[PaulWall]

Sky's engine is rated at 170hp & Sol is 177hp. Why the 7hp difference?

 

[sky_vue]

Sol has the AC as an option

 

[Slade]

Sky's engine is rated at 170hp & Sol is 177hp. Why the 7hp difference?

Alot of people are curious about this difference. Originally the Solstice was going to be 170hp as well, but as it got nearer to production, it changed to 177hp. I believe that since both cars are using the same engine, that the Sky will follow and will be 177hp as well. It only makes sense to tell the cunsumers a hp number thats lower than what's really released, it gets the exitement going again once we find more hp and goodies. :cheers: Not that i really need more excitement. I was already going to :brentil: Spontaneously combust when i saw the SKY. The car is so Hott

 

[sky_vue]

I'm still not completely sure that the Sky will increase in the HP just to come to par with the Sol. AC being an option might account for that as is the case between the Vue w/ the honda engine and the honda pilot. Same engine.. except that the Vue has electronic steering vs. hydrolic. This differnce gives it an extra 10 horses @ test. Since the AC is an option then they can rate a sol w/out the ac system in place.. giving it a slight edge.

But anyone who has a better explanation is welcome.. cause it's just a hypothesis

 

[Slade]

Sol has the AC as an option

Wow,.. A/C as an option?? :lol: When A/C is not standard on a car, and you have to pay to have it, thats inhumane. :banghead: lol. I was spoiled when i got my Ion Quad Coupe, I forgot other cars dont come with that. Thats why I got to get me da SKY,.. essentials like that have always come standard on Saturns. Plus fee Carwashes, uh, for free :willy:

 

[Slade]

I'm still not completely sure that the Sky will increase in the HP just to come to par with the Sol. AC being an option might account for that as is the case between the Vue w/ the honda engine and the honda pilot. Same engine.. except that the Vue has electronic steering vs. hydrolic. This differnce gives it an extra 10 horses @ test. Since the AC is an option then they can rate a sol w/out the ac system in place.. giving it a slight edge.

But anyone who has a better explanation is welcome.. cause it's just a hypothesis

Don't yoo mean "Hyposynthesis" haha

Hey Sky_Vue Get back to work here in O-Town!! :banghead: :willy: their paying you good money to just sit and type or check email, like me, lol.JK bro I just hope we get more hp than less. Im talkin about within the GM family mostly all clone cars have same power. For example Chevy Cobalt & Saturn Ion Coupe a peppy 140hp. Im gettin me a Redline SKY anyway, so 170 or 177 doesnt matter much.

 

[LS2 MN6]

I'm still not completely sure that the Sky will increase in the HP just to come to par with the Sol. AC being an option might account for that as is the case between the Vue w/ the honda engine and the honda pilot. Same engine.. except that the Vue has electronic steering vs. hydrolic. This differnce gives it an extra 10 horses @ test. Since the AC is an option then they can rate a sol w/out the ac system in place.. giving it a slight edge.

But anyone who has a better explanation is welcome.. cause it's just a hypothesis

Adding A/C might affect Torque, which in turn would affect HP. Engine's really don't produce HP per say, they have a specific Torque rating at a specific RPM, these numbers stuffed into en equation give you HP at that RPM. I think the equation is HP = (RPM x Torque)/5252. The reason the A/C would affect Torque is the same reason a Supercharger affects Torque; it adds a pully to the Serpintine Belt, causing some of the Engine Torque to be lost running the pullys via the belt, and thus not transfered to the Transmission and the Drive Wheels.

 

[Slade]

Adding A/C might affect Torque, which in turn would affect HP. Engine's really don't produce HP per say, they have a specific Torque rating at a specific RPM, these numbers stuffed into en equation give you HP at that RPM. I think the equation is HP = (RPM x Torque)/5252. The reason the A/C would affect Torque is the same reason a Supercharger affects Torque; it adds a pully to the Serpintine Belt, causing some of the Engine Torque to be lost running the pullys via the belt, and thus not transfered to the Transmission and the Drive Wheels.

Waazzzaap Justin,

Thanks for thu Technical Breakdown of Torque and HP. That's interesting.
I learned something today, that I don't know nothin'. ... about engines that is. haha. Women, yess, engines, no :willy:

So get this,.. Technically,.. Pontiac can say the car has 177hp and when you add A/C it brings it down to 170hp, but get away with sayin 177 because with the base parts it is?? I mean, that's jus my hyposynthesis or hypothesis on that topic. lol :cheers:

 

[swatthefly]

Adding A/C might affect Torque, which in turn would affect HP. Engine's really don't produce HP per say, they have a specific Torque rating at a specific RPM, these numbers stuffed into en equation give you HP at that RPM. I think the equation is HP = (RPM x Torque)/5252. The reason the A/C would affect Torque is the same reason a Supercharger affects Torque; it adds a pully to the Serpintine Belt, causing some of the Engine Torque to be lost running the pullys via the belt, and thus not transfered to the Transmission and the Drive Wheels.

i wonder if it really is that simple. that would make for a really good reason. someone will have to check with GM once these cars are out and their guards go down a little.

 

[brentil]

If you go read some of the posts in the technical area where this belong, we've gone over it a couple times.

The Solstice was listed as 170 HP before its specs were officialy announced, at that time the 177 HP became official. The Sky has had its official specs announced as 170 HP, don't expect that to change.

