Hello. I'm from Brazil and am considering HP Tuners for a project I have.
I have a 2006 2.4 manual Pontiac Solstice. I wanted to convert this car to V6 and bought a LY7 vehicle to part out (2009 Saturn Vue, accident car) but the car is in such good shape that at my wife's request I decided to fix it.
So, new plan, I have a spare Volvo B8444S at an engine machine shop that I have requested them to finish up and assemble. This engine is conceptually similar to a Northstar (8-cylinder, DOHC 32 valve, cross-plane) and the firing orders are the same between both (Northstar has a different cylinder numbering than the Volvo but the actual physical order is the same). The Volvo uses a 58-2 trigger wheel and my research indicates the later Northstars (controlled by E67) do so too.
So, maybe it seems like a pipe dream or a ridiculous endeavour but before believeing it is impossible, I decided to research and ask questions. Maybe it isnt impossible?
A few things I am usually asked:
*Why not use a GM LS engine? here in Brazil they are crazy expensive ($20000.00 for an LS3/L99 off a 5th gen Camaro). THe only LS vehicle officialoly imported by GM into Brazil was the Camaro and it is a niche vehicle. While european import engines such as the Volvo's can be bought for a quarter of that price due to the higher volume sales of these cars.
*Why not turbo the LE5 2.4? My goal for the Solstice is a naturally aspirated large displacement engine and has to have the nicer sound of 6 or 8 cylinders. Basically a poor man's Corvette, I know in the US it'd be cehaper to buy an actual Corvette but that isn't true here.
*Why not a Ford/Toyota/Audi/whatever V8? Most of all - I already own the Volvo V8. Also with it being a 60° engine makes me believe it will be easier to fit into the Solstice because it's not as wide as a traditional 90º V8.
My 2006 model year Solstice runs a E67 ECM (later ones changed to E37 I think) so it has most of the wiring in place. I would keep the stock ECM and buy a used one off a 2008 SRX (E67, longitudinal 4.6 Northstar) to use as a starting point.
My idea is to have the engine running on the bench with the Northstar E67. Only after getting it to run half decently on the bench, would I proceed with the swap into the car.
There are many things I would have to learn. How to tune bing only one of them. I don't mind doing tons of google research and know it will be only one of the resources I'll have to tap into. A lot of questions need answering:
1) Is it possible to run a Northstar E67 on the bench, without VATS and BCM? Or would I have to start with BCM from the same car?
2) How different are the signals / GMLAN etc. expected by the Solstice E67 OS and the SRX E67 OS? Would I be able to create a hybrid between both?
That's all for now. If anyone does think I might have the slightest chance, or would like to weigh in, I'd really appreciate. Thanks