Vauxhall Engine Codes (how they are made up)

[Mark]

this is taken from another thread on this site, and thought it would be ideal as a sticky for anyone who may have the same question

example vauxhall engine code: c20let

the first part, ie Z or C etc, is purely the exhaust emission standard ahered to by the engine in question. ( hence earlier 2 litre 8 and 16 valve engines having no prefix ie 20seh or 20xe, because they did not come with a catalytic converter)

the second part ie 16 or 20 etc is the engine capacity in cubic centimeters, ie 2.0 = 2.0 litres 16 equals 1.6 litrs and so on...

we'll use 'LET' for an example in the 3rd 4th and 5th parts of the engine code.

the 'L' tells you which compression ratio band that particular engine falls into, in this case L means between 8.5:1 and 9.0:1 ( if you really want to know them all pm me )

the 'E' part tells you the mixture system used, in this case 'E' being multi-point fuel injection (again if u need to know more, ask)

and finally the 'T' part. this isnt always used, and theres isnt really a lot of clarity on exactly what each letter means. in this case 't' is for turbo, but 'h' is also used for 'high output' on the new z16leh turbo engine. it basically tells you the specific vehicle version.

[Lee]

Good bit of info there Mark.

[dearing5]

yep, cheers

[Hoggy]

nice info!

[Shorty]

hehe just wanted a go cj made it look fun lol

[gtc]

The first digit of the code relates to the emissions regs the engine meets.

Z = euro 4
Y = euro 3
X = euro 2
C = euro 1

Cars made before the emissions regulations have no letter at the start of the code.

The next 2 digits are the capacity.

For example, the 20 in C20 XE means 2 litre.

The next letter is the compression ratio.

G = 8 to 8.5:1
L = 8.5 to 9:1
N = 9 to 9.5:1
S = 9.5 to 10:1
X = 10 to 11.5:1
Y = 11.5+:1

The next digit relates to the fuelling.

D = diesel
E = multi-point injection
Z = single-point injection
V = carburettor

Some engines have an extra code at the end, if they are different from normal

For example:

H = high output
R = increase output
T = turbo
V = volume model
P = twinport

As the man said, but with a couple more numbers.

[jim610]

so mine has no emission regs then iv got a 20xe.

[gtc]

What you got? 20XE out of a Mk2 GTE?

[jim610]

yep

[gtc]

Before emissions testing so no letter code at start.