The GM Family I is a
straight-four piston engine
A reciprocating engine, more often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more Reciprocating motion, reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a Circular motion, rotating motion. This article ...
that was developed by
Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...
, a former subsidiary of
General Motors
General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
and now a subsidiary of
PSA Group
Peugeot S.A., trading as Groupe PSA () (formerly PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles and motorcycles unde ...
, to replace the Vauxhall OHV,
Opel OHV and the smaller capacity
Opel CIH engines for use on small to mid-range cars from
Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...
/
Vauxhall
Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.
From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...
. The engine first appeared in the
Opel Kadett D in 1979, and shortly afterwards in its Vauxhall badged sister – the
Vauxhall Astra Mk.1 in 1980. Despite this, the previous Opel OHV engine continued to be sold in entry level versions of the Opel Kadett/Astra and Corsa throughout the 1980s.
The Family I is informally known as the "small block", since it shares its basic design and architecture with the larger
Family II unit (correspondingly known as the "large block"), which covers the mid range and higher engine capacities up to 2400cc.
Originally produced at the
Aspern engine plant, production was moved to the Szentgotthárd engine plant in
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
with the introduction of the DOHC version.
GM do Brasil at
São José dos Campos
São José dos Campos (, meaning Saint Joseph of the Fields) is a major city and the seat of the Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the same name in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. One of the leading industrial and res ...
,
GMDAT at
Bupyeong and
GM North America at
Toluca also build these engines. The Family II units, by contrast were manufactured by
Holden
Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...
in Australia.
Design
The Family 1 engines are inline-four cylinder engines with belt-driven single or double overhead camshafts in an aluminum
cylinder head with a
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
engine block
In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure that contains the cylinders and other components. The engine block in an early automotive engine consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attach ...
. GM do Brasil versions were also capable of running on ethanol. These engines share their basic design with the larger
Family II engine – for this reason some consider the Family I and Family II to be the same series and instead use the terms 'small block' and 'large block' to distinguish between the two. Over the years there has been overlap between the two types as the smallest capacities of the Family II have also been manufactured with larger capacity versions of the Family I block.
Early build versions of the engine gained a notorious reputation for camshaft and follower failure – this was largely due to a special lubricant being used in the engine during the running in period, which would be changed for conventional oil at the first service. Many owners (familiar with the servicing requirements of the older overhead valve units that the Family I/II replaced) would often exacerbate the problem by changing the oil themselves within the running in period. Opel solved the problem by improving the metallurgy of the camshaft and followers, and changing the lubrication specification. Another issue (also common to the Family II), revolved around the water pump, which sits in an eccentric shaped housing and doubles as the timing belt tensioner. If poor quality antifreeze (or if no antifreeze was used), corrosion would jam the water pump in its housing making it impossible to tension the belt. Later versions of the engine incorporate a separate tensioning/jockey pulley for tensioning the belt.
GM do Brasil specializes in
SOHC, petrol-powered and ''FlexPower'' (powered with
ethanol
Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...
and/or petrol, mixed in any percentage) engines. GM Brasil also made 16-valve versions of the 1.0 engine. The 1.0 L 16v was available in the Corsa line-up from 1999 to 2001.
SOHC
the first versions of the Family I appeared in the Opel Kadett D in 1979, and the corresponding Vauxhall Astra Mk.1 in the spring of 1980.
1.0
The version has a bore and a stroke.
1.2
There are two iterations of the 1.2-liter Family 1 engine. As originally introduced it was called the 12ST (also A12ST and S12ST in versions for the Austrian, Swiss, and Swedish markets), it used a bore and a stroke to produce a displacement of . This version, only carburetted, was used in the
Opel Corsa.
In around 1990 a new, version with bore and stroke, a narrower bore version of the existing 1.3-litre version, displacing , replaced the original design. This was also available with single-point fuel injection and with catalytic converters.
1.3
The version has a bore and a stroke.
1.4
The version has a bore and a stroke.
1.6
The version has a bore and an stroke.
1.8
The version has an bore and an stroke.
