98 Grand Am Gt Balancing Shafts and Engine?

[98GrandAmM]

For some reason I'm finding it really hard to find any kinds of information about my car related to performance. I've been trying to find out if I would be able to remove the balancing shafts without having to buy extra parts. I think i read somewhere that the balancing shafts spin the oil pump which would make it almost impossible to remove them without major work. Has anyone had experiance with this or maybe a link? I think without them I would see a large increase in gas milage and another 10 - 15hp. Plus then the rev limit could be raised to 7500 - 8000 and tuned to make a lot of power up there.

Also I was wondering if there have been any turbocharged or supercharged engines around with the 98 Gt? Or how much hp the stock rods / piston can handle. It seems like this engine would have alot of room for performance being a 2.4L dual overhead. Sadly its only putting out 20hp more then my old 1.6L single cam 93 Civic.

Thanks for any help.

[urweak]

Originally posted by 98GrandAmM
For some reason I'm finding it really hard to find any kinds of information about my car related to performance. I've been trying to find out if I would be able to remove the balancing shafts without having to buy extra parts. I think i read somewhere that the balancing shafts spin the oil pump which would make it almost impossible to remove them without major work. Has anyone had experiance with this or maybe a link? I think without them I would see a large increase in gas milage and another 10 - 15hp. Plus then the rev limit could be raised to 7500 - 8000 and tuned to make a lot of power up there.

You can remove the balance shafts. But you have to do the 2.3L oil pump swap. For info and pictures on that go here http://www.quad4forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6173&highlight=oil+pump

Originally posted by 98GrandAmM
Also I was wondering if there have been any turbocharged or supercharged engines around with the 98 Gt? Or how much hp the stock rods / piston can handle.

There was never a turbo or supercharged version of the 2.4L (LD9) in a production car. But GM sells a supercharger for the 2.4L, althought it is made for the 00+ 2.4L's it will still work on your motor, you just need to use some other parts inplace of what comes in the kit to make it all work. Or you can build yourself a custom turbo setup like any other car on the road today.

Originally posted by 98GrandAmM
It seems like this engine would have alot of room for performance being a 2.4L dual overhead. Sadly its only putting out 20hp more then my old 1.6L single cam 93 Civic. Thanks for any help.

Yes, there is a person with a 99 GASE that has put down close to 400whp and runs a 12.9. There are many other jbody owners that are in the 12'd and 11's using this same motor (came in the cavalier z24 and sunfire GT)

You also have to understand the history of the LD9, it is a brother of the 2.3L quad 4. The 2.3L quad 4 had a few variations. There was the 2.3L LO (LD2) quad 4 that made 160 hp (the 2.4L basicly replaced this motor) The 2.3L SOHC quad 4 that made 120hp (this motor is junk, and basicly gave the quad 4 family its bad rep) Then the 2.3L HO (LGO) that made 180hp, then the rare 2.3L W41 quad 4 that made 190hp, this was back in 1990 when most other car companies known for big HP 4 cylinders were still 5 or more years away from making a motor with this kind of power and selling it in the US. So there were more powerful quad 4s, but the LD9 is more of a cival toned down version (hence the balance shafts and less HP)

So granted it may not make tons of HP by todays standard, but that 20hp is still enough to beat your old civic.

[Matt95GT]

Personally I wouldn't worry about the balance shafts unless you have tons of other mods done. The balance shafts alone won't allow you to safely rev higher... you'll prolly need to do something with the top end too... stiffer valve springs, etc.

As mentioned, there is plenty of parts/power adders available... the 2.4 prolly has the most compared with all GA engines.

Oh, and the 2.4 is putting out much more torque than any small-displacement Honda, and in a much flatter curve.

[VanishingImage]

yea Id much rather have the 2.3 or the 2.4 then ANY 1.8 motor that the small imports have,no torque compared to the Quad motors. The 2.3 and the 2.4 and now even the 2.2 Ecotech are prolly some of GM's best 4cyl motors that are capable of good decent power with just stock internals.