GM has a version of their 2.4L with DI. Makes me wonder how it would do turboed like the LNF motor. It already makes 182hp/172tq, that's pretty impressive TQ from a 2.4L. I bet N/A it could hit 230hp.

Power Band

And here is GM's talk on their direct injection

Direct Injection

Given more than a century of development behind the internal-combustion engine, direct fuel injection is new technology. Direct injection is the culmination of the engineer�s quest to move the point where fuel feeds into an engine closer to the point where it ignites. The advantage is greater combustion efficiency. Direct injection allows the Ecotec 2.4L LAF engine to generate outstanding power, while consuming fuel at the more frugal rate of a conventional small-displacement port-injected engine.

Conventional port-injected engines inject fuel upstream of the intake valve into the intake port, and this fuel and air mixture enters the combustion chamber when the intake valve opens. On the direct-injection engine, fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber during the intake stroke, at which time only air flows through the intake system and into the combustion chamber when the intake valve opens. During the subsequent compression stroke, the fuel and air mixture now in the combustion chamber is ignited conventionally by the spark plug. As the fuel vaporizes in the cylinder, the air and fuel mixture is cooled. This enables the use of a higher compression ratio in the combustion chamber, which improves engine performance and efficiency. Less fuel is required to produce the equivalent horsepower as a result of direct-injection technology compared to a conventional port-injection fuel system. Direct-injection technology also helps reduce cold-start emissions by approximately 25 percent.

The direct-injection fuel injectors inject fuel directly into the combustion chamber and are located beneath the intake ports, which transfer only air. Because the ports are not used to mix the fuel and air, efficiency of the air flow is increased. In addition, the control of the injection event, via direct-injection technology, is very precise and results in better combustion efficiency and fuel consumption at all throttle openings. A higher compression ratio is also possible due to a cooling effect as the injected fuel vaporizes in the combustion chamber. This cooling effect reduces the charge temperature reducing the likelihood of spark knock. The direct-injection fuel injectors have been developed to withstand the greater heat and pressure inside the combustion chamber, and also utilize multiple outlets for best injection control.

The increased combustion efficiency and control helps to reduce emissions, particularly during cold starts, which is when the bulk of emissions are created. Other things equal, using less fuel to do a given amount of work means fewer emissions generated when that work is finished. With direct injection, more thorough combustion means fewer emissions�essentially, residue�left to flow out the exhaust system after each combustion cycle.

Engineers have long understood the potential benefits of direct injection. The difficulty, until recently, has been the lack of technology to make it work properly: advanced fuel and spark timing to avoid detonation, or self-combustion out of sync with the spark; fuel delivery systems that can reliably generate and contain the extreme pressure required for direct injection. The fuel system operates at pressure as high as 2,250 psi, compared to as little as 60 psi in some conventional port-injected engines.

The benefits of direct injection are pronounced. The system allows a more complete burn of the fuel in the air-fuel mixture, and it operates at lower temperature than port injection. That allows the mixture to be leaner, meaning less fuel, more air. Less fuel is required to generate a given amount of horsepower, particularly at part-throttle operation. Bottom line: An engine with direct injection can deliver comparable power to a much larger displacement port-injected engine, with significant fuel savings.

Really would like to see some of these moded. I wonder how the base Solstice/Sky would have been if it had this motor instead of the regular 2.4L, bet it would feel a lot more peppy.