[radtech]

GM has banished me to 4 banger hell. I love this car's looks but hate its motor. And I can't afford the high costs of a V8 conversion.

I know some of you will say wait for the turbo and it's going to give us great performance. That's all well and good, but how do you get a 4-banger to rumble? OK, I’ll admit it--I'm also after a nice exhaust note (a la C6 Vette). Even if you get the 4 banger to put out 300HP/400HP, it will still sound like sh*t. We’ve all heard the buzzy, “mosquito on amphetamines” sound from 4-cylinder cars.

For me, there's no way to love a 4 banger! No matter how many horses you get from it.

 

[brentil]

Well I guess you kinda answered your own conundrum.

Buy a C6.

 

[radtech]

Well I guess you kinda answered your own conundrum.

Buy a C6.

Under 25k is a long way from 40k+. I can't afford a C6. And it wouldn't cost an additional 15k+ if GM were to drop an LS2 in there (a good example is the GTO).

 

[theirishgonzo]

olny twice did gm offer a car faster than the vet the buic gs and the 80's turbo thunderbirs and they dident last long at being faster than the vet. so putting a ls2 in a sol/sky will not happen sence gm will protect the vet as the top dog as perfpormance wise.

 

[radtech]

olny twice did gm offer a car faster than the vet the buic gs and the 80's turbo thunderbirs and they dident last long at being faster than the vet. so putting a ls2 in a sol/sky will not happen sence gm will protect the vet as the top dog as perfpormance wise.

The 06' Vette now has the 500HP LS7--an LS2 Sky/Solstice will not be quicker. And remember it isn't exactly a lightweight. In fact, with an LS2 it would easily exceed 3000 lbs.

 

[LatinVenom]

Have you actualy heard the SKY exhauast sound to proclaim it sounds like a mosquito?. There was a thread here on the forum that had the SKY driving on a road and the sound comming from the exhaust, is quite good, it may not be a V8 rumble but it is not a mosquito or ricer sound at all.

 

[radtech]

Have you actualy heard the SKY exhauast sound to proclaim it sounds like a mosquito?. There was a thread here on the forum that had the SKY driving on a road and the sound comming from the exhaust, is quite good, it may not be a V8 rumble but it is not a mosquito or ricer sound at all.

That's because it was casually moseying along with road noise to help it masquerade as a potent & venerable beast--wait until you get the engine rpms up in the 5000-6000 range. All that beautiful and aggressive looking sheet metal just makes it a castrated pitbull. A sports car that looks this good is going to invite allot of challenges. You'll begin to understand my point the first time you get embarrassed on the highway or at a redlight--and that is going to happen very often.

 

[nyguy]

A sports car that looks this good is going to invite allot of challenges. You'll begin to understand my point the first time you get embarrassed on the highway or at a redlight--and that is going to happen very often

That's the exact reason why I am waiting for the Turbo. If I have a fast looking car, I want it to perform like one too. To be honest, i'm not all that concerned about the noise though. If I have a fast performing car, i'll take speed over sound anyday.

 

[Delnari]

GM has banished me to 4 banger hell. I love this car's looks but hate its motor. And I can't afford the high costs of a V8 conversion.

I know some of you will say wait for the turbo and it's going to give us great performance. That's all well and good, but how do you get a 4-banger to rumble? OK, I’ll admit it--I'm also after a nice exhaust note (a la C6 Vette). Even if you get the 4 banger to put out 300HP/400HP, it will still sound like sh*t. We’ve all heard the buzzy, “mosquito on amphetamines” sound.

For me, there's no way to love a 4 banger! No matter how many horses you get from it.

You have the ricers confused with the race car guys. There are a bunch of tin noise making exhausts being used on compact cars, but if you take a look at what us race car guys put on our 4 bangers then you will understand the difference. I had a Honda Del Sol and Integra GS-R both with 4 cylinder engines. With a Tanabe exhaust on the first and Skunk2 on the other they sounded great! Not the V8 deep tone, but good race sound.

 

[radtech]

You have the ricers confused with the race car guys. There are a bunch of tin noise making exhausts being used on compact cars, but if you take a look at what us race car guys put on our 4 bangers then you will understand the difference. I had a Honda Del Sol and Integra GS-R both with 4 cylinder engines. With a Tanabe exhaust on the first and Skunk2 on the other they sounded great! Not the V8 deep tone, but good race sound.

Would you happen to have a sound file of a Skunk2/Tanabe 4-banger exhaust we could listen to?

 

[brentil]

Under 25k is a long way from 40k+. I can't afford a C6. And it wouldn't cost an additional 15k+ if GM were to drop an LS2 in there (a good example is the GTO).

The problem is the Solstice/Sky will more then likely handle better then a GTO, and will also weigh less even with the LS2 in it. It's a very tricky conundrum just like Porsche had with the 944/968 vs the 911 back in the late 80's/early 90's. Once the produced the Turbo S versions of the 944/968 they had cars that handled very closely and had performance values near that of their cash cow the 911. There's no doubt GM could make a Solstice/Sky that performs like a Corvette. Will they? No. The Solstice is the back to basics cheap Roadster, the Sky is the slightly uplevel version of it. They're meant to be the bottom end of the Roadster barrel. The Corvette/XLR are the high end. I could see GM making a Buick midclass Roadster using the DOHC v6 engine they have out now. However as it has been stated on many occasions the Kappa platform is not designed to take v6/v8 engines. Companies like Mallett can do extra work to make it fit, but it desn't mean what fits in there is within GM's tolerance levels.


