Best 1&2 Cyl VOTE! (4 cyl. Nominations)

[Jim Prower]

Okay! Here are the Nominees for the World's Best Singles and Twins!

• Briggs & Stratton Singles
• Harley-Davidson V-Twin (Cruiser & Buell)
• Ducati V-Twin (All)
• John Deere Horizontal Inline-Twin
• Honda XR200 Single
• Honda CR500 Single
• Citroen 2CV Boxxer-Twin
• Yamaha YZF Four-Stroke Singles
• BMW Boxxer-Twin

Now, Let's hear your Nominations for Best 4-Cyl Engine! Here's a few obvious ones...

Toyota 4A-GE

Nissan SR20

G.M. Ecotec

VW/Porsche Air-cooled Flat-Four

I can think of a few more. If you like, you can nominate more specific versions of these rather general categories, and I'll use those instead.

The Criteria

• Must Be 4 cyl, Gasoline or Diesel engine
• May Be race, street, Aircraft, Marine, whatever
• May be any configuration, except Radial.

VOTING ENDS MONDAY, SEPT 21. AT 4:08 CENTRAL. NOMINATIONS END WHEN I RETURN ON TUESDAY, SEPT. 22.

Well, Happy Voting!

Current 4-cyl nominees:
Toyota 4A-GE 20V Blacktop I-4
Toyota 3S-GTE I-4
Toyota 22R/20R I-4
Nissan SR20 I-4
Nissan KA24DE I-4
Nissan SR16VET
Nissan FJ20
G.M. Ecotec I-4
VW-Porsche Air-cooled B-4
VW 1.8T 20V I-4
VW 1.4 twincharge I-4
VW 2.0 TFSI I-4
VW 2.0 TDI I-4
Cummins 3.9 L 4BT I-4 Diesel
Mitsubishi DSM 4G63T I-4
Porsche 924, 944, 968 3.0L I-4
Honda B-Series I-4s
Honda K-Series I-4s
Honda H-Series I-4s
Honda F20C I-4
Subaru EJ20 B-4
'91-'95 Kawasaki 750cc I-4
BMW M10/S14 I-4
Ford/Lotus Twincam I-4
Ford/Cosworth BDA I-4
Ford/Mazda Duratec 23 / MZR I-4

 

[skip0110]

I nominte the Cummins 3.9 L 4BT. 150 hp, 220 ft-lbs. Power all types of marine and heavy equipment, for millions of engine-hours.


Also the DSM 4G63T. So durable (except for that pesky crank-walk).

 

[Tornado]

How about the big monster I4 from the Prorsche 924/944/968. 3 litres of German 4 cylinder power FTW! From 125 BHP and 121 lb/ft. to 305 BHP and 369 lb/ft. Granted, some Honda engine or something will walk with this, but whatever.

 

[JNasty4G63]

Here are my suggestions for great 4-cyl engines, and some cars they were in......

Toyota 3S-GTE (MR2 Turbo, Celica All-Trac)

Honda B-Series (Civic Si and Type-R, Integra GS-R and Type-R)

Honda K-Series (RSX, TSX, Civic Type-R, Integra Type-R)

Subaru EJ20 (WRX, STI, Legacy, Forester)

Each of those engines is a fantastic example of 4-cyl engineering. All have great power, lots of aftermarket support, and still have big followings.

Hilg

 

[Flerbizky]

My all time favorite - I even have one that looks like it.. Has been my obsession for 7+ years...

The 1991 -> 1995 KHI (Kawasaki Heavy Industries) 4 cylinder inline 750cc lump.. Puts out nearly 160 at the back wheel when fully trimmed, weighs less than a lawnmover and spins up as fast as an F1 mill...



[Edit:] Should add this before all the Honda engines appear - Rev limit - 15000rpm....

 

[DDMv2]

I nominate the Honda S2000 Engine...

:F20C

240hp @ 9000RPM 153 lb ft @7500rpm All motor Naturally Aspirated VTEC engine:tup:

 

[TopHat]

Hey You stole my nomination!

Well, heres one(still american and mundane but I like it!)

Ford Duratec 23

 

[SRV2LOW4ME]

Honda B-Series (Civic Si and Type-R, Integra GS-R and Type-R)

I second that, and add the H Series aswell.

