Ecotec Vs Alloytec SIDI

[TheDiddler]

Hi there fellas,

I am in the market for a new rig and am looking for a 6. I am wondering what your thoughts and opinions are on these engines and what I should get. My mate has an SV6 SIDI Ute and it has a nice amount of power. I have heard people have had problems with the earlier Alloytecs. Are the new ones improved and reliable? I have also heard Ecotecs are usually very reliable and have more usable torque despite being quite a bit slower? I will also be modifying the Car/Ute (what ever I get).

Cheers!

 

[Trayner]

Depends on what you want and budget . And how often you will service the car.


Ecotec , good power for a 6 . old style engine real easy to work on and wont sludge up if you forget to service it for awhile.

Alloytec, faster then a ecotec , more modern engine , but a real pain in the ass to work on it . and if you forget to service it every 5k or so you will be getting sludge inside . Also the issue of the stretched chains and that too .

 

[TheDiddler]

Depends on what you want and budget . And how often you will service the car.


Ecotec , good power for a 6 . old style engine real easy to work on and wont sludge up if you forget to service it for awhile.

Alloytec, faster then a ecotec , more modern engine , but a real pain in the ass to work on it . and if you forget to service it every 5k or so you will be getting sludge inside . Also the issue of the stretched chains and that too .

I am looking at really getting into cars. I am still learning but will be doing a lot of the work myself, it sounds like the older engine would be a better bet. Then again if I looked after the SIDI I wouldn't have any problems?

 

[EYY]

Ecotec if you want something cheap and reliable.

The standard alloytec isn't any faster than an ecotec equipped commodore in my experience. I find the ecotec nicer to drive as it doesnt need to be revved as hard to get it moving. The SIDI is quicker though

I've heard first hand from a few people saying that their new vf's with the sidi engine are using alarming amounts of oil. Not sure whether it's an isolated problem to just one batch of engines or whether it's luck of the draw across the board.

 

[Tonner Matt]

Have owned a couple of ecotec powered commodores, I had a 2000 VS series III ute, missus had a 2002 VX series II sedan that we sold to buy her what she is currently driving, a 2003 VY series I ute.
So you could say I'm pretty fond of the ecotec engine, and with good reason too.
They are very reliable when maintained properly and pretty damn economical if you don't drive them like Shane Van Gisbergen driving a V8 supercar.
They are a great platform to start to learn all sorts of car related stuff on, very easy to do basic maintenance on and relatively cheap to service on a regular basis too.
But like any vehicle/engine, there will be times when things just **** themselves. It happens and it's just the nature of the beast with anything mechanical.

Anyway it's ecotec all the way for me, you only have to look through the VZ & VE section of the forum to see heaps of threads about engine issues with the Alloytec......engines full of sludge, stretched timing chain issues, faulty cam sensors, check powertrain warnings etc etc etc. And having to remove the top of the inlet manifold to replace coil packs & spark plugs is just an expensive joke. These are some of the reasons I chose to stay away from an alloytec powered commodore anyway.

This is obviously only my opinion and some people will disagree with my comments/reasoning. All good with me....Each to their own anyway.
Do some research here on the forum and I'm pretty confident that you can make an educated decision.

 

[TheDiddler]

Ecotec if you want something cheap and reliable.

The standard alloytec isn't any faster than an ecotec equipped commodore in my experience. I find the ecotec nicer to drive as it doesnt need to be revved as hard to get it moving. The SIDI is quicker though

I've heard first hand from a few people saying that their new vf's with the sidi engine are using alarming amounts of oil. Not sure whether it's an isolated problem to just one batch of engines or whether it's luck of the draw across the board.

I suppose if I wanted something that is by definition "quick" I'd get a V8 haha. Mainly my mates Ute is very comfortable and a lot nicer inside then my old VZ. What ever I get will be manual also.

Have owned a couple of ecotec powered commodores, I had a 2000 VS series III ute, missus had a 2002 VX series II sedan that we sold to buy her what she is currently driving, a 2003 VY series I ute.
So you could say I'm pretty fond of the ecotec engine, and with good reason too.
They are very reliable when maintained properly and pretty damn economical if you don't drive them like Shane Van Gisbergen driving a V8 supercar.
They are a great platform to start to learn all sorts of car related stuff on, very easy to do basic maintenance on and relatively cheap to service on a regular basis too.
But like any vehicle/engine, there will be times when things just **** themselves. It happens and it's just the nature of the beast with anything mechanical.