Applications:
*
Chevrolet Corsa
*
Chevrolet Montana
*
Opel Meriva
*
Fiat Palio
*
Fiat Siena
*
Fiat Strada
*
Fiat Idea
*
Fiat Punto
*
Fiat Stilo
SPE / 4
The SPE / 4 or (''Smart Performance Economy 4 cylinders'') engines are an evolution of the Econo.Flex engines that were made in Brazil at the ''Joinville'' plant. There are two available displacements: 1.0 L and 1.4 L. They feature an SOHC head with 2-valves per cylinder, and is fed by a
multi-point fuel injection
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of a fuel injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All co ...
system, which allows it to run on either E100 (pure
ethanol
Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...
) or E25 gasoline (standard in Brazil). Major differences between previous engines include reduced friction, lowered weight, individual
coil-near-plug ignition, and a new
cylinder head design.
DOHC
Pre-Ecotec
This was the first engine in this family, featuring a
Lotus-developed 16-valve
cylinder head and a
cast-iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
cylinder block
In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure that contains the cylinders and other components. The engine block in an early automotive engine consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attach ...
which was essentially the same as in Opel's 8-valve engines. C16XE was available only in
Corsa GSi, model years 1993 and 1994. C16XE was not yet badged Ecotec, and for later model Corsas and
Opel Tigras it was replaced with X16XE Ecotec engine. The main difference between C16XE and X16XE Ecotec is
emission control, C16XE lacks
EGR and
AIR-system, although the cylinder head is designed to enable these features. Other differences between C16XE and later versions of the engine include
intake manifold, C16XE has a plastic upper intake manifold, which was replaced with a cast aluminium manifold, and
fuel injection
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of a fuel injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All c ...
system, C16XE uses Multec fuel injection with
MAF sensor and later models used Multec fuel injection with
MAP sensor. Also, while C16XE had its own exhaust front section design, for X16XE it was replaced with a front section used also in Opel Astra, probably as a cost-saving measure.
Applications:
* 1993–1994
Opel Corsa GSi
Ecotec
The first generation Ecotec engines are
belt-driven 16-valve
DOHC engines, with
cast-iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
cylinder block
In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure that contains the cylinders and other components. The engine block in an early automotive engine consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attach ...
s and aluminum cross-flow
cylinder heads. They feature
sodium-filled exhaust valves, a cast steel
crankshaft
A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a reciprocating engine, piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating Shaft (mechanical engineering), shaft containing one or more crankpins, ...
, and a
spheroidal graphite
Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...
flywheel. They also feature
exhaust gas recirculation (EGR),
secondary air injection, and ''Multec M'' engine control with
sequential multiport fuel injection. The 1.6 L version was also exported for use in the Brazilian Corsa GSi.
Applications:
* 1994–2000
Opel Corsa
* 1994–2000
Opel Tigra
* 1999–2005
Opel Zafira using Siemens Simtec
ECU
*
Opel Astra
*
Opel Vectra
* 2004–2008
Chevrolet Viva
*
Fiat Stilo
*
Chevrolet Corsa GSi/GLS
*
Buick Excelle
Electronic throttle
Updated version introduced from 2000, with lighter
cast-iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
cylinder block and
camshaft driven by
toothed belt. Features
EGR valve and electronic throttle for reduced emissions.
Ecotec TwinPort Family 1 engine (Z16XEP) is used in:
*
Opel Zafira 2005–2007
*
Opel Meriva 2005–2010
*
Opel Astra 2003–2004 2004–2007
*
Opel Vectra 2006–2008
E-TEC
Daewoo Motors independently produced a variant of the ''Family 1'' engine. These engines were built exclusively at Bupyeong engine plant and marketed as ''E-TEC''. Like all ''Family 1'' engines they feature a
toothed belt driven valvetrain, a cast-iron
engine block
In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure that contains the cylinders and other components. The engine block in an early automotive engine consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attach ...
and an aluminum
cylinder head. Most models feature
Euro III-compliancy, and the 1.4 L (1399 cc) and 1.6 L (1598cc) versions employ
variable intake geometry. With the release of
Chevrolet Cruze, the factory has been converted to produce the Ecotec Family 1 ''Gen III'' block.