Lets play guess the engine. What engine does this exhaust sample come from?
http://solstice.inner-ninja.com/files/exhaust_noise.wav

 

[radtech]

Lets play guess the engine. What engine does this exhaust sample come from?
http://solstice.inner-ninja.com/files/exhaust_noise.wav

Sounds like a mosquito with a severe case of laryngitis. Did I guess right?

 

[brentil]

Well, then you're better off buying a different car I guess. Or budget big bags of cash to do a conversion. If you want the v8 rumble, then you gotta buy the v8.

 

[radtech]

Europeans want a V8

However as it has been stated on many occasions the Kappa platform is not designed to take v6/v8 engines. Companies like Mallett can do extra work to make it fit, but it desn't mean what fits in there is within GM's tolerance levels.

The rumor is that the Europeans want a V8. What will you say if they get one and we don't? And if they do get their wishes it will be on the same Kappa platform that "supposedly is not designed to take a V6/V8". That Kappa design jargon is GM's way of making excuses for serving up a cream puff engine. The Kappa platform is a very rigid and highly adaptable one.

 

[brentil]

The rumor is that the Europeans want a V8. What will you say if they get one and we don't? And if they do get their wishes it will be on the same Kappa platform that "supposedly is not designed to take a V6/V8".

I think that was chalked up as rumor a fairly long time ago, and was never officially stated. It was an article from a magazine if I remember correctly. The current Kappa platform being specificly designed for i4 platform can be traced back to official GM Media news announcements. Also going off of official GM Media, Holden produced a v6 car off of the Kappa platform for a concept car. According to the official Holden media they had to alter the Kappa platform so much to accomodate it they rephrased their statement to "loosely based off the Kappa platform." They apparently had to drasticly alter the platform to get the car to handle a v6 engine in it correctly within their tolerance levels.

I'm going off the official information we've been given. If you've got some new information about the Opel/Vauxhall situation I think we'd all love to hear it though. Having moderated here and at the Solstice forums for a while, and being a member even longer before that I've seen so many promising rumors, but not many of them come true over time. The only things we can really relly on are the official bits GM gives us to go off of.

As I mentioned above that's for designs within GM tolerance levels. An after market car maker like Mallett doesn't have to follow the same tolerance levels as GM does, so they can fit larger engines in smaller spaces. That's also part of what you're paying for with them is for them to fabricate all kinds of bizare componenets needed to make a larger engine fit and work properly in a smaller engine area. If you want a v8 in your Kappa, there's nothing stopping you from buying a conversion kit (Mallett has said they're making one) and putting a v8 in yourself or have a shop do it. That would be cheaper then buying one from Mallett. Also who knows, in 5 years if they redesign the Kappa platform they might alter it with v6/v8 engines in mind. The current platform was done in a very short timeframe, and a lot of things had to be sacrificed in order to get it done quickly, and get it done right.

 

[mdlestat]

You can easily get a C5 Corvette for ~$25K nowadays-- I know that I was happy with 403HP at the wheels-- and the Corsa w/headers combo made for a delightful...er..."rumble"...

If you can't get over the stigma of a four, then you're not the customer for this car-- simple as that...

 

[yukon42]

I am amused seeing those who want to purchase an automobile with the idea of trying to impress people. There are plenty of extemely fast cars out there that can be had for the same price range as the Sky which will run circles around it. If you want the sound & power of a big engine, buy a vehicle with a big engine. If you want something that handles as though it were on rails, purchase a vehicle that handles well, like a Lotus. In short, purchase what you will be happy with.

 

[radtech]

I am amused seeing those who want to purchase an automobile with the idea of trying to impress people. There are plenty of extemely fast cars out there that can be had for the same price range as the Sky which will run circles around it. If you want the sound & power of a big engine, buy a vehicle with a big engine. If you want something that handles as though it were on rails, purchase a vehicle that handles well, like a Lotus. In short, purchase what you will be happy with.

I think you're missing the point completely. The problem is finding the perfect combination of (1) good looks, (2) low price--<30k, (3) great handling, and (4) big engine-V8. I'm not aware of any 2-seater around today that gives you all four. We have always had to compromise on one, two or three of these factors. The Sky is a 3 out of 4.

 

[SkyMan 08]

I think you're missing the point completely. The problem is finding the perfect combination of (1) good looks, (2) low price, and (3) big engine-V8. I'm not aware of anything around today that gives you all three. We have always had to compromise on one or two of these factors. The Sky is a 2 out of 3.

being a 60's model lover I would venture to say you might like a Mustang GT..... but I like the retro look of the mustang. I for one appreciates the look of the newer cars along with older cars, at least ones built after 1960.....
Maybe like someone else said, A good late model Vette is right up your alley..
have you looked at the late 60's and early 70's Vettes, the front fenders, and the coupe roof have a remarkable resembelance to the Sky's although bigger and more exaggerated.

 

[mdlestat]

I think you're missing the point completely. The problem is finding the perfect combination of (1) good looks, (2) low price--<30k, (3) great handling, and (4) big engine-V8. I'm not aware of any 2-seater around today that gives you all four.

Let me quote myself from two posts above, since you either ignored the content, or have some affliction that kept you from responding to the post...

You can easily get a C5 Corvette for ~$25K nowadays....