[Nathan of Aus.]

Hey,

As of April 2013 the Australian Cruze SRi now comes standard with a 1.6L Turbo.
I don't suppose that an admin would want to create a new sub-forum for the 1.6L Turbo?

Cheers,

Nathan

 

[kfr291]

that would be amazing if i could drop in a band-new 1.6 turbo engine as an upgrade. kind of hoping they develop a petrol 2.0L turbo

 

[Epickphale]

Once OnlyTaurus finishes his "Cruze SS" (powertrain swap from 2.0T Verano) and shows to GM.... if they DON'T make a 2.0T available... someone needs to be fired. Lol.

 

[Nathan of Aus.]

Hm-m-m-m, a "drop-in" replacement/upgrade for the 1.4LT engine...maybe?

You'd need the new gearbox as well though. Can't find any information on whether they used a new clutch. The drive-train is near identical to that of the Opel Astra 1.6L Turbo.

I have driven both the 2013 MY13 SRi with the 1.4L Turbo and the 2013 MY14 Cruze SRi with the 1.6L Turbo and the difference is VERY noticeable.

I'd be happy to answer any questions about the new engine, suspension etc.

Cheers,

Nathan

 

[Nathan of Aus.]

that would be amazing if i could drop in a band-new 1.6 turbo engine as an upgrade. kind of hoping they develop a petrol 2.0L turbo

They already have a 2.0L Turbo engine and drive-train to steal from the Opel Astra OPC.
It makes 206kW and 400Nm.
For you yanks that's 276HP and 295FP!

 

[obermd]

Nathan, XR is at Lordstown right now so I don't know how much time he'll have to create a new sub forum in the Engine and Technical Discussions forum. This is the only place with specific engine forums. I did make the request for you.

In the meantime, can you give us some of the specs on this engine? My understanding is that Opel's new 1.6T engine incorporates start/stop technology even for the manual transmission. Did Holden use this engine and does it have this ability?

 

[Nathan of Aus.]

Nathan, XR is at Lordstown right now so I don't know how much time he'll have to create a new sub forum in the Engine and Technical Discussions forum. This is the only place with specific engine forums. I did make the request for you.

In the meantime, can you give us some of the specs on this engine? My understanding is that Opel's new 1.6T engine incorporates start/stop technology even for the manual transmission. Did Holden use this engine and does it have this ability?

Thanks for that obermd.

OK here's some information on the 1.6L Turbo:

Official name: 1.6 litre DOHC16-valve 4-cylinder turbo petrol
Power: 132kW/177HP @ 5500rpm
Torque: 230Nm/167FP @ 2200rpm
Boost: 10psi

The below is from an official GM media release after the release on the MY14 Cruze:
"*new* 1.6 litre DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder turbo petrol (sourced from Szentgotthard, Hungary)The 1.6 turbo features premium design elements that give it world-class smoothness and durability, including:

• Low-mass hollow-frame cast iron block
• Dual overhead camshafts
• Chain-driven cams
• Roller-finger camshaft followers
• Piston-cooling oil jets and integrated oil cooler
• Variable-flow oil pump
• Electronically controlled thermostat

The turbocharger is integrated within the exhaust manifold for reduced weight and greater packaging flexibility. A reinforced crankshaft and stronger connecting rods deliver additional strength to support pressurised power and torque over a wide rpm band. Numerous mass-reducing features include a cast iron block with a hollow frame structure, hollow-cast camshafts and a plastic intake manifold."

 

[Nathan of Aus.]

Fuel economy:
Fuel Urban (city): 10.0L per 100km's (24mpg)
Fuel Extra Urban (highway): 5.9L per 100km's (40mpg)
Fuel Combined: 7.4L per 100km's (32mpg)

 

[Nathan of Aus.]

As for the Start/Stop; I believe that a month or so ago when all the information was coming out that the 1.6L Turbo will NOT use Start/Stop which is odd as our 1.4L Turbo DOES use Start/Stop even for manual transmissions.

I may be wrong...

 

[Nathan of Aus.]

Oh and one final thing which I have actually corrected Holden Australia on:
This new 1.6L Turbo requires a minimum 95RON/octance fuel here in Aus, not the standard 91RON/octane. Holden Australia incorrectly told all media that it was 91, and even still have 91 shown on their official website. However if you get a brochure and turn to the Technical specifications and dimensions it clearly lists 95. I have contacted several websites about their incorrect information and after confirmation with GMH, they have adjusted the figure to 95.

The new engine needs to use the higher octance/RON fuel as it runs at 10psi of boost without an intercooler which will lead to very high intake air temperatures which could potentially lead to knocking = bye bye engine life.

 

[Nathan of Aus.]

What? No intercooler at all?

Definitely NOT a good idea in either Australian or USA!

I'm afraid not. I was quite surprised as well.
However they compensate by using a very large radiator to keep the engine temp down.

The engine bay is also extremely open. There is probably 20cm (8') of space between the front of the engine and radiator running the entire width and depth of the bay. The turbocharger is located low down in this giant void so it will get plenty of ventilation.

I'll take some pictures of the engine bay when mine arrives in 2 weeks.

 

[spacedout]

What? No intercooler at all?

Definitely NOT a good idea in either Australian or USA!

I'm not good at conversions but I don't think our 91 octane or 93 octane is at the same level as the higher octane fuel in Australia. Doubt with our crappy gas they could bring the 1.6T here without the intercooler.

 

[Nathan of Aus.]

I'm not good at conversions but I don't think our 91 octane or 93 octane is at the same level as the higher octane fuel in Australia. Doubt with our crappy gas they could bring the 1.6T here without the intercooler.

