GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

For those of us who still prefer the sleek, sporty appearance of a low to the ground coupe, and like the ECOTEC engine used in the Opel Speedster, the new Sunfire is appealing.It has a bunch of modifications including the obvious facelift, and the drag racing Sunfire is pulling more than 700 horsepower out of the Ecotec. I'm still deciding whether to buy a new Sunfire, or get greasy and do a 1992 Trans Am rebuild in my garage.... The thing is, the '92 would be cheaper and have 150 more horsepower from the get go...

TA, TA, TA, TAenough said. Hell I want to do the TA with you!!!! LOL 92 TA which has the L98 vette engine 5.7 liter V8 tune port injected 245HP and probably a 700R4 trany. AW AW AW AW

I just saw a 2003 Sunfire in the dealer lot.Sorry,but is uglyer than it was.

I read in the new Modified Mag that they are pulling out in excess of 1000+ hp out of the ECOTEC engine. Supposedly John Lingenfelter(sp?) is going faster with that 4 cylinder engine than he did with the V-8 by a tenth of a second and 4 mph faster. And that was before he changed to the Cavalier body style switching from the Sonoma pickup. He races in the NHRA Summit Sports Compact Drag Racing Series for those who didn't know.

I can't even begin to imagine 1000HP from a 4 banger. That's amazing!

quote:TA, TA, TA, TAenough said. Hell I want to do the TA with you!!!! LOL 92 TA which has the L98 vette engine 5.7 liter V8 tune port injected 245HP and probably a 700R4 trany. AW AW AW AWRoller cam also. Drop in a G.M. LT4 Hot Cam kit, siamese the t.p.i. intake base, polish the plenum while you have it off, and you'll be ready to start smokin 'em.

The new Pontiac Solstice will be produced (it is said) with the ECOTEC engine, SUPERCHARGED to 240hp!!! Haters of Miatas rejoice!

Yeah, the Solstice is sweet. Personally, I like the coupe better than the roadster. I'm hoping the Solstice coupe will come out about the time I ready to trade in my Vibe (3 to 5 years). If not, I'm hope there will be a V6 Vibe by then.
[Modified by NovaResource, 9:49 AM 10/3/2002]

quote:For those of us who still prefer the sleek, sporty appearance of a low to the ground coupe, and like the ECOTEC engine used in the Opel Speedster, the new Sunfire is appealing.It has a bunch of modifications including the obvious facelift, and the drag racing Sunfire is pulling more than 700 horsepower out of the Ecotec. I'm still deciding whether to buy a new Sunfire, or get greasy and do a 1992 Trans Am rebuild in my garage.... The thing is, the '92 would be cheaper and have 150 more horsepower from the get go... Looks like a Saturn to me. It's corporate cousin, Mr. Cavalier looks even worse. I wouldn't get a SunFire if I were you. A brand spankin' new one based on the Opel Astra platform from Europe is coming our way come 2005. This current offering is based on an old and way dated platform. A Cavalier SS is coming for 2004 though(on old platform), coming into battle with a blown 2.0 Ecotec 4 pumping out ~200 ponies. Yes, I know, affixing the SS moniker on an econo-car like the Cavalier????

I seen one yesterday.................you could not pay me enough

my sister had a 96 Sunfire....more problems than her old Cavelier. Then they keep changing it and making it uglier. NOTE: If you own a early Sunfire (first body style) and live where road salt is used, certain design flaws created nightmares under the hood. Recall galore!
[Modified by baddkkarma, 6:47 AM 10/3/2002]

quote:NOTE: If you own a early Sunfire (first body style) and live where road salt is used, certain design flaws created nightmares under the hood. Recall galore!First, the Sunfire name was only used on the currect '95-up body style. Before that it was the Sunbird. And the first Sunbird body style was a rear wheel drive car like the Chevy Monza. The first J-body Sunbirds ('82) were great cars and identical under the hood to the Cavalier. No problems, no recalls. I've owned 3 pre '95 J-bodies and live where road salt is used and never had a problem.