190-220hp@7500 rpm from a NA 2.2L DOHC VTEC. Swap of choice until the K series for most Honda tuners, and overall just a beautiful engine.

 

[JCE]

The Ford 23 Duratec / Mazda MZR I4, 4A-GE blacktop 20-valve Toyota Corolla/Levin motor with huge bhp numbers, and the KA24DE 2.4L from the Bluebird [1993-1997] (J) 240SX (US).

Duratec 23 / MZR I4: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duratec#Duratec_23 / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_Z_engine#MZR
4A-GE blacktop: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_A_engine#20_Valve_4A-GE
KA24DE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KA24DE

 

[Wolfe]

The BMW M10

Designed by Baron Alex von Falkenhausen, and first produced in 1961, this engine powered everything from the 1962 1500 sedan, to the 2002 and its variants (2002tii and 2002 Turbo included), and to the 3-series and 5-series four-cylinders up until 1987, enjoying over 20 years of service within the company. Its service spanned the switchover from carburetion to fuel-injection, and it was used in a 1.5L form, 2.5L form (more on that one later) and several steps inbetween.

The M10, BMW, and Motorsports
One could say that the M10 was a crucial part of BMW's success in the 1960's, considering the fact that the engine powered the company's revolutionary and popular sports sedans, the 1500, 1600/1602, and 2000/2002. Without those cars, BMW may not have become what it is today.

The M10 also saw use in motorsports, in touring cars, BMW rally cars, and even Formula 1. For its Formula 1 engines, BMW plucked M10's from pre-owned roadcars, de-stroked them to 1.5L, and turbocharged them, producing as much as 1500hp during qualifying, and as much as 1100hp during races. The BMW-powered Brabham BT52 won the 1983 Championship, and was the first turbocharged F1 car to do so.

The M10 and the M3
Although production of the engine ceased in 1987, its presence in BMW cars and motorsports didn't end until several years later. This is because the M10 block was used in the design of the S14, the four-cylinder that powered the first M3:

The S14 began as an M10 that was bored and stroked to 2.3L and given a 4-valves-per-cylinder DOHC head. The head was based on the DOHC cylinder head of BMW's world-renowned 6-cylinder M88 -- used in the M1, and early M5/M6 models -- which had the same cylinder dimensions. The first prototype of the S14 literally used an M88 head with two cylinders chopped off.

The 2.3L S14 made 200hp in the street version of the M3, and 300hp in the racing version. In the years after, as per Group-A regulations, BMW was allowed to produce three "evolutions" of the M3, with minor suspension and aerodynamic changes to improve the racecar. The Evolution I saw no change in power, while the Evolution II saw a 20hp-increase in the road version.

However, the greatest E30 M3 of them all was the Evolution III, also known as the Sport Evolution. For the Evo III, the S14's displacement was further increased to 2.5L, leaving the roadcar with 238hp, and the racecar with over 330hp. The Sport Evolution saw limited production numbers as a roadcar, but could be seen in racing until as late as 1995, in the GT300 class of what is now known as JGTC.



As the engine that powers my own 318i, and the engine that powered the venerable 2002, BMW's brief F1 program of the 80's, and served as the basis for the engine of the winningest touring car of the 80's/early 90's and my all-time favorite car, the E30 M3, I nominate the BMW M10/S14.

 

[YSSMAN]

Well, I can't hide my American bias here. I had to vote for the Harley V-Twin, as it is still the engine that makes my heart melt every time I hear it. Of course, a high-rev Honda or Yahmaha engine does just as well in most circumstances, that American thunder just can't be matched, IMO.

---

As for best four-cylinder engine, my bias kinda shines though once again. Given that I am indeed a Volkswagen guy (second only to the General), I must throw their various 1.8L designs into the ring. Granted there have been many variations of the engine over the years, a personal favorite being the old 1.8L 16V from the GTI and GLI, I have to choose a newer version;

The 1.8T 20V and all of it's various models as used by Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, and even SEAT. The AWM/AEB/ATW engines, although not nearly as popular as other four cylinders from Honda and Toyota, played a large part in making VW-power mean something once again. Granted the "base" 150 BHP version wasn't necessiarily something to rant and rave about, you have to hand it to Volkswagen for building an engine that was powerful enough to make the rather heavy MKIV models seem "quick," and keeping them rather efficent as well.