Anyway it's ecotec all the way for me, you only have to look through the VZ & VE section of the forum to see heaps of threads about engine issues with the Alloytec......engines full of sludge, stretched timing chain issues, faulty cam sensors, check powertrain warnings etc etc etc. And having to remove the top of the inlet manifold to replace coil packs & spark plugs is just an expensive joke. These are some of the reasons I chose to stay away from an alloytec powered commodore anyway.

This is obviously only my opinion and some people will disagree with my comments/reasoning. All good with me....Each to their own anyway.
Do some research here on the forum and I'm pretty confident that you can make an educated decision.

Funny how you say that, I had to replace an engine in my VZ and before I sold it, it kept popping up with "CHECK POWERTRAIN" My goodness it was annoying, that was one of many problems with my VZ.

 

[EYY]

If it's an ecotec it's only worth going with an auto. The manual offering (getrag) are a horrible box. Extremely noisy, clutches are very expensive due to the dual mass flywheel and they're weak.

If it absolutely must be manual, go for the alloytec. If you'd settle for auto, go the ecotec.

I'd go for an ls1 with t56 any day of the week over the above options (sorry to bring it up). Running costs aren't that great for the v8 in comparison to the alloytec imo as it's not working nearly as hard to produce the same result ; provided you can tame your right foot. The LS is an old design like the ecotec, with fewer moving parts than an alloytec (I.e fewer things that can go wrong and cost you money).

Whatever you go for, look for good service history and a mature owner.

 

[TheDiddler]

If it's an ecotec it's only worth going with an auto. The manual offering (getrag) are a horrible box. Extremely noisy, clutches are very expensive due to the dual mass flywheel and they're weak.

If it absolutely must be manual, go for the alloytec. If you'd settle for auto, go the ecotec.

I'd go for an ls1 with t56 any day of the week over the above options (sorry to bring it up). Running costs aren't that great for the v8 in comparison to the alloytec imo as it's not working nearly as hard to produce the same result ; provided you can tame your right foot. The LS is an old design like the ecotec, with fewer moving parts than an alloytec (I.e fewer things that can go wrong and cost you money).

Whatever you go for, look for good service history and a mature owner.

Nah all good mate open to many options, more then just the two I have listed. I am only 19 but I might be able to stretch to get a nice V8, how do the LS1s compare the the VE 6.0s?

 

[Zeke Topanaga]

Ecotec if you want something cheap and reliable.

The standard alloytec isn't any faster than an ecotec equipped commodore in my experience. I find the ecotec nicer to drive as it doesnt need to be revved as hard to get it moving. The SIDI is quicker though

I've heard first hand from a few people saying that their new vf's with the sidi engine are using alarming amounts of oil. Not sure whether it's an isolated problem to just one batch of engines or whether it's luck of the draw across the board.

From what I have seen of the SIDI Alloytec V6 is by looking at the tail pipes and you will see a huge amount of carbon build up on some, you could scrape it off, some are about 1mm thick so something must be wrong.

Maybe it's that they were not run it correctly, most people get it all wrong and think they have to pussy foot the engine, that is totally wrong thing to do and you end up with a gutless engine that uses more oil, I have never seen a new engine that has been destroyed by getting right up them on day one, and they then do perform well and do not use oil.

I do around 50,000KM a year.
My Jun 2003 VY 5.7L never used any oil at all from new to 220,000KM maybe 1mm down on the stick at the most in 5,000 to 10,000km and flogged the piss and pick handles out of it at times.
My 3 VS V6 ecotecs from new all used about 1 litre of oil in 10,000KM and that's normal for them engines, I would say it's to do with the piston design.
My sequential 5.0L V8 used about 3mm down on the stick in 10,000KM at the most.
Had a old XC 3.3L and it never used a drop of oil that I could see, all cars did a lot of highway driving so it's not due to short trips and not burning off the water condensation that can happen with such.

 

[EYY]

None of my engines have ever used oil except for the old 202, even when driven hard. It really comes down to how theyve been looked after