WTB VY Calais V6, Supercharged or not?

[Caprice5L]

Hey all.

Basically im in the market for a VY Calais V6. After going thru carsales, theres quite a few supercharged ones. Just want to know if theres much difference in regards to power and fuel economy between the standard V6 and supercharged V6. And im under the impression that supercharged has to run on premium fuel, is this right?

Your advice is appreciated.

[Fletch_QLD]

You do not need to run the supercharger on premium - but it is advised. I strongly recomend you go the supercharger. You are in control of fuel consumption - it will not use more fuel unless you lean on the go pedal - and it's times when you do want that extra go that you'll be glad you have it !

It has considerably more torque than the standard eco and that makes it much more of a pleasure to drive.

[redcandle]

I have a SuperCharged V6 Calais, 2003 VY Series 1. Very very nice car! To me the supercharger just adds a little more punch, but you also get better torque if your towing and what not. The superchargers don't make them into high performance beasts (at standard) but I'm glad I got the supercharged version, my fuel goes between 11- 14 but thats heavily around town, stop starting etc.

One really annoying factor though, is that you cant get standard manual!!!

If the price is right, go for it

[0081]

It comes down to the person you are and what you like.

if its just a car then you might as well save your self some coin and get a NA one, but if your kind of into cars and think you might want to do some mods later go the charged one.

You should just take both for a drive and see which one you like. Getting a quote from your insurance is a good idea so you can see what your in for with each car

[Sean880]

I agree fully with the comments from Fletch.

1. There is a very noticeable difference in power and torque between the standard V6 and the SC V6. I have spent plenty of time with both types of engines. Also the SC engine is superior and runs very smoothly through the usual rpm range you will likely use.
The published power and torque figures for each engine were:
SC V6 ... 171 kw at 5200 rpm and torque 375 at 3000 rpm based on 95 octane premium. (Standard V6 ... 152 kw at 5200 rpm and 305 at 3600 rpm based on 91 octane regular unleaded). Note the peak torque at just 3000 rpm on the SC motor.

2. The SC engine does use a little more fuel in city driving (in my experience) but fuel usage depends primarily on how you maintain and drive your car. In highway driving the SC engine is very frugal.

The published fuel figures for AUTO Sedans were: SC AUTO V6 on premium fuel: city 13 and hwy 7.6 ltrs per 100 km Standard AUTO V6 city 11 and Hwy 6.6 ltrs per 100 km.

3. The engine will run on regular unleaded (91 octane) and premium fuels (95 octane) but for maximum performance you need the premium fuel. GM recommends premium 95 for both performance and economy. Regular 91 unleaded is now being phased out in most States here for the E10 ethanol blend fuel. This E10 fuel was not sold in Australia when the last of the VYs were sold.

I would not be using this Government mandated E10 blend in any VY for a number of reasons, just 2 of which are -

A. The VY fuel systems were never designed to run with Ethanol in the system. The corrosive and very high moisture absorbing effects of ethanol will cause expensive fuel system problems in time as people will find out after they have been running it for a few years in older generation cars. Fuel pumps will probably be the first thing to go prematurely and I suspect the cost of fixing items that have been damaged by the ethanol will probably exceed any fuel cost saving in both the medium and longer term. Will a VY V6 SC engine run on E10 if you fill the tank with it? Yes it can but I would not do it unless you have no other fuel source available.

B. You need to burn more E10 than 95 premium (or 91 reg unleaded) for the same mileage covered by the vehicle so the fuel cost saving by using E10 is partially offset by it's lesser performance.

I would go and buy the very best VY Calais you can find and if it comes with a SC engine then it's a bonus.

[0081]

I agree fully with the comments from Fletch.

1. There is a very noticeable difference in power and torque between the standard V6 and the SC V6. I have spent plenty of time with both types of engines. Also the SC engine is superior and runs very smoothly through the usual rpm range you will likely use.
The published power and torque figures for each engine were:
SC V6 ... 171 kw at 5200 rpm and torque 375 at 3000 rpm based on 95 octane premium. (Standard V6 ... 152 kw at 5200 rpm and 305 at 3600 rpm based on 91 octane regular unleaded). Note the peak torque at just 3000 rpm on the SC motor.

