Best engine

[Appie]

The Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren

and the Ford GT40

 

[TwinTurboJay]

The chevy block they had in the 1967/68 L88 Corvette was a MONSTER.....
Also love the porsche 911 turbo's in the 90's while they were still air cooled...the liquid cooling changed the burble a bit...

 

[jammyozzy]

One of my faves has to be the Rover V8. It's been in so many cars over the years it's become a legend.

Speaking of legends, from my experience with Grand Prix Legends, Honda's RA273/300 engine sounds amazing.

 

[ED209]

Surely the Pinto has to be up there, it gave birth to the Cosworth lump, that before skylines were making 1000bhp, in the late 80's people were getting 600bhp out of an engine thats origins were already 20 years old! Its still going strong in many a Mk1/2 Escort in rallys around Europe! Which for a 2 litre in line 4 isn't bad.

 

[skip0110]

Surely the Pinto has to be up there, it gave birth to the Cosworth lump, that before skylines were making 1000bhp, in the late 80's people were getting 600bhp out of an engine thats origins were already 20 years old! Its still going strong in many a Mk1/2 Escort in rallys around Europe! Which for a 2 litre in line 4 isn't bad.

Is the Pinto engine related to the 2.3 Turbo 4 that we saw in the US in Mustang SVOs, Thunderbird Turbo Coupes, and Merkur XR4Ti's?

 

[STLbarcelona5]

Even MARCOS put a Chevy small block V8 into the new TSO.

 

[YSSMAN]

Are vintage aircraft engines included?

If so: Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 from the infamous RAF Spitfire fighterplanes from WWII... I know Jay Leno installed one in one of his Rolls Royces...

 

[TheCracker]

Surely the Pinto has to be up there, it gave birth to the Cosworth lump, that before skylines were making 1000bhp, in the late 80's people were getting 600bhp out of an engine thats origins were already 20 years old! Its still going strong in many a Mk1/2 Escort in rallys around Europe! Which for a 2 litre in line 4 isn't bad.

Found a interesting history on this engines lineage:
http://www.team.net/www/morgan/history/kenteng.html

My dad raced a MK1 Escort in the early 60's with a FVC engine, it was 1.9 and produced around 270+bhp! with mechanical fuel injection. It was a hell of an engine, but then it would be being half a DFV.

 

[ferrari_chris]

I'm going to have to say the 350 Chev.

It's been around for ages, has powered too many vehicles to list and is very popular for an engine swap.

Due to its popularity it's a cynch to get parts for and large amounts of power can be coaxed from it. Name a car and someone, somewhere has more than likely stuffed a 350 into it!

I've seen a 350 powered Mini!

I rate the VW air-cooled four - purely because it's been in production so long.

The high revving ones are also good, like Honda's NA S2000 engine. The HP/litre is impressive. I thought it was eclipsed by the latest M3 though? Isn't that 3.2litre with 400HP?

Anyway, the 350 Chev for me.

 

[Poverty]

The E46 M3's engine as won more awards than any other engine in the world. Truley a great feat.

 

[High-Test]

Hey, the Ultima GTR is chevy smallblock powered. (Atleast, that's what I read.)

 

[toyomatt84]

Yahoo, I'm still the only Nissan Inline supporter here. Awesome, that means more for me!

 

[ferrari_chris]

Yahoo, I'm still the only Nissan Inline supporter here. Awesome, that means more for me!

The RB26 is a good engine - well known for it's strong bottom end and able to run a lot more power without having to beef it up.

The one to get though is the N1 block. (I think that's the name.) It's the motorsport version they made, and is even stronger and lighter than the standard RB26. People have run big numbers on stock internals of the N1. I think they only made 300 N1's, so your chances of getting one are non-existant.

Still got to back the 350ci though. Strap twin turbos to it and it'll make more power than your RB, easy!