SOHC
Applications:
*
Daewoo Lanos
*
Daewoo Racer/Pointer *Only in Chile
*
Daewoo LeMans
*
Daewoo Espero
*
Daewoo Nexia
*
Chevrolet Lacetti
*
Chevrolet Nubira
*
Chevrolet Aveo
DOHC
The ''E-TEC II 16V'' is an updated version of the ''E-TEC'' engines with
DOHC.
Applications:
*
Chevrolet Aveo
*
Daewoo Lacetti
*
Daewoo Lanos
*
Daewoo Espero
*
Daewoo Nexia
*
Daewoo Tacuma
Generation III
The new ''Generation III'' or Gen III engine entered production in Spring 2005. These engines replaced both the previous generation ''Ecotec'' engines as well as Daewoo's ''E-TEC 16V'' engines. These engines are manufactured at Szentgotthárd, Hungary, Bupyeoung, Korea, Toluca, Mexico and Yantai, PRC (SGM).
In contrast to their predecessors, the ''Gen III'' engines feature lighter cast-iron blocks, as well as higher compression ratios. These engines also implement DCVCP (Double Continuous Variable Cam Phasing technology, a variant of
VVT), piston cooling by oil jets, and an integrated
catalytic converter
A catalytic converter part is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device which converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox ...
. Non-turbocharged variants feature the ''TwinPort'' (
Variable-length intake manifold) technology.
Reliability improvements include a wider camshaft drive belt, and a water pump no longer driven by it.
The LDE engine meets
Euro VI
The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards that regulate pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and European Economic Area member states and the United Kingdom, and ships in European ...
and
KULEV emission standards. With the addition of
secondary air injection to the LUW engine, the LWE achieves
PZEV status.
These engines, like their DOHC predecessors, feature
bucket tappets in contrast to the
roller finger followers found on GM's other 4-cylinder engines.
Applications:
* 2005–2008
Opel Vectra (Z18XER)
* 2007–2008
Opel Signum (Z18XER)
* 2005–2019
Opel Zafira
* 2005–2012
Opel Astra
* 2008–2016
Chevrolet Cruze (1.8L LUW/2H0/LDE/LWE)
* 2009–2017
Opel Insignia
* 2009–2014
Chevrolet Aveo (1.6L in Europe, 1.6L LXV)
* 2012–2018
Chevrolet Sonic (1.8L LUW/LWE in North America)
* 2011–2015
Chevrolet Orlando (1.8L 2H0)
* 2007–2009
Holden Astra (AH)
* 2012–2013
Baojun 630
*
Alfa Romeo 159
* 2005–2011
Fiat Croma
* 2012–2018
Opel Mokka
Turbocharged ''Gen III'' engines are used in:
* 2006–2009
Opel Meriva (OPC Model)
* 2007–2018
Opel Corsa (GSi and OPC Models)
* 2008–2012
Opel Insignia
* 2010–2015
Buick Excelle GT
* 2010–2015
Buick Excelle XT
* 2011–2012
Saab 9-5
* 2007–2012
Opel Astra
* 2012–2017
Buick Verano
The Buick Verano () is a compact car manufactured by SAIC-GM for the GM's Buick brand since 2010. It debuted at the North American International Auto Show on January 10, 2011, during a preview of Buick's then upcoming 2012 model.
It is the firs ...
(1.6 Turbo)
* 2012–2020 Chevrolet Sonic (LT, LTZ Models)
* 2011–2020
Chevrolet Cruze (China, North America) and Holden Cruze (Australasia)
* 2016–present
Chevrolet Malibu
The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car that was manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and from 1997 to 2025. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-w ...
References
External links
* http://www.gmpowertrain.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gm Family 1 Engine
Family 1
Gasoline engines by model
Straight-four engines