Weight difference?

[BurgerDTC]

Is there going to be much of a weight difference between the ION RL and the Cobalt SS. I'm not sure myself since I don't even know the current weight of the ION RL. Does the plastic body panels make it any lighter? Do the extra 2 suicide doors weigh it down more? Will it offset the weight compared to the cobalt or will it still be lighter? Will the extra options on the SS make it heavier than the ION (I know the 18'' will be much heavier than the 17'' though for the ss)
My final point being that maybe the ION will still have more potential than the SS since it'll be lighter even though the SS is rumored to get about 220hp.

[rjp]

what is this SS that you are referring to? I haven't heard of it.

[BurgerDTC]

Sorry, the Cobalt SS. It's chevy's version of the same car. Has the same 2.0 supercharger available but no hp numbers yet since most speculate that it'll be higher than the 205 the ION gets. But what I'm wondering is that is only to make up the heavier weight of the steel body panels on the Cobalt SS.

[rjp]

is 205 the official number? i hadn't heard anything official, just estimates and stuff.

[BurgerDTC]

I do beleive it is the official hp numbers since I've seen that in motortrend, car and driver, and autoweek. The tourque numbers are right at 200 though. I kinda wonder why GM didn't use the regular 2.2 or even the 2.4 crank so it'll make more tourque.

[rjp]

i dunno. Kinda makes me glad i won't be buying one this year. Maybe the 06 will be better.

[banjo]

They have it as a 2.0 instead of 2.2/2.4 so that the bore:stroke is closer to square which will allow it to be more reliable and or spin higher than one with too long of a stroke. There's something else to but I can't remeber... Maybe rod to stroke ratio?

Bill

[rjp]

i feel so lost with this engine talk. I'm starting to learn a little from playing "street legal racing" and building engines and so forth in there, but i still know next to nothing.

[BurgerDTC]

It's making the engine more square. The easiest way to describe it is with the first gen camaro's. The first 7/z8 had a 302 that had a 4.00 in bore and a 3.00 in stroke wich made the motor "oversquare" compared to say a 350 with a 4.00 bore and a 3.00 stroke. If both motors are spinning at 6,500 rpms the 302's piston's are traveling at a slower speed so the motor can rev higher but sacrifices lower torque. I think that with vvti or whatever valve timing that the 2.4 ecotec has GM could use a more square setup to acheive a 6,500 redline but still pull strong at high rpm's.
I still think that besides alot of the typical bolt on's for this car that's comming out I bet it will be very short before a stroker kit is available.
Saturn should make this car like the buick GSX of the 60's. It may not get all the glory but the numbers will impress for years to com.

[raywhitemn]

1. 2.0-liter, supercharged and intercooled Ecotec engine
2. 205 hp, 200 ft. lbs. of torque
3. Performance springs, struts and stabilizer bars
4. Close-ratio, 5-speed manual transmission
5. Short-throw shifter
6. Oversized 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS
7. High-flow, performance-tuned exhaust system
8. 17" forged alloy wheels with 215/45Z17 tires
9. Unique fascia and side-rocker ground effects
10. Custom design racing seats
11. Optional XM satellite radio**
12. Standard CD w/MP3 capabilities

The standard ecotec is a 2.2 in the QC, but I think they are tweaking it to handle the higher rpm's. The block will be the same but the guts will be altered to handle the load.

Weight wise the Saturn is not signicantly heavier than the cavalier or sunfire, the lighter body panels are offset by a much stronger solid spaceframe. I think you will find the no rust, no dent, panels of benifit when you own one of these babies! Not to mention the lower insurance costs from safer and lower cost repairs from crash tests. Oh, crap I guess you can tell I sell em! Any way its true!

I have a tricked out limited edition "sport package" 04 QC2M. I am tempted to drop the 3k on a supercharger, but it will void my factory warranty so I don't know...
It looks just like the illustration on this forum, except I kept the special edition factory alloys, cause they look good enough for now.