 

[YSSMAN]

A good case for the Chevrolet 350: The 2006 Mosler MT900S

-600 HP Supercharged 5.7L LS6
-2539lb curb weight
- 4.2lbs per horsepower
- 0-60MPH in 3.1 seconds (with a 2nd gear start, too much wheelspin in 1st)
- 0-100MPH in 6.5 seconds
- 1/4 Mile in 11.0 seconds @ 135MPH
- Top Speed: 179MPH
- 70-0 in 149 ft
- 1.08g on the 200-ft skidpad
- 17MPG city, 25MPG highway
- $190,500 base price, S/C model with racing clutch $211,300.

Not bad for a Corvette-powered Supercar that can outgun the best from Europe for a bit less cash. Funny, it even beats the Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo in most tests (except the quarter, loses by .1 second in the 1/4 mile). Its also the fastest and best handling production car Car and Driver has ever tested, so thats a pretty amazing feat for such a small car company. I can't wait to see what the production MT900 Photon will be doing...

 

[GT4_Rule]

Yeah, I agree. The Chevy 350 Engines probably the most popular engine out there to swap with; just look at its power in stock config! Add twin turbo or supercharger (can you?) and it would rule the road for sure.

Don't forget the 7.0L twin-turbocharged V8 in the Saleen S7 Turbo; with 700hp its pretty awesome! I love the 6.0L LS2 engine too though.

Just out of the blue, what factors determine whether if the engine can be supercharged or turbocharged? Always wondered what determines it.

 

[ferrari_chris]

... Just out of the blue, what factors determine whether if the engine can be supercharged or turbocharged? Always wondered what determines it.

Your imagination, determination, technical expertise and amount of ready cash.

All engines work the same way (rotaries aside). A turbo or supercharger can be bolted to any engine with the correct manifold. Some of these are readily available. If you're a pioneer then you may have to make a custom, one-off manifold to mount the turbo/supercharger on. This is where it gets tricky and expensive. Understandably, it's just easier to get a more common turbo engine than try and 're-invent the wheel' if you will. But there are no rules as to why a turbo/supercharger can or cannot be added.

Obviously, there's more to it than just mounting the thing - compression will need to be lowered and fuel supply cranked up - but there are no hard and fast rules that say an engine can or can't have forced induction.

EDIT - To add more, there's no reason why an engine can have a turbocharger and not a supercharger. It comes down more to a tradition thing. Hot-rod/street-machine tuners with big cube engines will tend to go with superchargers because that's the 'done' thing in there circle. Small capacity, import engine tuners tend to go with turbochargers because that's the 'done' thing in their circle.

Obviously there are differences in performance in running a turbocharger vs. a supercharger, but that's another topic altogether.

Finally, just to prove that anything is possible, there are many instances available of engines that have both a supercharger and a turbocharger fitted.

 

[GT4_Rule]

Cool ;-)

I see...

So there is not something like a "pre-set rule" for engine's forced induction, right? And it sometimes comes down to traditions - like what you mentioned; street-rodders tend to supercharge.

Another new fact learned today!

 

[TheCracker]

A good case for the Chevrolet 350: The 2006 Mosler MT900S

-600 HP Supercharged 5.7L LS6
-2539lb curb weight
- 4.2lbs per horsepower
- 0-60MPH in 3.1 seconds (with a 2nd gear start, too much wheelspin in 1st)
- 0-100MPH in 6.5 seconds
- 1/4 Mile in 11.0 seconds @ 135MPH
- Top Speed: 179MPH
- 70-0 in 149 ft
- 1.08g on the 200-ft skidpad
- 17MPG city, 25MPG highway
- $190,500 base price, S/C model with racing clutch $211,300.

Not bad for a Corvette-powered Supercar that can outgun the best from Europe for a bit less cash. Funny, it even beats the Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo in most tests (except the quarter, loses by .1 second in the 1/4 mile).

