the answer hehe
I like it and I like how it's different, there needs to be more unorthodox swaps
I've always preached the Ecotec engines as great swap candidates...cheap, plentiful...but since they came in Cavs and Sunfires, I think people just assumed they were shit at first.
Aaron Henderson you are 100% right.....most people never even heard of the 'Iron Duke"....Chevy has been making a seriously underrated 4 cylinders for decades.
People forget that John Lingenfelter was breaking 4 cylinder records with the ecotec back in the early 2000's. Man, still miss that guy, was always making waves in the motor sports industry. RIP John.
Aaron Henderson ff
Well...the 2.2L sohc that came in the Cavs and Sunfire before Ecotec, was junk..and the "Twin Cam" 2.4L was one of the worst in regards to reliability, and those cars seemed to never be looked after...so the Ecotec when it arrived was a godsend. When I worked at a shop, the pre-Ecotec Cavs / Sunfire were nothing but problem after problem, drive until they die type cars. Not sure anyone in history of those cars has performed factory scheduled maintenance at all.
depends which ecotec the 2.2 is shit the 2.4 is decent and the 2.0 has forged internals
IIRC, you may, (may) be able to put a H.O. 2.3 Quad4 head (w/ good port job) on that bottom end for a serious gain...
Is that a 3" exhaust? Doesn't seem unreasonably loud. :)
His next mod has to be the Mitsubishi Eclipse air vents!
It's going to be real hard to get 200whp out of an LE5 without forced induction. Early ones came with piston oil squirters. Long story short, the heads don't flow all that great and to rev it out with a cam you pretty much have to get rid of the neutral balance shafts and by the time you pay all that money you could have had an LSJ with pretty much any choice of forced induction. Real cool though to see an ecotec swap in something though. Would really like to see an LNF in a Miata but those still aren't cheap and do have DI valve coking issues.
Damn that sounds good. Feels so weird to say that
This is a cool swap, great video keep the content coming!
love the edit!!!
Nice work Phil, thanks for sharing.
Ha, that's the engine in my '09 Chevy Malibu. I'll admit it has a fairly decent induction note, but not above 5k rpm; it's not like a Honda engine. In the Malibu, there is no exhaust note to speak of, but it isn't half bad with the muffler unbolted. Unfortunately, it has almost no low end power. There is a nice wave of power that comes on at about 3.2k rpm.
sounds good inside the car!
I'm going from a 1.6L to a 1.9L with a turbo, yet I'm very likely making my '91 Miata even slower...
1.9L ALH swap
You look so similar to Eric from Teknotik. Great video subscribed
Suggestion for displaying text: Use white text with black outline. That one will be visible no matter what. The text about wheels and tyres was close to not visible at first.
Ya, I switched it to black but rendered and old version like an idiot and didn't notice the text issue. Ah well, maybe I'll start a new trend of invisible text in videos? ;)
I'd like to see the ecotec vs j32 vs k swap all race the same time or back to back
Slap a 20g on it and change to an h-beam rod.. bigger fuel pump and injectors.... will easily make 350-360... talk about FUN!
Dave are you wearing the Alpinestar motorcycle shoes? I wanna see Dave rip some tech on a street bike!
LOL where did that clip of the Chevy 350 catching fire come from?
What rims are those ? they are pretty awesome
In tearing this motor apart now on my RUclips channel!!!
What's the word on Pete's S2K? Did you guys pull the engine or head yet? Dying to find out the verdict on that motor fellas.... Updates PLZZZZZZZZ!? And another great vid here, as always. Keep up the good work
We co-own the S2k, and we'll be taking it to Lavigne Motorsport soon for a teardown. We'll post a video about it as soon as it's apart and we know exactly what's wrong. We're just as curious as you are! haha
heard at cscs today you guys were a sponsor or did i hear wrong?
Middle of the summer in Canadia...hooded sweatshirts.
This was shot a few weeks ago, but ya it's been a cold and wet spring up here.
Or you could turbo the 1.6l base engine and get maybe less for a lot less weight as well as improved fuel economy. That’s what I would do but that’s still an engine swap. It’s cool
How did he solve the power steering problem? The later ecotec didn't have fluid p/s . The is now a gm rear wheel Lng part # 19328837 272 HP turbo. Of course you will need engine controller 19328839 and the Air intake completion kit 19332838
I can see people swapping this engine in but I would prefer the K24 Honda engine, the vtec makes it sound and feel so much better.
Shoulda' put a built 13b w/a turbo; at least if it was my car. Still, nice little swap.
How are you guys on track without helmets?
This is the ls swap of 4 cylinders. But sweet vid
hahahaha he got it out of grandpa's car
The in-car camera makes it look like he has a 400mm steering wheel or something lol.
Just for reference, what do stock Evo X's usually do around that track?
Question, will this engine be good for off roading?
Because I want to use it on daihatsu rocky, I am thinking of pairing it with solstice transmission 5-speed manual, thank you.
What do you think this car is lacking, engine wise? I'm strongly considering doing this ecotec swap on my track/weekend driver NA with SM penskes/eibachs + SM F+R bars.
Hes sold the car since he had so many issues with it. I would personally pass on this engine swap. Just not worth the effort for the results. It doesnt deliver enough excitement
Please try to find a J swapped miata
Was that a cone kill at 8:39?
how does it weigh compared to the original motor. did it gain any weight?
We shall never know
look at that vfr rc36!
I want to put the 2.0 turbo Ecotec
elliot rodger is back but in a miata?
So your saying my 2012 chevy malibu ls is capable of making good power with few mods.
What's wrong with the middle gauge 9:35? ;D
I want to do this swap to my bmw Z3 roadster.
just slap on a supercharger on the LE5. its a bolt on
..no room for it..google the supercharger photos
same engine my cavi has.... i love the damn thing.
Time Warp really fun daily drivers, im just finishing up my timing and turbo. then off to the tuner.
wow, this thing is sweet!
I think I saw a fourm or someone comment about this like yesterday.
Hey Speed Academy, I love your videos but please don't start following trends and inserting clips. I find your own original humor more than enough.
Almost took the gopro off on a roadcone haha
hahaha love the ending ;)
What's with the random cutaways? Distracts from actually hearing about why he built the car this way...
Someone was recently telling me that the Ecotec was a Mazda design or had Mazda influence of some kind. I am aware that the Ford Ecoboost 2.0 and 2.3 are based on the Mazda L engine, but has anyone heard this about the Ecotec?
ecotec= gm........ ecoboost= ford....ecotec fiat .opal block, lotus head.... ecoboost.. early is shared with mazda...later ones clean sheet design
C20LET would be cool.. Also GM engine (opel, vauxhall, etc)..
All those Twilight movies and he can only afford a Miata....
Please boost this!!
Sounds good
Love the edits too
He took all the speed out of the car before you got into it.
maybe I'll ecotec v6 swap my e28
Saturn aura!
Love it
That's a strange combination of things...
It works. :)
Club Loveless never said it was bad :P I actually really like seeing these sorts of builds that stray away from the norm, we have enough turbo miatas as is XD
At least it wasn't a NA he sodomized. :-)
When you tryin try the car, but the owner don't want you to try it so he goes another 5 more laps. Lol
got a cobalt ss $1200 running and driving
gah that dry steer 😣 7:16
Why not K Swap it?
JKFlorida cost
NC miata and RX8 share the same architecture they NA/NB are completely different
And those are ksport coilovers.
No they aren't. They're Gen1 XIDA coilovers from 949 Racing, built by AST in the Netherlands and equipped with Hypercoil springs, 700 lb front 400 lb rear, just like Phil stated in the video.