Between the 150 and 180 BHP versions, their greatest contribution to Volkswagen was how adaptable they were. More often than not, it was pretty easy to squeeze 200+BHP out of the engines (this includes the 150 BHP version) with simple add-ons such as a cold-air intake, free-flow exhaust, and a boost control unit. Although the "ultimate" 1.8T eventually came from Audi with their special version built for the TT, the "bread-and-butter" 180 BHP version remains to be a VW-fan favorite to this day.

Granted, the 1.6 TSI and 2.0 FSI are argueably better engines by days end, but the impact of the AWM/AEB/ATW engines is still being felt, and all did a great job of making VW a popular company with the import crowd once again.

 

[niky]

I'd nominate, but both my votes are taken... the SR20 and the M10.

And since this is on opinions of best 4 cylinder and not most influential, my vote isn't going to Honda or VW this time...

 

[Jim Prower]

Wow. So many Honda mills. Could that be good...or bad? Could it spile Honda's vote? only time will tell....

And the H-D's winning. for such a bashed engine, it's winning.

Notice: I WILL NOT be here for the closing of the polls, so the voting for the 4-cyl class will start on TUESDAY. I've decided to extend the nominations until then.

EDIT: Withdrew Nomination.

 

[TheCracker]

Since Porsche's 944 engine and BMW's 1600/2002> (M10?) engine already have nominations i'll put forward:



The Ford/Lotus Twincam - powered the Lotus Cortinas and Elans and many, many 1600 racing sportscars and single seaters.

The Ford/Cosworth BDA - similar to above but made Cosworth the powerhouse in race engines it became.

 

[KSaiyu]

lol I was just going to nominate the Twin-cam. So good the MX-5 engineers tried to copy the look of the engine all those years after.

 

[TopHat]

The Ford 23 Duratec /

Beat you to it....

Ford Duratec 23 (still american and mundane but i like it)

 

[Max_DC]

I'd nominate, but both my votes are taken... the SR20 and the M10.

And since this is on opinions of best 4 cylinder and not most influential, my vote isn't going to Honda or VW this time...

Sorry, but the S2000 engine is the most powerful 2litre engine ( stock ), you can't deny that Honda has some of the best 4 cylinder engines around...
but ok, what is the defintion of good ? oh well...

Oh and I also nominate the Subaru EJ20/25(?)

 

[humbo]

The new VW 2.0TFSI. Direct petrol injection plus turbocharging for excellent fuel economy and amazing low end torque.

 

[YSSMAN]

^ Certainly so!

...If I knew more about the new 2.0L TDI that will be hitting the shores here in the US sometime next year, I'm sure I would nominate that...

 

[neanderthal]

theres a lot of great four cylinder engines, and my two favorites, the M10 BMW unit and the SR20 in its various guises have already been elected.

ive two wrinkles to add to this nomination thread, the nissan SR16VET is a killa little engine. it punches way above its weight but is a little low on torque. but then again, what can you expect from a 1.6 liter engine.

and the new VAG twin charged 1.4 liter super and turbocharged FSI engine that makes the power of a warm 2 liter engine and drinks like a thrifty 1.1 liter engine. that, ladies and gentlemen, (and sheep and garden gnomes) is an engine worthy of a nomination.

final vote BMW M10 and SR20 and twin charge and SR16. i cant decide.

 

[red70mach1]

I nominate the Toyota 22R/20R from the truck line. This powered the trucks from 79-94 in the US. Many examples have as many as 370,000 miles or more.

 

[niky]

Sorry, but the S2000 engine is the most powerful 2litre engine ( stock ), you can't deny that Honda has some of the best 4 cylinder engines around...
but ok, what is the defintion of good ? oh well...

Oh and I also nominate the Subaru EJ20/25(?)

But that's the trouble... it's an opinion poll on what's best four pot.

If we were to go by the "most powerful 2 liter four pot production lumps", then the S2000 and Mitsubishi Evo would get the nods. If it were "most influential" four-pot, maybe the VW/Porsche flat-four...

As it is, since, as you say, it's hard to define good or best, we're pretty free to vote for anything.