Not quite as impresive as Ultima's 'vette-powered' effort - the Ultima GTR 640

- N/A 640bhp 6.3L
- 980kgs
- 0-60 in 2.7 seconds
- 0-100 in 5.5 seconds
- 0-150 in 11.8 seconds
- 0-100-0 in 9.8 seconds
- 1/4mile in 10.5 @ 140mph
- Top speed: 231mph
- 1.176g on a 200-ft skidpan
- £68,000

 

[ED209]

Is the Pinto engine related to the 2.3 Turbo 4 that we saw in the US in Mustang SVOs, Thunderbird Turbo Coupes, and Merkur XR4Ti's?

I don't know for sure but the Merkur was a rebrand of the Sierra as it was called in Europe, and that used the Pinto so could well be.

 

[Jim Prower]

Here are my faves, by # of Cyl.

2-Harley-Davidson V-twin: Nothing like a big Harley Twin in this class of engines. that "blappity-blappity" sound is unmistakeable, and though it's not a fast engine, it has this aura about it.

4-Volkswagen 1600 "Dual Port": this little air cooled engine is perhaps the most tunable in the universe. you can make it a drag motor, a Togue engine, or just leave it be to putter along at sub-highway speeds. an almost infinite range of parts availiable. and, when tuned, it sounds like a 7/8ths-scale early Porsche.

6-Nissan RB26DETT: It's the Skyline motor, it sounds kick-butt, and it can make tons of power out of a tenth of a liter more than the Sentra SE-R's four!

8-Chrysler "RB" 426 Hemi: Flows like a Twincam. Has pushrods like a Wedge. It rumbles the car, shakes the ground, screams like a Banshee, and was availiable in the most beautiful car of 1969, the Charger R/T. and now you can get one from Mopar, brand new, with 460hp-and you don't even have to tune it. truly sweeeet.

10-Viper V-10: Because it doesn't sound like half a Formula 1 car (BMW M-V10...) and it's freaking huge. true automotive excess.

12-Ferrari 250 (Testerrosa, GTO) V-12: what a marvelous sound! and only 2.5 Liters to boot! amazing what Ferrari could do!

16-Chrysler Inverted-V16 aircraft Hemi: Shame this didn't make it to production befor the war ended. it would've been legendary. and such glorious noise it would've made!

Disclaimer: the preceding is purely the opinion of Jim Prower and does not represent the employees of GTPlanet, it's members, or their families.

 

[Layla's Keeper]

Well, I agree that the world's finest engine was produced by Ferrari, but I disagree that it was the Colombo OR Lampredi V12.

Whilst the big V12's get the glory, the respect, and the prestige that they truly deserve, there was another engine that garnered Il Commendatore just as much success on track (and off).

I'm referring to the 1.5/2.0/2.4L "Dino" DOHC V6 that powered two World Champions.....

1958 - Mike Hawthorn, 246F1 Dino

1961 - Phil Hill, 156F1 "Sharknose"

several significant sportscar prototypes and roadsters including the 246S

and 206/246SP "Dino"

the glorious 246GT Dino sports car,

and the seventies' single most dominant rally car, the Lancia Stratos.

One engine, several cars, multiple world championships, and one of the sweetest notes ever to escape a muffler, like Alain DeCadenet says "Never pass up a chance to drive one of the little Dinos".

 

[Driftster]

A good case for the Chevrolet 350: The 2006 Mosler MT900S

-600 HP Supercharged 5.7L LS6
-2539lb curb weight
- 4.2lbs per horsepower
- 0-60MPH in 3.1 seconds (with a 2nd gear start, too much wheelspin in 1st)
- 0-100MPH in 6.5 seconds
- 1/4 Mile in 11.0 seconds @ 135MPH
- Top Speed: 179MPH
- 70-0 in 149 ft
- 1.08g on the 200-ft skidpad
- 17MPG city, 25MPG highway
- $190,500 base price, S/C model with racing clutch $211,300.

Great...except that's not a 350..it's a 346

as for the ultima GTR..judging by their site, their "350" was a 377...

BTW...Does anyone know if you have to get an ultima Carburated?