Quote, originally posted by F1GT »quote:For those of us who still prefer the sleek, sporty appearance of a low to the ground coupe, and like the ECOTEC engine used in the Opel Speedster, the new Sunfire is appealing.It has a bunch of modifications including the obvious facelift, and the drag racing Sunfire is pulling more than 700 horsepower out of the Ecotec. I'm still deciding whether to buy a new Sunfire, or get greasy and do a 1992 Trans Am rebuild in my garage.... The thing is, the '92 would be cheaper and have 150 more horsepower from the get go... Looks like a Saturn to me. It's corporate cousin, Mr. Cavalier looks even worse. I wouldn't get a SunFire if I were you. A brand spankin' new one based on the Opel Astra platform from Europe is coming our way come 2005. This current offering is based on an old and way dated platform. A Cavalier SS is coming for 2004 though(on old platform), coming into battle with a blown 2.0 Ecotec 4 pumping out ~200 ponies. Yes, I know, affixing the SS moniker on an econo-car like the Cavalier???? Does this still stand for the 05 SF's????

I believe that they are going to be renamed like the Cavalier for '05.

Quote, originally posted by MrRich »I just saw a 2003 Sunfire in the dealer lot.Sorry,but is uglyer than it was. I'm with you on this one.

Do not buy the Sunfire now. Sure it has the Ecotec engine, which is a nice powerplant, but it is a total waste in that ancient platform. The Cavalier will not have the Supercharged Ecotec in it. Instead, the new Cobalt will offer the 200 HP supercharged Ecotec. It is based on the same platform as the Saturn Ion, which will also offer a supercharged Ecotec version and should be in dealers within a month (Ion Redline).The Pontiac Solstice roadster is a go. No plans for the convertable. The initial car will only be offered as an N/A version only. 2.4L Ecotec with 170-180 HP. The show car had 170, but GM insiders are still working on the tuning and feel they will have it up to at least 180 by the time it hits market. It will not go onsale until the fall of 2005 as a 2006 model.. Probably be a while after that before people stop paying over sticker price for it too. The 240 HP supercharged version has not been confirmed, but is likely to appear a year or two after the N/A version. TYhe Ecotec is nice, but if you must have one get an Ion now, or wait for the Cobalt (or a possible Pontiac version of the Cobalt).

I really like the newer version, but if all that's changed is the motor, I think I'll pass. I have a 2000 now, and it's motor has been fine, it's just the littler things. I sorta of like the Cavalier model 03-present but the Cobalt is hidious, as the Pontiac version. I doubt I can afford the Ion cause I want a Redline, and I doubt I can afford the Solstice and that's awhile anyway. Saw a couple of brand new SF's with rebates going pretty cheap, Thought I'd check though. Thanks guy.

You really think the Cobalt is hideous? I didn't really think it looked different enough from the Cavalier to even warrent a new name. What engine do you have in your 2000? The 2.2L or the 2.4L twin Cam? The Ecotec would be a step up from the old 2.2L, but not worth paying for a new vehicle if you have the twin cam motor.Maybe you will warm up to the Cobalt after it hits the streets and you get a little more used to seeing it.

I have the 2.2, I wanna take my earlier post back. I should have knocked on wood; I've hit over 60k miles on it now and it start to act a little funny... I don't know. I still really like the new Sunfire's look, there was one at a dealer by me with a custom paint job and it was slick. It only lasted a couple of hours literally. I might do that and wait til I see the Cobalt though.

I had a Sunfire with a 2.2. It had the 5 speed, CAI, Stage 2 Clutchnet clutch, Pacesetter header, 8mm wires, Bosche +4 plugs, Magnaflow exhaust, lightwieght 15" wheels, and a few other odds and ends. I loved the torque in that little guy! I actually put down a few Sunfire Gt's and Z24's with it!The ecotec is stout little motor. Can be pushed to 300+ hp on stock internals, easily! Just begging for F/I! Cobalt SS seems to be GM's answer to the SRT-4. Only time will tell!

Hopefully the Cobalt and the Cobalt SS turn out better than the reviews have indicated its Delta platform mate, the Ion and Ion Redline, have turned out. However, since they basically share mechanicals, I am not expecting a lot out of the Cobalt. At least it doesn't have the cyclopse dash!

Was the one Ecotec pushing 1000 hp the one Lingenfelter crashed and died in?