omega 2.0 ecotec donor

[monsterob]

hi im new to the forum but i picked up my donor on thursday a p reg vauxhall omega 2.0 16v ecotec . since i have stripped the front and removed the box and engine some more loom to grab this weekend and all the rear bits but going well at the min im planning to use as much as i can including the front hubs and the rear hubs etc inc abs i like a challenge !!

wish me luck

[twinturbo]

I considered ABS long and hard ( I converted my sierra ) but decided against it.

There will be a lot of extra work using the omega components, and probably engineering costs that would outweigh the cost of buying the sierra hubs/shaft/diff.

Not many builders using the Eco... One or two have looked at the Redtop XE.

Welcome BTW.

TT

[monsterob]

mm i see your point but someone has to do the work in researching where the next set of decent donors is going to come from ... im not some newbie whos just blindly picked a donor i looked at the bmw options aswell but initial prices put me off i have built a mini vtec in the past and was the first person to use the b16a1 instead of the a2 as i said i like a challenge.

has anyone actually looked at the size of one of these engines / gearboxes ?
because the one on my garage floor looks alot shorter and compact than a sierra box.

as for hubs theres a few ideas i have and if they dont work ill find a way around it .
in the end ill have a car but i like the building bit more i think than the driving of them

[twinturbo]

The box is a getrag one I think, very similar to the bmw one.

[frankie boy]

mm i see your point but someone has to do the work in researching where the next set of decent donors is going to come from ... im not some newbie whos just blindly picked a donor i looked at the bmw options aswell but initial prices put me off i have built a mini vtec in the past and was the first person to use the b16a1 instead of the a2 as i said i like a challenge.

has anyone actually looked at the size of one of these engines / gearboxes ?
because the one on my garage floor looks alot shorter and compact than a sierra box.

as for hubs theres a few ideas i have and if they dont work ill find a way around it .
in the end ill have a car but i like the building bit more i think than the driving of them
Hi I think chris has had a look at the omega as a doner.
there's still plenty of sierra's arround better just to make it easy.

[monsterob]

Bit late as the donors 3/4 stripped not bad 1/3rd a day

We will just have to see how i get on

[AshG]

r28 omega gearbox is a little wider than the type 9 and bulges out more one side than the other. but on the plus side its shorter and will fit in the type 9 chassis design if you don't mind a bit of mucking about :D

if i were you i would look about as there is another engine that will bolt straight to that box and easily give you 250hp out of the box :D

[twinturbo]

LET? by any chance

[monsterob]

Are you refering to the saab areo engines ? I think i may be angling to a 442 chassis to allow for growth engine wise but want to start relativly low powered as i have not grown up with rwd so this will be my first rwd car. Then when funds allow i will be looking to increase power

In for a penny in for a pound :-)

[twinturbo]

i have not grown up with rwd so this will be my first rwd car.


I would love to have a stand pass to see the first drive :D

16 out of the 23 cars I have owned have been either RWD or 4x4 ( although some did not see the road, but neither did 3 of the FWD's )

Not sure what the Saab Produces, But I think it's based on the Vauxhall LET as used in the Calibra Turbo.

TT

[Talonmotorsport]

I have a saab 93 2ltr 210bhp areo as the family car. If you put that engine in a car that is 500-600kg lighter, take some weight of the fly wheel so it spins up quicker it could be as quick as a bike engined car. I've been reading up on the saab engines it would seem that by adding a free flow exhaust or in this case removing it and adding an intercooler you'll get another 10-15bhp. You can get remaps and chips for the ECU that will add 50-75 more bhp for £400-600. The only problem is that saabs don't use common ECU's such as bosch etc so have to go to saab tuners. How ever 600kg 225bhp turbo induction and 360bhp per ton if I have my maths correct should be catherham r500 quick.

[monsterob]

isnt the calibra turbo engine just over 200 hp i thought they were 204bhp.

i have driven a toyota mr2 before and it was entertaining 5 grand dropped the clutch leaving a petrol station forecourt ! in the dry and it let go !!!

my dads a saab nut hes had a few so knows the in s and outs of tuning them but im just going to stick to sensible for the time being till i get used to it then as my confidence grows so can my engine .

first challenge is to get it all on the road and legal first, dont want to run before it can walk :)

are the bike engines that good a freind of mine had a mini with an r1 engine in it but on a hill climb he got jumped all over by a 1300 mini van ! complained there was no torque or not enough .

[monsterob]

well 5 months on ...... from stripping the donor

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r35/crewesmisssilesrob/IMG_1169.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r35/crewesmisssilesrob/IMG_1186.jpg

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r35/crewesmisssilesrob/IMG_1164.jpg

omega engine gearbox rear diff uncut driveshafts custom rear hubs modified omega front uprights

only on 3 wheels atm as ive still a front upright to modify :D

[AshG]

humm that gearbox looks familiar :D

[AshG]

infact i think it looks a little bit like my one :D

http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww75/ashgardiner/Engine%20upgrade/P1040427.jpg

[monsterob]

it wil do ash ! lol just i got the Wrong engine bolted to mine at the "present time " ready for iva and an age related plate but it means the engine swap should only mean maybe 2 months off road in the winter for the swap.

thinking ahead yet still outside the box :D

[AshG]

any pictures of your front and rear uprights? looking at your picts i dont think the position of your rear wheels is any different to a standard ford setup as vauxhall wheels have a deeper offset.

[monsterob]

i do have but there not 100% finished as yet still need to add the caliper mounts on the rears. but they are std rears with a twist when it comes to the bearing. and ive stretched a few components too. handbrakes going to be a pita but im going to have to go with the willwood spot calipers and the rear brake calipers from the omega. just got to find space for them both :eek: front track is slightly wider but not by alot i dont think

[AshG]

i doubt you will get through the iva with willwood spot callipers as you wont achieve the required efficiency.

stick some picts up of the hand brake problem and im sure someonw will come up with a good solution

[monsterob]

ahh theres the spanner in the works , the omega uses a drum setup within the rear disc but i found that after the hubs were made id not left enough room to get the shoes and the mechanism in. i was planning to use the mechanical spot calipers for the handbrake only. and the rear caliper from the omega also. i thought the spot calipers would be siutable as the alfa 147 i have uses a similar system for its handbrake just with one caliper both cable operated and hydraulically. more thought needed there then ........

[shh120m]

is it not acceptable for iva to have a small disc brake mounted between the gearbox and the prop shaft for the handbrake, say like a smaller version of a landrover handbrake?

nathan

[monsterob]

i have considered such ideas but im not so sure if it would work ? something about the diff and how it works niggled me am i right in thinking lifting a wheel would allow the car to move ? or am i confusing myself?
:confused:

[AshG]

rob i have a spare pair of sierra rear callipers they will solve the problem if you hold off on making the mounts. they are a bit crusty but will clean up ok. you can have them for £10 which is what they cost me.

[monsterob]

thanks ash .. im not sure if they will work though ... bit more research required will bear it in mind.

[monsterob]

they look very similar to the alfa ones . mmmmm dvla arent going to kick off as im using too many bits from other vehicles i want an age related plate not a q but i have used a hell of a lot of the original donor.

[AshG]

from my experience you could tell the dvla that it all come from a banana and they wouldn't know the difference.

all they are worried about is that the numbers on bits of paper you give them match up to the ones actually on the car.

[shh120m]

i have considered such ideas but im not so sure if it would work ? something about the diff and how it works niggled me am i right in thinking lifting a wheel would allow the car to move ? or am i confusing myself?
:confused:

ah thats true, it will only work on a four wheel drive, if one rear wheel is lifted then one front wheel will remain locked