The great engine thread.

[Guest]

I've driven a couple a VTECs and quite like them, they do need to be revved though.

They're not terribly powerful if you don't rev them.

A work colleague had a CRV with a VTEC and he said always felt like a dick when driving briskly as he'd be revving "the mummywagon to the red line" (it was his wife's choice of car).

 

Oooh, thank God someone agrees with me about VTECs. I drove a Civic Type R that a lad at work was raving about. Yes, I suppose it was quick if you could stand revving the bastard thing to oblivion and rowing it along with the gearstick. I learnt to drive on OHV engines that weren't interested in going past 4000 RPM. I suppose my conception of mechanical sympathy derived from there, so belting the fuck out of an engine to get the power just seems wrong to me.

 

I thought something similar of the Mi16 XU9J4 engine until SCTSH_ANDY said I was being a gayer and changing up too soon. I was changing up at 5000 and thinking it was massively overrated. That said, the XU9J4 does have some torque lower down as opposed to it all being in the last 1500 RPM of the revband as with the B18A Civic engine.

 

The 3 litre diesel engine in FATHA_WAT's Bimmer is nice. It manages to growl like a six and hisses like an old skool 5GT Turbo coming on boost.

 

Mind you, my Piazza had an atmospheric dump valve as standard. It was the only nice noise it made to be honest, punting it along was like caning a tractor to death. This was exacerbated by the worst lash up of a back box I have ever seen (read a scaffold pipe). For an eighties car it had a very well integrated turbo (IHI VHB34/36) with virtually no lag, and the engine itself was happy to razz up to the limiter with seemingly no ill effects. I managed to infuriate a bell end with a two eight Capri that apparently had had 'thousands' spent on the engine with it one night as well. Great things, Cologne V6s. All that money and getting beasted by a £400 shitter of a Piazza driven by a bespectacled fat man. Gutted.

 

Apparently the Volvo OHV B series engines can make lots of power. I hope so, because mine has some retarded design features. Oil seals made of felt, yes, that's a superb idea lads, the felt won't degrade at all will it?

[Cavcraft]

What engine code is the 1.8i in the old E30 Beemers? They were a right old laugh and definately improved with age.

[MrDuke]

Weirdly, when I wrote about Honda engines, I wasn't even thinking of the Vtec (despite having owned a Vtec Civic myself not that long ago!) - I just love the older 12v engines, genuinely nice to drive. I personally wasn't that bothered with the Vtec - like Wat said, I quickly got tired of having to rag it up to 6.5k with every gearchange. Wasn't that bad without it though tbh.

 

Fatha_Duke's old '82 Accord 1.6 was approaching 200k when the body finally fell apart - he'd covered over 120k of that himself, and only changed the oil twice, as I remember it never actually turned black. Thinking about it, it would've been a bit of an Autoshite legend, as he'd brush-painted it with hammerite up to the bump strips, and re-covered the roof himself in blue vinyl, held on with dodgy glue. Epic.

[Gompo]

Honda B18c.

 

Great sound, good looks (no plastic 'engine cover'), reliable, good power/torque for capacity, reasonably economical.

[The Moog]

Can I put forward the Saab B202 engine? Bottom end pretty much bomb proof.Easy to work on, no cambelts to mess about with, clutch piece of pie to change and alot of saab touches that make working on them easy.

 

Designed as N/A and yet can take a turbo strapped on and then turned up to max. Will take 230bhp without blinking (fair enough gearbox will start to turn to cheese at this point)

 

Not many cars can do 170K as standard and then have the nuts tuned out of them and still do another 100K.

[Rusty Pelican]

Fiat fire engine gets one of my votes , The Fiat it was in was utter shite as was the box , engine was a cracker though ( when it ran )

5 pot Audi lump is great too , mine was a GTI engineering one with a special cam , not mindblowingly quick but soooooo much torque

Imp engine , yes they are a bit weak and some say fragile , yes they overheat ( more due to where it is and the shitty rad than the engines fault ) but boy dont they ever rev .

[ruffgeezer]

At work, we've a very knackered Dodge Series 50 recovery truck,

 

occasionally when its shunted round I get to hear the big lazy perkins lump on idle, there is something poetic about a large filthy diesel:

 

[Mr Lobster]

Alfa V6 and Boxer engines. Just for the noise really!

[Rocket88]

12 and 24valve Vauxhall straight six [senator, Carlton gsi etc] capable of starship mileage, surprisingly economical, and loads of lovely torque. VAG tdi 1.9 as well.

[dollywobbler]

Honda 12v engines are indeed great. Not driven a VTEC but I imagine it's a lot like the 16v lump in Mi16s and BX 16valves. Insane fun but yes, ragging it that much does get tiring/licence threatening. I love a barrowload of torque (2CV excepted for a reason I don't actually know!).