The Solstice gets 177HP @ 6600 RPM with 20/28 MPG (Manual)
The Sky gets 170HP @ 6400 RPM with ??/?? MPG
The Cobalt SS gets 171HP @ 6200 with 24/32 MPG (Automatic)
The G6 Gets 167HP @ 6300 RPM with 23/34 MPG (Automatic)

The Solstice's HP value is rated with the AC, as is it's rated weight value too. The reason they're different is due to tuning. Pontiac is the performance brand, therefore the Solstice's 2.4L VVT is getting tuned in a way to produce more power, but at the expense of Fuel Economy. You can see above the engine is designed to rev slightly higher then the Sky's varient. As seen recently the G6 & Cobalt SS's Fuel Economy values have been released and they get in the 24/33 MPG range on the same engine but in the ~170HP range. The Solstice gets a much lower 20/28 MPG [due to tuning, CD, and gearing]. Look at the Fuel Economy for the other two cars. The values are off that much due to tuning, CD, and gearing. With the way the Sky will be tuned expect it to get better Fuel Economy then the Solstice but worse then the Cobalt/G6 due to it's much higher CD and sportier gearing.

 

[LS2 MN6]

If you go read some of the posts in the technical area where this belong, we've gone over it a couple times.

The Solstice was listed as 170 HP before its specs were officialy announced, at that time the 177 HP became official. The Sky has had its official specs announced as 170 HP, don't expect that to change.

The Solstice gets 177HP @ 6600 RPM with 20/28 MPG (Manual)
The Sky gets 170HP @ 6400 RPM with ??/?? MPG
The Cobalt SS gets 171HP @ 6200 with 24/32 MPG (Automatic)
The G6 Gets 167HP @ 6300 RPM with 23/34 MPG (Automatic)

The Solstice's HP value is rated with the AC, as is it's rated weight value too. The reason they're different is due to tuning. Pontiac is the performance brand, therefore the Solstice's 2.4L VVT is getting tuned in a way to produce more power, but at the expense of Fuel Economy. You can see above the engine is designed to rev slightly higher then the Sky's varient. As seen recently the G6 & Cobalt SS's Fuel Economy values have been released and they get in the 24/33 MPG range on the same engine but in the ~170HP range. The Solstice gets a much lower 20/28 MPG [due to tuning, CD, and gearing]. Look at the Fuel Economy for the other two cars. The values are off that much due to tuning, CD, and gearing. With the way the Sky will be tuned expect it to get better Fuel Economy then the Solstice but worse then the Cobalt/G6 due to it's much higher CD and sportier gearing.

So you are saying it's a camshaft swap? The Solstice uses more agressive cams? Or is this ECU/PCM related?

 

[brentil]

So you are saying it's a camshaft swap? The Solstice uses more agressive cams? Or is this ECU/PCM related?

More then likely ECU tuning. A/F ratios, redline, etc.
It's the cheapest way for GM to make one engine across 5 cars yet give each one it's own personality.

 

[LS2 MN6]

More then likely ECU tuning. A/F ratios, redline, etc.
It's the cheapest way for GM to make one engine across 5 cars yet give each one it's own personality.

Hence only a 7 HP gain as opposed to anything meaningful. The bad part about that is unless you actual upgrade the mechanical components you are more likely to damage something due to improper timing. Although I am sure GM way underrates thing to begin with.

 

[brentil]

Hence only a 7 HP gain as opposed to anything meaningful. The bad part about that is unless you actual upgrade the mechanical components you are more likely to damage something due to improper timing. Although I am sure GM way underrates thing to begin with.

If it really is all ECU based like I think it is, I would love to have a ECU programmed with various modes on it kinda like the Turbo Toys option on the Neon SRT-4 that you can choose by turning a knob. A higher economy lower power mode, base mode, and 100 octane race mode.

 

[SkyMan 08]

Sky's engine is rated at 170hp & Sol is 177hp. Why the 7hp difference?

here is the definition of SAE net Horsepower
SAE net bhp:
A newer unit of engine power. A fully-equipped engine (as when installed in a vehicle) is used to determine SAE net bhp figures; as a rough guideline, SAE net is about 70-85 percent of SAE gross

As I understand it when they say Fully equipped engine, it means with all available assessories attached to the engine giving the lowest available horsepower, given that the Solstice will actually have more horsepower when not equipped with AC... of course you can feel the loss of power on any small engine when you turn the AC on...thats why most 4 cyl engines have a full throttle cut off on the AC to give maximum power when needed...

I do agree that when the solstice was first advertized it was rated at 170HP, but they upped it a few months later to 177HP.. I feel that the Sky will probably have the same power as a Solstice, but rated lower on purpose like I have heard the Ion redline is closer to 220HP than 205.... but I am just speculating...

 

[LS2 MN6]

If it really is all ECU based like I think it is, I would love to have a ECU programmed with various modes on it kinda like the Turbo Toys option on the Neon SRT-4 that you can choose by turning a knob. A higher economy lower power mode, base mode, and 100 octane race mode.

Turbo Toys would be nice so would Stage Kits. I know someone who has a Stage 3 SRT-4, and it is FAST. Mind you it still looks ridiculous (Neon's are bubbles!)