The Octane measuring system is the same world wide.
For Australia the standard (and minimum) octane is 91.
We then have Premium which is 95 octane which is a requirement for a lot of new turbo-charged European cars.
Finally the larger fuel providers offer 98 octane which is designed specifically for "performance" vehicles which run high psi turbo's or extremely high compression naturally aspired engines.

A car requiring 95 would not be greatly affected when using 93. Considering that this engine is in a low-mid state of tune I personally believe that you guys in the US would get the exact same tune.

However when we talk cars that require 98 octane 93 just won't cut it. I understand that to combat this issue European performance cars destined for the USA are often sold with a de-tuned engine output?

 

[spacedout]

In my state its hard to find 93 octane & if you do it is always 10% ethanol. Most stations premium gas is 91 octane no ethanol.

EDIT:
Heck there is even stations here that only offer Regular 87 octane and mid grade 89 octane.

 

[Nathan of Aus.]

In my state its hard to find 93 octane & if you do it is always 10% ethanol. Most stations premium gas is 91 octane no ethanol.

EDIT:
Heck there is even stations here that only offer Regular 87 octane and mid grade 89 octane.

Woah that's terrible! I wouldn't have been able to fuel my WRX ANYWHERE over there. It's minimum octane was 98!

Unfortunately, engine temp (coolant) is not the same as inlet (air) temp (IAT) that's been 'heated' during compression and then shoved into the engine. The function of the intercooler is to shed some (as much as possible) of the 'compression heat' before the air goes into the cylinders. Not having an intercooler is gonna be like breathing air from a blast furnace and wondering why the ice-cubes melt.

Indeed. And whilst they have done nothing to address the high-temp intake air, the above has been done to prevent the engine/turbo from overheating and the oil from cooking.

It's worked perfectly well with the Opel Astra Sport for several years, was then sent to China in a higher state of tune and once again encountered no issues. Now whilst these locations are generally a lot cooler than Australia, the ambient air temp has little effect on the intake air temp after it has been compressed to 1.7 times normal atmospheric pressure. And just to be sure, Holden and GM engineers spent quite a while re-tuning it to our hot Summer conditions. They have also increased oil change intervals from 12 months/20,000km down to 9 months/15,000km. I've purchased an extended new-car warranty (to 5 years) just be sure. =P

Edit* I'm sure that you all know that the 1.4L Turbo Cruze has no intercooler right?

 

[spacedout]

Woah that's terrible! I wouldn't have been able to fuel my WRX ANYWHERE over there. It's minimum octane was 98!

Now you know why some have noticed the 1.4T runs like crap on regular gas here, since 87 octane is what is pumped at 100% of the stations in the USA. 89 octane and 91octane run much better, but for me the 1.4T really runs great on the 93 octane fuel.

 

[Nathan of Aus.]

Now you know why some have noticed the 1.4T runs like crap on regular gas here, since 87 octane is what is pumped at 100% of the stations in the USA. 89 octane and 91octane run much better, but for me the 1.4T really runs great on the 93 octane fuel.

I feel for you guys!

Yeah you would notice a difference as all modern ECU's can detect higher octane fuel and adjust engine mapping accordingly resulting in improved efficiency and power (provided that your car has high enough boost/compression to actually utalise the more stable fuel).

 

[brian v]

I knew I liked this guy ! Well traveled he may not be ,but he definitely has a clue about how engine systems operate !

Ecology is alive and well here in the U.S.
That is the reason we do not get to have all of those neat , unregulated engine designs
That allow toxins into the air that we breath , and entering the environments that we share !
:th_coolio:

 

[Aussie]

The Aussie Turbo Diesel does have an intercooler. I thought that the intercooler was to cool the air down so that you got a bigger bang and therefore more power. This is my first turbo car so please forgive me for not knowing much about turbos.

 

[Nathan of Aus.]

Thanks Brian. I love cars and spend a fair bit of time researching specific models and keeping up with the daily news. But I am no mechanic! (wish I had have done mechanical engineering or aerospace engineering applied to cars but alas I have just graduated study something unrelated =( ).

The Aussie Turbo Diesel does have an intercooler. I thought that the intercooler was to cool the air down so that you got a bigger bang and therefore more power. This is my first turbo car so please forgive me for not knowing much about turbos.

Hey Aussie!

Yes the diesel Cruze does. In fact I would be amazed if anyone could show more a diesel car without an intercooler that's been made within the last decade.
This is because in order for diesels to make adequate power without having stupidly massive displacement they run some seriously high boost. I'm talking 15-25psi stock on your regular hatch or 4x4.

You're on the right track about the intercooler. As 70aaracuda said, the inter-cooler's function is to cool the intake air.
This is done to reduce the temp of the intake air which gets extremely hot (100's of degrees Celsius). The reason to cool the air is to not only condense the air and thus get more power, but also, and more importantly to reduce the likelihood of pre-detonation aka knocking. Pre-ignition is where the air/fuel vapor within the cylinder is so hot or so compressed (compression = heat) that it ignites without the spark-plugs going off. This not only leads to severe temporary power loss and serious clogging of the engine, but can cause some major long-term damage. This is why cars with high boost turbochargers (such as Evo's, WRX's etc) or very high compression engines (think BMW M3) require higher octane fuel; higher octane fuel is harder to ignite and thus more stable which is important when dealing with high intake temps or high compression.

The invent of the inter-cooler is what made diesel cars and high boosting petrol (gas) cars a reality. I personally love turbo-charged cars and even prefer them to big V8's. Turbo's feel faster than they are, have a unique character and produce that lovely jet turbine sound when spooling up. =D

Cheers,

Nathan