[Piggy]

Hi Folks

I can't decide between the 2.4 and the 3.6. I have read a lot of comments here from people driving the 2.4 and the good relative mileage they are getting and how they carefully manage their acceleration and breaking to maximize this.

That wont be me. ..I have the attention span of a fruit fly and I know I will fall back into old driving habits before the end of the first song on the radio any time I get into the car.

I want to save money on the purchase price and potentially gas (company pays for it now, but who knows about the future these days) but I know I am not disciplined enough to take it easy on a smaller engine. FYI the 3.6 is a $2,900 upgrade here in Canada on the 2LT model.

My question is, if there are some of you out there driving the 2.4 hard, like I know I will, what kind of mileage are you seeing?

My second question is a concern I have about reliability. While I have test driven both versions and found the 2.4 to be passable, can anyone comment on what effect an aggressive driving style is going to have on the long term reliability of the smaller engine? I have always drive V6 or greater and assumed that they would just last longer than the 4s....

Woot first post!

Thanks

 

[slhaas]

Well all things considered, similar driving styles = about the same results on either engine. If you drive hard you will lose efficiency for the 4 or 6 cylinder. If you baby it, you'll gain for both. Babying the 6 can get it to similar efficiency of the 4 if driven normally. You will get less MPG with the 6 than the 4 if you drove them both the same way (no matter how that is) because it is a bigger engine and uses more fuel. Some of this might be negated with a hybrid, but not with a standard engine. The question becomes more of do you want to get an average of 21-24mpg with the 6 when driving hard or 24-27 with the 4? The added power and smooth acceleration was worth the loss in mpg to me, and on a long trip, with the cruise set, I still get around 30mpg.

 

[Macleod52]

I can't really comment on the MPG portion, but on the reliability you will be golden. The Ecotec is a great engine and is just as reliable as any foreign 4cyl.

 

[bf1942]

Top Gear had an interesting episode of a BMW M3 and a prius.

Which would get the best MPG.

The M3 drove around the track at a fair pace and the Prius tried to keep up.
The BMW trounced the prius,
A similar experiment showed a 4cyl trying to keep pace with sixes in a off road romp.

Again the smaller engine did poorly.

What's the point you say?

Somtimes I feel that if I had the 6 I would get better mileage , during those times I feel the 4 struggle.
I have the 4Cyl.

If you drive hard the extra ooomph from the 6 will get you up to speed so quickly that you can back off the pedal much earlier than on the 4.

Please keep us posted whichever way you decide to go.

I am getting about 25MPG with mine and I go easy on it.

 

[Malo83]

Get in touch with GTPMALIBU, member here on the Forum that abuses his poor 2.4 SS/LS
http://www.chevymalibuforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2193

 

[GTPMALIBU]

yeah i was brought up driving cars hard, even my grandma goes down the strip once in a while lol seriously

but i really dident want to spend the extra on the 3.6 because i have the power in my grand prix

Im not going to lie I DO beat the hell out of the bu , and the 2.4 still runs as smooth as the day i got it, yes i do all my own oil changes ( mobil 1 & k&n oil filter, bout to switch to Valvoline syn power for the 300,000 mile warranty)

i "broke in" my engine by making a pass on it right out of the dealership

and the trans still shifts awesome.

MPG wise i can get as low as 18.2 in the city and as much as 36.6 in the city

and on the highway depending on the speed and how aggressive im driving 24-32

over all if im driving normaly/hard i get about 24 overall

i also have done a few little things to it i did a k&n drop in filter and e3 spark plugs
my car will break the tires loose from a dead dig now, something it never did before those 2 things

over all the 2.4 is a snail from a stop but from a roll it has great passing power for a 4 cylender

and im about to do a Cat back exhaust, and im currently building a turbo kit for the Bu ( the hard part is finding stuff to tune it)

and i may abuse my malibu malo83 but the car loves it

 

[ucantcme]

Im a rough driver w/ my 4cyl. I'll get on the interstate, put cruiser on 75mph, and eventually speed up to traffic doing 85 in the middle lane, lol.

I haven't gotten below 26MPG even when I was rushing at every light, and slamming my brakes at every stop sign. The 4cyl is a little peppy 4cyl too. Nice quick starts, just wish I woulda got the 6cyl for that, lol.


Good luck!

 

[cavalier2000]

I can't really comment on the MPG portion, but on the reliability you will be golden. The Ecotec is a great engine and is just as reliable as any foreign 4cyl.

lol true here. thank god gm didn't design the eco lol

but it will take the abuse. we beat up our 2.2 eco in the 03 cavy and we are not soft on the 2.4 in the bu. keep up with maintenance and you will be fine.

 

[jessep28]

I think the point they were trying to make is that fuel economy has more to do with how you drive the car.