 

[Poverty]

The new VW 2.0TFSI. Direct petrol injection plus turbocharging for excellent fuel economy and amazing low end torque.

It debuted in an audi first I think, but im not too sure on that. But also because its in several different VAG products and brands with differing outputs we should call it the VAG 2.0T FSI so we dont have multiple nominations for what is near enouh the same engine. (ie leon cupra version has 240hp and the S3 has 265hp)

I would like to nominate the VAG 2.0TDI. Super powerful diesel, 170hp, bootloads of torque, with a most beautiful powercurve.

There are other diesels out there that look more impressive on paper when only looking at HP and torque levels, but they lack with the constant torque availability range of the VAG unit, making heavier VAG cars that one would assume would be slower than their lighter, more powerful competition actually faster.

Also both of those engines release massive powerboosts after chipping. Its not odd to see 230hp from a chipped 2.0TDI with over 300lbft of torque and still excellent economy.

I would also like to nominate the VAG 1.4 TwinCharge engine.

 

[neanderthal]

i think most of the votes for the ducati and harley motors (especially) are based on the lore and legend of the whole machine rather than the merits of the actual engines.

oh well. whats new. thats what always happens.

 

[JNasty4G63]

i think most of the votes for the ducati and harley motors (especially) are based on the lore and legend of the whole machine rather than the merits of the actual engines.

So, what, we should have voted like you did because that is the "right" way to do it??? Excuse us for having a different opinion. Yes, I am a Ducati fan. My wife and I both ride one. But, regardless of that fact, I think the original Ducati Desmo engine is one of the great v-twins of all time, thus my vote. There are lots of great engines, but I like that one most.

Hilg

 

[neanderthal]

mighty defensive arent we? i think you protesteth too much. i wonder why? perhaps coz theres truth in what i said.

anyway, where did i say you should have voted like me? and where did i say you werent entitled to you own opinion?

theres nothing wrong with being a ducati fan. or a harley fan. or a husqavarna fan. the problem is that the poll is for the engine, not the whole bike. i see precious little rational from the voters that indicates that they know anything about the actual engines they are voting for. and that was the lament. and here you are crying foul. for what?

 

[Tornado]

i think most of the votes for the ducati and harley motors (especially) are based on the lore and legend of the whole machine rather than the merits of the actual engines.

oh well. whats new. thats what always happens.

So, oh mighty one, tell us the engine whose actual merits are destined to blow the rest away. And don't pull any crap about the Ducati, because I voted for the Citroen 2CV boxer.

 

[JNasty4G63]

mighty defensive arent we?

Well, all I did was validate why I voted the way I did when that vote was questioned. Not complain about a choice other than mine having more votes. Sorry that came across as "defensive" or whatever. But, when you complain that some of the choices have more votes than YOU think they should be getting, that comes across like you know more, and everyone else is making bad choices. Even though its all just an opinion anyway.

Hilg

 

[neanderthal]

i think i validated my choices soundly. pun intended.

ill give and example of whats wrong with this poll; i dont think the sound an engine makes is enough to get it nominated, or voted for. the poll is for best engine, not best engine sound.
same as picking an engine because its in a great bike. see?


its like saying burger king makes the best burgers because of the lettuce they use. not quite what we are going for. and thats my beef. my beef isnt with people who have given a rational or even irrational reason why the engine they voted for/ nominated is included, but for the sheep whose sole rationale is something like "the hayabusa is the fastest bike so it has the best engine." not that anyone has said that, but you get the idea.

 

[JNasty4G63]

i dont think the sound an engine makes is enough to get it nominated, or voted for. the poll is for best engine, not best engine sound.....same as picking an engine because its in a great bike. see?

But see, best to you is quite different than best to other people. Its a very subjective measure. Now, if this poll was for the "Most technologically advanced and influential" engine ever, you might have something. But, it doesn't say that, so you aren't correct. Its just for "Best 1&2 cyl engines". If sound is something you enjoy most, then pick one that sounds great to you. If technical prowess is what you like, as you apparently do, then pick one that is tops in tech. There is no right answer to an opinion.

its like saying burger king makes the best burgers because of the lettuce they use. not quite what we are going for. and thats my beef.

Yea, you're right. Everything tastes the exact same. What was I thinking?? Um...no, not quite.

Hilg