[TagoraSX]

Audi 5 cylinder 2.1/2.2, not that I'm biased or anything

 

The sound, surprisingly economical and very reliable (so far!)

[Citroenboi]

Not that I am bias in this but I would say either

1. Citroen flat twin

2. Citroen flat 4 from the GS and GSA

3. PSA XUD in any form. My favourite is the 1.9 na. got one in my daily driver BX, now at 181500 miles and still going strong. Reg see 50 mpg. Sits on motorways all day long and will easily out live the rest of the car!

[catsinthewelder]

Looking at the other replies I have to agree with the XUD votes, Our last 2 dailys have had them. The current 1.9 Bx is on 197k with a pretty good service history. The engine feels up for the same again although I doubt the rest of the car is, without serious work. Our last car was a 1.8 205 which was on 193k when we gave it away. The coolant had been leaking for about 50k and would easily swallow a couple of litres of water when you topped it up if you waited for indications from the temperature gauge.

 

We never did find out where it went.

 

I've never tried a Vtec car but I did have a grey import 92 Suzuki Bandit 400 with variable valve timing, I can see why it don't mesh too well with driving a runabout but on that bike it was fantastic

 

After a cocked up gear change I found the rev limiter was set at 16500rpm

[scooters]

Not that I am bias in this but I would say either

1. Citroen flat twin

2. Citroen flat 4 from the GS and GSA

3. PSA XUD in any form. My favourite is the 1.9 na. got one in my daily driver BX, now at 181500 miles and still going strong. Reg see 50 mpg. Sits on motorways all day long and will easily out live the rest of the car!

 

 

The PSA XUD is a fantastic engine - in both guises it effectively raised the bar for diesel engines and IMHO is better than some of the newer ones - better MPGs and witht he turbo a quick and responsive unit.

[ashmicro]

What engine code is the 1.8i in the old E30 Beemers? They were a right old laugh and definately improved with age.

 

 

18 4E 1 Billy, 18 4S 1 was the valver in the 318iS

[AnthonyG]

The 1600/1800/2000 petrol Zetec as fitted to 1990s/2000 Fords, considering it was a development/rebuild of the CVH, was a pretty good engine, loads better than Pintos / CVHs.

[Pete-M]

Jag V12. It's brilliant until you have to change the spark plugs...

 

2.0 Pinto. May not be the smoothest engine in the world but once they sorted out the camshaft issues, they're not a bad old lump. Strong - don't forget the Cosworth used the 205 block - simple and tuneable.

 

Rover V8. Just because of the soundtrack. Things sound immense, loads of low down torque, and slightly tuneable. Good on fuel for what they are too. It tends to be the auto boxes that kill economy with 'em.

 

Pug / Citroen TD lump. Just because even though I hate diesels, I don't mind these things. So they're worth a mention.

 

BMW six pots. Other than the head gasket / head issues, a nice lump, if a bit gutless low down.

 

Jag V8. I do like these. Shame about the Nikasil issues on the early ones.

 

Porsche 911 air cooled flat six. Anything that can go from a 2.0 to a 3.8 in the same basic form, and be bomb proof, is a bloody good lump. That deranged chainsaw soundtrack is to die for.

 

Ford Kent. Just because of the sheer abuse I gave these things and they just won't die.

 

GM 2.0 8v from the Mk2 Cav. Because they're not bad.

 

Chevy small block. 600 bhp with relative ease, and oodles of perma-torque...

 

Pug 1340 TU. Sound shit, but they work well.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

3. PSA XUD in any form. My favourite is the 1.9 na. got one in my daily driver BX, now at 181500 miles and still going strong. Reg see 50 mpg. Sits on motorways all day long and will easily out live the rest of the car!

 

 

The PSA XUD is a fantastic engine - in both guises it effectively raised the bar for diesel engines and IMHO is better than some of the newer ones - better MPGs and witht he turbo a quick and responsive unit.

 

I don't know why modern diesels need to be more complicated than the XUD; it's what a diesel engine is supposed to be, mechanically controlled and indestructible in the face of electronic meltdown. This is an engine capable of 55MPG quite easily in spite of its old hat indirect injection.

Modern diesels have the torque to allow for intergalactic gearing - I think that's most of the reason they are economical, but still not a quantum leap ahead of the old XUD and barely any better than VW's TDis of the 1990s.

[Formula Autos]

Jag V12. It's brilliant until you have to change the spark plugs...

 

This engine also went on (in 7 litre form) to win Le Mans in the back of the Silk Cut Jaguars in '88. Not bad for a road car engine introduced in '71 (and designed in the '60s).