2. The SC engine does use a little more fuel in city driving (in my experience) but fuel usage depends primarily on how you maintain and drive your car. In highway driving the SC engine is very frugal.

The published fuel figures for AUTO Sedans were: SC AUTO V6 on premium fuel: city 13 and hwy 7.6 ltrs per 100 km Standard AUTO V6 city 11 and Hwy 6.6 ltrs per 100 km.

3. The engine will run on regular unleaded (91 octane) and premium fuels (95 octane) but for maximum performance you need the premium fuel. GM recommends premium 95 for both performance and economy. Regular 91 unleaded is now being phased out in most States here for the E10 ethanol blend fuel. This E10 fuel was not sold in Australia when the last of the VYs were sold.

I would not be using this Government mandated E10 blend in any VY for a number of reasons, just 2 of which are -

A. The VY fuel systems were never designed to run with Ethanol in the system. The corrosive and very high moisture absorbing effects of ethanol will cause expensive fuel system problems in time as people will find out after they have been running it for a few years in older generation cars. Fuel pumps will probably be the first thing to go prematurely and I suspect the cost of fixing items that have been damaged by the ethanol will probably exceed any fuel cost saving in both the medium and longer term. Will a VY V6 SC engine run on E10 if you fill the tank with it? Yes it can but I would not do it unless you have no other fuel source available.

B. You need to burn more E10 than 95 premium (or 91 reg unleaded) for the same mileage covered by the vehicle so the fuel cost saving by using E10 is partially offset by it's lesser performance.

I would go and buy the very best VY Calais you can find and if it comes with a SC engine then it's a bonus.

It would have been nice if both of the tests where done using the same fuel.

It will also be very interesting to see what (if any) issues E10 causes in the next few years, remember that you do use more E10 but it also produces more power than normal 91 unleaded.
There have been a few tests done which put it between 98 and 95 so its a good choice for those people wanting a bit more power

[Dr HaxZaw]

It will also be very interesting to see what (if any) issues E10 causes in the next few years, remember that you do use more E10 but it also produces more power than normal 91 unleaded.

im geussing at a lot... i had been running my car on E10 for about 2 months back when premium was just too expensive... got it serviced and the mechanic showed me the fuel filter and the fuel that was in it... was pretty much black... he said he had one bloke come in with an injector blocked from the crap that was in it
now i only run it on premium regardless of the price

[Jezza]

i myself would go with the SC calais as you have that bit more power at your disposal and the difference in fuel between the SC and NA wouldn't be noticed that much if you drove it sensibly.

and with the fuel i bought my vy in may last year and its always had 98 octane since, yes it costs more but realistic its only $5-8 more per tank for knowing that its running on the best fuel and keeping the fuel system clean too

[0081]

im geussing at a lot... i had been running my car on E10 for about 2 months back when premium was just too expensive... got it serviced and the mechanic showed me the fuel filter and the fuel that was in it... was pretty much black... he said he had one bloke come in with an injector blocked from the crap that was in it
now i only run it on premium regardless of the price

Thats what i mean but you have remember that b4 E10 was a standard there was reports of petrol stations adding ethonal to there fuel and passing it off as regular unleaded, I was on my "P" around that time and i did get very diferent kms out of a tank depending where i filled up. and i had no real problems from that car nor did you hear much on the news about cars with huge fuel problems caused from crap fuel.

Even if your car is not made with E10 in mind there is not that much to change from what i have been told and if you save $12 per tank and fill up once a week you save $620 so after 2 years you couls very easy pay for the changes with the money saved

[Caprice5L]

Thanks heaps for your advice everyone, much appreciated. I like Sean880's advice, "I would go and buy the very best VY Calais you can find and if it comes with a SC engine then it's a bonus." I'll just look for the one i want and not worry about what motors in it.

Cheers.