What was so special about the Northstar engine? I've never seen one, and haven't got a clue about their HP/Torque ratings. They sure went like heck and sounded twice as mean, but I never got the gist of their design. Any ideas?
Part of the mystique is the reliability. Not the early 4.1 versions but the later 4.6. Quite reliable and also could be driven some distance below 50 mph without coolant. 300,000+ miles is easily doable so long as regular servicing is done. Lots of HP and torque. The engine was used in the Oldsmobile Aurora too. That's a fine car.
one of the resons it can go 50 miles @ 50 mph without coolant is the volume of oil in it's crankcase. 8 qts. with filter. only one desing change i would make, move the oil filter. it is on the back side of the engine, flywheel end, just above the exhaust manafold, at about the 2 o'clock position, so you can't fill the filter with oil before install.
Aren't most of these engines build into front wheel drive cars? I can't really comment on any known technical issues with that, but a V8 and FWD...... hmmmm, I don't know.
Senri, Most of the Northstar equipped cadillacs were in fact RWD. Also the Olds Aroura was RWD. I think there have been some with FWD. V8's with FWD are not uncommon. 66 and later Toronados and Eldorados, The 2008 Chevy Impala SS to name a few. The Chevy has 303 horse power.
They came out in what, 1994? I could never 'get' whether they were a wankel type, or a piston-engine. Never got to see one, even up to today.
Would be very interesting to see what a 4.6 liter wankel engine would do. (the Mazda 1.3liter engine makes 250hp!) But anyway, I thought about the FWD as the original LD8 version of the Northstar (1994-now) was for the FWD applications like the Eldorado and the Seville. I did not know they made a revised version in 2004 for RWD applications (XLR and STS)!
If you ever drove a Caddy or anything with a NorthStar engine you would be utterly amazed at the power, smoothness, gas mileage, etc. My mother had a '94 STS & a '96 Seville both with NorthStar's, literally the fastest cars I've ever driven! She didn't like the harsh ride of the STS so traded in on a Seville, same car, very different rides. Clark
My "dragrace team boss" has one and at 75mph he gets almost 24 mpg! For a V8 I really think that is good!