[strangehighways]

First off, the 2.0 8V found in the Mk 3 Astra SRi (and I'm sure many many other Vauxhalls) was absolutely superb. 115bhp and about 125 lb/ft. I remember it was very easy to drive quickly without revving its nuts off. Also, I liked the engine tone.

 

1.9 na XUD found in Berlingos etc. Ok, it wasn't quick, but it was so thrashable and how can you not love it?

 

VAG 1.4 TSI - This has a turbo and a supercharger. Now I'm not a fan of VAG stuff in general but when I recently borrowed a Seat Leon (125 bhp varient) with a 6 speed box it was a total joy to drive. Lots of low down pull, nice engine note.

 

Alfa V6 (Busso) - I had a 164 and it was the best engine I have had the pleasure of hearing whilst driving (I have not driven any Ferraris, TVRs etc!). Loved to be revved, and screams near the red line, a truly great engine with heart and soul.

[Pete-M]

Bugger, the Alfa V6. That has to be one of the best engines ever. Don't know how I forgot that one.

 

The Bentley Turbo R lump has a lot of character, and one hell of a lot of thrust.

[fiatdaft]

still dunno why the boat anchor pinto was so popular back in the day when the fiat twin cam had more power,more adaptable,stronger,lighter and cheaper!

[Pete-M]

still dunno why the boat anchor pinto was so popular back in the day when the fiat twin cam had more power,more adaptable,stronger,lighter and cheaper!

 

Because the Pinto was fitted to Fords, and is in such a low state of tune that almost everything you do to one makes them better. Heads respond well to a bit of fettling, cam swaps make a big difference and the bottom end will take nuclear levels of abuse (if you fit the Cosworth steel crank). Used to be cheap as anything to go from 100 bhp to 150 without losing reliability. The fact that the Fiat lump will do 145 bhp out of the box is irrelevant .

 

There's just something about Pintos that makes me like 'em. It's mainly to do with stupid sideways stunts out of roundabouts in any car that came fitted with one.

 

I had a Mk1 Mexico in the late 80's fitted with a 180bhp Guy Croft 2.0 Fiat Twink, that went like stink. Sounded great, too. Car didn't handle that well with the Fiat lump, because it is so much lighter than a Pinto and the car was fitted with RS2000 Bilsteins which were way too stiff with the Fiat engine.

[Spiny Norman]

Volvo B18/B20 as fitted to Amazons and P1800s. Not the most refined engines by any means but they would regularly do 250k miles between rebuilds when Ford and BL lumps were getting clattery and smoky at 50k. Easy to mend and torquey too, especially when fitted with a pair of SUs. Mine used to pull like a train from 20mph in top.

 

Also I'm hearing plenty of love for the Alfa boxers and V6s, but none yet for the twink. A lovely rorty thing that proves that 4 pots can sound horny just as much as a V8 can.

[whitevanman]

I beieve the 999cc FIRE engine is a free-wheeling job like the 1600 pinto, so if the cambelt lets go, line the marks up, fit a new belt, start it up - job done.

 

it's 2.0 Pinto is non interferance

[whitevanman]

Best in my opinion

Small Block Ford and Chevy V8's

[Spottedlaurel]

Based on experience, the 2.2 16v 4-pot fitted to my Camry (and the same lump in my previous-gen estate).

 

I was no fan of multivalve 4-cylinder engines, and the SR20DE in our Primera is not something I'm desperately fond of, but the torque given by these Toyota engines is pretty impressive. They only have something like 130bhp, and the Camry isn't a light car, but it pulls wonderfully from low rev's, or can be revved all day long as I found on a trackday last year. I did 150+ miles on the track then, and the temperature gauage didn't budge. Driven normally it'll do 30-35mpg and it's plenty fast enough for everyday use.

 

The Sport has only done 67k miles, so it's got a lot of life left in it yet, but the estate was on 203k when it came off the road and the engine was still running very well. I've not heard of any endemic problems with them.

 

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but Nissan's RB-series must be up there. I've only had personal experience of lower-powered NA versions, but clearly they got something right in the ability of this engine to be tuned insanely.

 

Datsun A- and L-series engines also do a pretty good job.

[gurnsimps]

Fords BDA because it sounds so good on full chat in the woods

 

Toyota 4age twin cam 1600 for its unburstability

 

Of course a full race imp engine at 10,000 rpm

[ChinaTom]

I think Rob Beere Racing can take the Jag V12 up to 7.3 litres and bolt a couple of turbos on for good measure. I have heard of a marine application that was 10.1 litres.

[cms206]

Hmmm... Fiat's FIRE lumps get a vote from me, as does Ford's 2.5Di engine... if ever there was an engine which could safely be described as bombproof, that was it. Going bigger because I am an anorak, Leyland's 680 lump in horizontal tune, and largely because I like the sound they make, any Scania V8.