 

[skip0110]

Great...except that's not a 350..it's a 346

as for the ultima GTR..judging by their site, their "350" was a 377...

When people say "350" what they usually mean is "small block chevy".

 

[Driftster]

Well then "small block chevy" isn't really the best engine..because that encompases like...15-20 different varients....Which doesn't really make sense.

 

[Wolfe]

not quite. all correct until the last 2nd paragraph.

the M10 engine was the genesis of the "big six" 6 cylinder models that BMW put out in the mid sixties. all they did was add two cylinders. the M10 last saw service in the E23 3 series which ended production in 1983.
but the M10 based six cylinder engines continued production until the 1989 735i

I haven't heard that before -- I do know that the original 6-cylinder engine was designed by Baron Alex von Falkenhausen, the man who designed the M10 -- but I wouldn't be surprised if it's true.

the S14 motor used in the E30 M3 was based on the 3.5 liter engines running in the M1, M5 and M6 cars of that period. it just had two cylinders less.
technically you are incorrect, but since the engine was based on the M10 you arent. its hair splitting i know, but i thouht id throw it in there.
you know your BMW stuff it seems.

Sorry, but I think you're a bit mixed up. The S14 was an M10 block, but it used an M88/S38 (the engine that powered the M1, M5, and M6, as you said) head, minus two of the cylinders, in order to have 4 valves per cylinder.

In other words, the only part that was taken from the M88/S38 M1/M5/M6 engine was the cylinder head.

 

[McLaren]

Easy.

The big, bad Diablo V12.

 

[McLaren]

Not quite as impresive as Ultima's 'vette-powered' effort - the Ultima GTR 640

- N/A 640bhp 6.3L
- 980kgs
- 0-60 in 2.7 seconds
- 0-100 in 5.5 seconds
- 0-150 in 11.8 seconds
- 0-100-0 in 9.8 seconds
- 1/4mile in 10.5 @ 140mph
- Top speed: 231mph
- 1.176g on a 200-ft skidpan
- £68,000

The test for the MT900S top speed wasn't possible though assuming his info came from C/D. The runway they rented didn't allow the car to top out.

 

[YSSMAN]

Well then "small block chevy" isn't really the best engine..because that encompases like...15-20 different varients....Which doesn't really make sense.

What doesnt make sense about it? Generally, they all share the same baisic design, the only difference (generally) is the bore, stroke, and casting materials. In modern times, all of the LS engines are aluminum, while the LQ engines are iron. Take for example the LS2 and the LQ9. Both are 6.0L engines, share similar designs overall, but the LS2 is aluminum and the LQ9 is iron. One makes 400HP, the other 345HP.

...There isnt anything confusing about GM's small-block lineup. If you want confusing, look up the different variants of the I4s at Honda. Whats the difference between a B, H, K, etc. class engine?

 

[GT4_Rule]

What's the difference between small-block and big-block?

 

[YSSMAN]

The differences between a mouse (small-block) and a rat (big-block) mostly lie in the size of the engine, the differences in casting, different style of heads/valves, etc. They use the same baisic parts/pieces/design, but at the same time are very different. Mouse motors like to rev, while the big rats do not... That can usually be attibuted to the longer stroke and bigger heads. They were designed to make more HP and Torque across the board, not nearly as peaky as the mouse motors such as the 302 or 327.

The origional Rat engine was a 348 V8, or a 5.7L, baisicly the same size as the outgoing Gen-III Small-block LS1, LS6 engines. However, the most popular Rat engines were the 396 (and 402), 409, 427, and 454... For the most part they were all updates of eachother, espically with the evolution of the 409 to the 454. Many of the engines saw duty in Chevrolet's pickup trucks (not the 427), but also served duty in NASCAR, NHRA, and other street racing SS models.

Although GM has pretty much gone to building the small-block only, the Vortec 8100 is a highly modified version of the old 454 that went out of service in the early 1990s. Yes, that is the same 454 design that dated back to 1970's NASCAR and pickup truck designs... Just goes to show how good just one design can be...