Top Gear had an interesting episode of a BMW M3 and a prius.

Which would get the best MPG.

The M3 drove around the track at a fair pace and the Prius tried to keep up.
The BMW trounced the prius,
A similar experiment showed a 4cyl trying to keep pace with sixes in a off road romp.

Again the smaller engine did poorly.

What's the point you say?

Somtimes I feel that if I had the 6 I would get better mileage , during those times I feel the 4 struggle.
I have the 4Cyl.

If you drive hard the extra ooomph from the 6 will get you up to speed so quickly that you can back off the pedal much earlier than on the 4.

Please keep us posted whichever way you decide to go.

I am getting about 25MPG with mine and I go easy on it.

 

[Macleod52]

lol true here. thank god gm didn't design the eco lol

but it will take the abuse. we beat up our 2.2 eco in the 03 cavy and we are not soft on the 2.4 in the bu. keep up with maintenance and you will be fine.

??? Who designed the ecotec?

 

[jessep28]

Opel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Family_II_engine

 

[cavalier2000]

??? Who designed the ecotec?

man you are going to make me remember. I know they based it off of the old saturn motor before gm bought out saturn. i'd have to find the link again

 

[bf1942]

I think the point they were trying to make is that fuel economy has more to do with how you drive the car.

Yes , and so was I .

I thought the V6 might be better for a hard driver, quick to get up to speed
then back off the pedal.

Great show ,
anyone who does not watch Top Gear

Do yourself a favor and go watch today.

 

[jessep28]

I insisted on the V6 since I drove a Grand Prix with the 3800 motor in it for over 4 years. I would go insane if I had to go back down to an I-4.

Top Gear is a great show. It's informative, witty and funny. I loved it when they tried (keyword, tried) to destroy a Toyota Hilux (Tacoma) - going as far as putting it on top of a building which was imploded.

(Pt. 1 of 3)

 

[USA1fan]

man you are going to make me remember. I know they based it off of the old saturn motor before gm bought out saturn. i'd have to find the link again

Uh, Saturn has always been a part of GM. Created differently than the other divisions and all that, but GM never 'bought out saturn'.

And Opel is also GM, just a European division. Ecotec is GM all the way, no matter which sub brand actually developed the engine.

 

[cavalier2000]

Uh, Saturn has always been a part of GM. Created differently than the other divisions and all that, but GM never 'bought out saturn'.

And Opel is also GM, just a European division. Ecotec is GM all the way, no matter which sub brand actually developed the engine.

i can't find this freaken link here is

just fyi, Opel did not design the ecotec. Lotus played a major role in developing the ecotec, along with a bunch of others.

also correct on Saturn i was wrong there lol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_car

I will look for this eco link. It has who all designed it. Basically from what i remember it was an older foreign engine designed mostly by lotus and then gm kind "tweaked" it for their own. lemme find this stupid link

 

[Macleod52]

i can't find this freaken link here is



also correct on Saturn i was wrong there lol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_car

I will look for this eco link. It has who all designed it. Basically from what i remember it was an older foreign engine designed mostly by lotus and then gm kind "tweaked" it for their own. lemme find this stupid link

I haven't read any of the links yet, and I'm not saying the info on them is false, but I would be very careful at what you pull off of Wikipeida. Not all the information on there is true.

If I wanted to I could go to the Ecotec or Saturn pages and say that aliens brought these great things from the heavens and that they are made from alien technology.

 

[cavalier2000]

I haven't read any of the links yet, and I'm not saying the info on them is false, but I would be very careful at what you pull off of Wikipeida. Not all the information on there is true.

If I wanted to I could go to the Ecotec or Saturn pages and say that aliens brought these great things from the heavens and that they are made from alien technology.

lol I know that much. one of the things I hate about wikipeida.

 

[Piggy]

Thanks for the input...leaning towards the eco but still flipping back and forth. Honestly I am a little concerned about some of the apparently unresolved issues regarding shudder with the 3.6.

The dealer that I trust here does not stock them and works pretty hard at convincing customers that Chev designed the Malibu to run with the eco power train.

Its no sweat for them to dealer trade for a six but they really seemed reluctant...at the same time they were eager to dealer trade for an eco with the options I was looking for. I can't say why they were acting like that but the incident gave me pause enough to walk away and dig a little deeper.

I will make up my mind tomorrow.

 

[GTPMALIBU]

mk so i went on a 100 mile round trip today on the highway
i reset my ave speed and ave mpg at the start on the onramp, wrote it down on the off ramp,
79-83 degrees out side temp, tire pressure 40-42psi

ave speed 81mph = 30.1mpg

and on the way back
ave speed 79 = 31.2mpg



no offense but show me a 3.6 guy who can do that? or correct me if im wrong