Grand Am's

[Fredless]

I'm seriously considering purchasing a 2 Door 5 speed Grand Am when I pay my Camaro off in the near future. I've owned 3 of these cars now and I'm starting to want something I can have passengers in with some comfort.

Please, I don't care to hear "4 cylinder suck...or grand am's suck" blah blah. I heard the same crap when I first bought an F-body and was told about how much they break down...the 3.4 and 3800 II treated me exceptionally well.

Anyway, my question is - I want to get a 99+ Grand Am with a 5 speed. I know the 2.4 Quad 4 has higher HP/TQ numbers but I hear good things about the 2.2 Ecotec as well. My friend had a 96 GA GT with the 2.3 Quad 4 +5speed and that thing could MOVE before it blew a headgasket at 160k.

So which is better? Pros/cons of the 2.4 Quad 4 and 2.2 Ecotec.

Thanks [img]smile.gif[/img]

[KBeezy]

Quad 4 (original DOHC L4) are notorious head gasket destroyers and are a ***** to work on.

Twin Cam 2.4 (same as out of Z24s) are not as nearly as bad, pretty good motors actually.

2.2 Ecotecs are pretty sick though, in the aspect of how much you can get out of them for so little. [img]smile.gif[/img] Plus the aftermarket is getting bigger and bigger every day for the ecotec.

[Fredless]

So the 99+ Grand Am's got the 2.4 Quad 4's right?

I think in like 2002 is when they switched to the Ecotec.

So basically what you're saying is out of the box the 2.4 will beat the 2.2, but the ecotec responds to mods better ?

[12secondv6]

www.clubgp.com [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Nachius]

I own a 99 Grand am SE with the quad 4 2.4 and I hate it. Head gasket has already went, A/C compressor locked up, tranny has bad shift solenoids. This is at 112xxx miles.

I do not nor ever had driven it hard either!

I'd stay away from the quad 4s.

[3.4 slow to go]

I;ve heard good things about the 3.4 in them ;)

[KBeezy]

Im saying a 2.2 ecotec VS a 2.4 twincam will be a very fair race but I think the ecotec would win due to higher rev and better powerband. 2.4 twin cam has lots of upgrades available right now compared tho.


The 2.3/2.4 quad 4 of the mid 90s grand ams suck ***.

[MikeV6]

I owned a 2003 Alero with an Ecotec 2.2L in it and 5-Speed. I never lost a race at the drag strip to any 2.4L grand am/alero with or without a manual.

With just lowering springs, CAI, and Cat-back exhaust I ran a 15.21 on a cold cold day. (yes my car was a bit of a freak).

The 2003-2004 Ecotecs seem to be more powerful engines then the original 2002 Ecotecs. I would easily buy another ecotec car in the future.

[vanbibber]

Originally posted by KBeezy:
Im saying a 2.2 ecotec VS a 2.4 twincam will be a very fair race but I think the ecotec would win due to higher rev and better powerband. 2.4 twin cam has lots of upgrades available right now compared tho.


The 2.3/2.4 quad 4 of the mid 90s grand ams suck ***.

true that, i went through 2 head gaskets and a cylinder head within a month.