Vx Ecotec into vp conversion

[Donyboom]

Hey gents. I have an Ecotec engine and loom out of a Vx supercharged and want to drop it in a vp. Can I use the vp loom and computer as I don't have the Vx computer. I also want to use the t5 as it is a vp manual car. Are there any other problems to watch out for regarding engine mounts, gearbox mounts and brackets?

Thanks

[Dylan]

VN ECU can work but will be up for a complete re tune.
Maybe you could modify a VS wiring loom and ECU from a supercharged car? Wouldn't be a huge job

[Dazza92VP]

You would have to find a t5 ecotec flywheel or balance your flywheel to the same as the old vx auto flex plate. As for mounts they bolt straight up. The only other issue your going to have is trying to find the t5 ecotec sump to bell housing brackets they maybe a bit hard to find but do pop up some times or you'll have to make some

[Donyboom]

VN ECU can work but will be up for a complete re tune.
Maybe you could modify a VS wiring loom and ECU from a supercharged car? Wouldn't be a huge job

Yes I've got no problem with flashing the eeprom. It's not going to be supercharged I'm looking at putting a turbo on it so I will probably use a supercharged bin to start with and go from there.

I've heard about this flywheel issue. Is it because the vp flywheel is a different bolt pattern?

Thanks for the replies!

[Donyboom]

You would have to find a t5 ecotec flywheel or balance your flywheel to the same as the old vx auto flex plate. As for mounts they bolt straight up. The only other issue your going to have is trying to find the t5 ecotec sump to bell housing brackets they maybe a bit hard to find but do pop up some times or you'll have to make some

Ohh does it have a counterbalance?

[Holden202T]

There is an ecotec tune in the custom tunes section for running it on VN/VP computer, might not be perfect but it will be a good starting point for this sort of conversion.

https://pcmhacking.net/forums/viewt ... ?f=7&t=375

[Dazza92VP]

Yea the older Buick engines in the vn vp and vr have a different balance compared to the ecotecs other than that though it'll b lt straight up

[immortality]

The ecotec has a different balance to the L67 so regardless he would need to have the flywheel mirror balanced to the original L67 flex plate.

[vlad01]

Ok, I might add my knowledge here.

ecotec and L67 have much larger counterweights on the flywheel/flexplates to the pre ecotec. However you can just mirror balance it to suit. The bolt pattern is the same from all non alloytech V6 except for LN3.

To fit a T5 to an ecotec you need to mill 2 spots on the belhousing up the top edge to clear the 2 bolts at the top of the main seal assembly plate as all off those bolts extend further out that the face of the engine at the rear and if not done the bell housing will not mate up with a 1-1.5mm gap up top.

The factory VS T5 bellhousing has these recesses cast in from factory.

Also highly advisable to have support brackets for the sump to T5 bell housing. You'll have to make one as they are so rare it was 4 years between the 2 sets I managed to get and at great cost too. And I searched few times a week on the net since about 2011 and got the last set I needed 2 weeks ago. You also need to use sumps prior to VY, possibly late VX due to the way different support mounting system

If you plan to turbo, need to go about it easy and very carefully as the ecotec had fragile pistons and slightest detonation will shatter them. Seen this many times in even N/A engines where the fuel pump was not working right and ran a bit lean. L67 will fair much better but I would junk the stock pistons anyway and get diamond of JE off the shelf forged and you are good to go for a moderate boosted engine. There is also an inherent issue with all ecotec and L67 eventually if not already have cracked heads. To fix that is to replace them with the ZZP alloy heads, about 4K landed.

pre-ecotec (buick) on the other hand love boost in stock form and are much better for turbo applications and are just so much tougher when it comes to performance mods and abuse so if turbo is your aim I would save the trouble and stick with the original engine.

lastly, T5 will be fine with low/mild boost but they can break 3rd apparently, there is mods you can do to strengthening them up but really they need an aftermarket gear set from PPG which costs 5K not including all the rest so you are looking at a 7k box to stick with T5 reliably. Other option is manualized beefed up auto, again, lost of money but only couple K from my understanding. Another option is T56 conversion, but again lots of money. Also for the manual options you need to spend up on a decent clutch, a good one is min 1K to hold the torque of a forced v6.

Hope that is somewhat informative.

[Dazza92VP]

To fit a T5 to an ecotec you need to mill 2 spots on the belhousing up the top edge to clear the 2 bolts at the top of the main seal assembly plate as all off those bolts extend further out that the face of the engine at the rear and if not done the bell housing will not mate up with a 1-1.5mm gap up top.

The factory VS T5 bellhousing has these recesses cast in from factory.

I didn't have any issue with this on my conversion didn't have to mill anything bell housing bolted straight up what parts did you have to machine?