Is Saturns 3.0 Twin Cam a 60*

[Keoki1978]

Anyone know the history of the 3.0 Twin Cam in a 2000 Saturn LS2?? Is it based off the 60* engines we all know about and cherish.....lol Its a good engine, just the 4T40E isnt shifting properly now.

[robertisaar]

not quite...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_54-Degree_V6_engine#L81

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

lol its 6* off! haha inferior!!!

[robertisaar]

not only that, i'm sure counterbalancing the thing must have been a bitch...

[no_doz]

not to mention saturn engines are SHIT

[jmgtp]

not to mention saturn engines are SHIT

I dunno about that, it's like saying all nodoz post are shit.... wait a minute

My parents have had a 97 Saturn since new. The engine has been near flawless. It has a little over 100k now. The only problems I can recall is a coil pack going bad (same as our 660 DIS coils) and the valve cover gasket leaked, primarily because there is NO gasket and only RTV sealant.

[Firehawk94]

And you guys know that the Saturn Sky has the ECOTEC 4cyl. I wouldnt really call that engine shit. And IMHO the Saturn Sky looks awesome, it even looks better than the solstice...to me anyway

[Keoki1978]

Just like jmgtp said, the engine runs flawlessly. I had no idea it was a 54*, runs so smooth that at idle you'll never hear it. I am dissapointed about the MPG, doesnt seem to compare to my old N/A 3100. Anyway, tranny's bout to take a dump on me. Its a 4T40E, and I'd love to drop in that newer 5 speed auto AF33 that GM is using now.. If only it would work.....

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

yeah, but the ecotec ISNT a saturn engine, is it?

Saturn cars are JUNK!! haha i hate working on them, inside or out. plastic body, wtf.

[Keoki1978]

No, the ecotec isnt a saturn engine. But since the ecotec's conseption, GM did own either a piece or all of saturn, so saturn is GM, and the ecotec engine is GM. Not 100% so dont quote me on that statement...
The 3.0L Twin Cam V6 that I was talking about isnt an ecotec engine. But to say that saturn engines are shit, I dunno, I disagree, cause I love this lil 3.0, wants to rev like hell, I would love to put either a 5 speed or even a 6 speed auto in it.....

[bszopi]

I'm pretty sure the Saturn engine in question is actually a joint effort with Honda. I know there are some other engine out there that are similar.

[jmgtp]

yeah, but the ecotec ISNT a saturn engine, is it?

Saturn cars are JUNK!! haha i hate working on them, inside or out. plastic body, wtf.

My Vette has a 'plastic' body. It must be junk too!

I'm not trying to say Saturns are great cars or anything. Just that to generalize them as shit is inaccurate. They're fairly average cars.

[no_doz]

as far as im concerned, vettes -are- junk, they may be beautiful & powerful but the second you smack a ditch watch your frontend splinter into mulch, its like a throwaway car-treat it like some delicate little princess or bust it & sell it for parts.

i sure that statement will piss some off-but ive smacked a ditch or 2 with a few w-body cars & drove away with little more than a ding, can your vette say the same?

as far as im concerned if i came to look at your cars being the car junky that i am, id be all over that getrag LQ1 beautiful piece of automotive brilliance, not the bathtub with a V8 engine.

also, the ecotec isnt junk because its not a true saturn engine.

all the saturns i have dealt with have been shit & about 7 out of 10 of them blow up at or under 130k miles-ive had 2 friends who take care of their engines-have pos saturn engines blow up on them under 100k miles (93k-96k)-which is HORRIBLE, & one of them had it happen with the engine that he replaced his blown one with LOL.

the auto tranny's they used also sucked-seen LOADS of those go out with mediocre mileage. trust me youd be wasting your time to build the piss out of something that will take a dump on you after 10,000 miles-from what ive heard unless you want to have everything custom-building a saturn engine (non ecotec of course) just isnt worth it due to how they respond to all but the most extreme & expensive of mods.

the damn thing comes stock with 180-210 hp stock, its oddball as hell, 54*, & im pretty sure they didnt come in saturns until the 2000's. a $500 3500 with atleast 5 more mpg, more displacement, more reliability, & more power right out of the box-would be a much better choice. or if you really want DOHC power try an LQ1

also, i do understand what jmgtp is saying about generalizing, that shit can be really misleading, so i think the real question should be-does anyone on here know of any for sure reliable/mod'able saturn engines that are in fact true saturn engines & dont tend to take a shit around the time that most others need simple maintenance? i dont...

not sure if all this applies to the 3.0, but it applies to all true -SATURN- engines i've seen so far...

[Firehawk94]

To each his own i guess. But, if you spend close to 60 grand on a car I think that would entitle someone to be a bit careful and avoid a situation where you would "smack a ditch". "Treat it like a little princess" Where do you think all these mint condition classic cars come from on Barrett Jackson? Those cars were treated like little princess there whole life and look how much they are being sold for.

My wife drives a 97 Saturn SC2 and its made it to 201000 miles thus far and still running strong. But, I have to agree with one thing you said no doz, these engines really arent worth building. Maybe a header and CAI would be the most I would do. These cars are meant to be daily drivers and definetly NOT a street machine.

On the flip side though...can you really compare a Corvette to a Saturn? I think not.

[no_doz]

granted, with the right conditions sometimes these things see 200k, but its 1/20, as opposed to toyota, honda, subaru, 60* engines-who very commonly see 200k.

i never said that corvettes arent worth the money, but they are primarily show cars & only worth it for resale value because the are vettes, speaking practically-i can go put a 350 in a damn fiero but every time you put your foot down you do so knowing that there is a STRONG possibility of your imminent death, let alone the extreme loss of value in the vettes case.

vettes impress me no more than the F-body cars that generally share their engines/tranny's, cost WAY less, & can be repaired if involved in anything but the most haneous of accidents. you might as well just go 350 fiero & be done with it for WAY less-atleast that way when you break it theres another body waiting for $300-500 sitting in jethro or jimbob's back yard.

a corvette is like a collectible, its cool looking, mildly rare, & valuable, but once you go to really play with it chances are your value is going out the window (or getting ready to).