Which motor means the most to import tuning? (Weekl

  • Thread starter High-Test
  • 59 comments
  • 2,503 views

Which has done the most for the import tuning industry?

  • Honda A series

    Votes: 1 3.2%

  • Honda B series

    Votes: 9 29.0%

  • Honda E series

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Honda H series

    Votes: 3 9.7%

  • Honda J series

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Nissan SR

    Votes: 4 12.9%

  • Nissan KA

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Nissan RB series

    Votes: 6 19.4%

  • Toyota Z series 4 cyls.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Toyota JZ series

    Votes: 3 9.7%

  • Toyota UZ series

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Mitsubishi 4G63 (T)

    Votes: 3 9.7%

  • Datsun L series, because I'm [I]that[/I] cool

    Votes: 1 3.2%

  • Subaru Flat 4

    Votes: 1 3.2%

  • GM Ecotec

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    31
  • Poll closed .
Wait a minute, I forgot to add the VW flat four! Think about it, It was the first successful import here, and people could tune the heck out of them for a resonable price. Gil has mentioned several times how easy they are to tear down, and many parts are interchangeable from different sized blocks.

If you think about it, none of this would be possible if the Beetle hadn't invaded the US and Elsewhere.
 
High-Test
Wait a minute, I forgot to add the VW flat four! Think about it, It was the first successful import here, and people could tune the heck out of them for a resonable price. Gil has mentioned several times how easy they are to tear down, and many parts are interchangeable from different sized blocks.

If you think about it, none of this would be possible if the Beetle hadn't invaded the US and Elsewhere.
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+Rep for that! 👍

I had completely forgotten about the VW flat four, one of the most mass produced engines ever. Just a month ago I had watched a show on them explaining how people in the US have been modifying them for everything from drag racing to offroad racing since the day they first hit US soil. Definitly deserves to be near the top of the list for greatest engines in the tuning world.
 
I should have thought more before making this thread.. :lol:

The VW four has powered airplanes, dune buggies, military vehicles, and did some amazing things in racing. I believe that the VW had a reign of dominance for a while in the mexican panamericana, but I could be mistaken.

So In my opinion, the single most influential is without a doubt the VW flat four. One could make an argument for the Datsun L series, but the 240Zs and 510s didn't have the presence that the VW did, and the VW actually made it inland in significant numbers.

thanks for the rep, I appreciate it. :)

I can see where you're going with that. Do you mean the VQ30 that many people are dropping into 510s, or the much more expensive VQ35DE? If you mean the VQ35, I think it's a bit too expensive to be accessible to most tuners.
 
The VQ is a great motor, for sure, but not as universal as the lower end Nissan motors.

----

While the 200SX may not have been sold in huge numbers, the SR20 itself is everywhere. It's in Sunny-Lucinos, US Sentras (both SE-R and non), non-US Altimas, Primeras, X-Trails, etcetera. While the SR20 in application was at its best in RWD (200SX) and AWD (Pulsar GTiR... sad they never produced this in LHD, X-Trail... though the mainstream models only use QRs), the abundance of SR20's of varying tunes, aspiration types and orientations makes it an easy motor to find and tune... and all of these variants have the same stout and light all-aluminum block and head.

Remember, the question isn't just quality, it's also quantity. That's why I picked the B-block, despite being a Nissan fan.

-----

Damn, I never thought about that flat-four! While it may not mean much to the current "import" culture, that engine almost single-handedly propped up the movie car / kit car / ricer ( :lol: ) / budget racer industry for decades!

It was in many movie cars, being simple and easy to install... and powered many B-movie future cars. It's a great kit motor (and chassis), too. I'd bet there are still more modified bugs out there than anything else... even Civics.

And as an open-wheeled racer, was there anything cheaper or more awesome than the Formula Vs? I think you have something there, High Test. 👍
 
...I suppose I never really considered the ol' flat four, I was worried more about the modern VW powerplants. Now I feel pretty stupid for being a VAG guy...
 
I'm not one who knows much about the Formula Vee, weren't they really cheap F1 like cars powered by four cylinders?


@niky: Wow, the SR20 is a lot more common than I thought! It's a great motor, Wheter it's the mighty DET or a more tame version found in a sentra. I can see why the B series has gotten so many votes, it's pretty much the most common Honda engine out there, and it's got an entire niche industry to support it alone.


@GTP members: I'd like to come out and thank you all for not turning this and the last thread into a flame war. I was worried from the response I got when I had the idea, as it seemed that many feared it would be a flame war. We can have civilized "this engine vs that engine" discussions!
 
There seems to be another engine everyone has been forgeting, including myslef until last night.

The Mazda Rotary engine (10a, 12a, 13b, 20b), I know its been a import tuning engine well before engines like SR20, 4G63's, Vtecs etc. Very popular drag racing engine in Australia and New Zealand, and many great track Rx7's with them.
 
*slaps self with a Herring* How did I forget the rotary?! :dunce: :dopey: It's almost as old as the Datsun L series, isn't it?
 
High-Test
*slaps self with a Herring* How did I forget the rotary?! :dunce: :dopey: It's almost as old as the Datsun L series, isn't it?
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Well the Mazda Rotary first appeared in the Cosmo (L10a) which was 1968 (I think, didn't confirm ) and after checking Wiki it appears the first L series came in 1968 aswell. :D
 
YSSMAN
...Okay, I'm going to wait to vote, as my choise is not up there:

As a Eurotuner snob like me, the Volkswagen AWM/AEB/ATW otherwise known as the 1.8T is my choise. Simply put, this is the engine to have in the Eurotuner world, and it has proven itself against the VR6 time and time again. All of the different variations, those being 150/180/200 BHP, served very well in the models they were used in, all of which can be modded very easily to make power figures well north of 200 BHP for very little money.
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for once lol i agree with you.the 1.8 20VT is one of the great tuner engines.
comes in 150/180/210 and 225 versions,difference being 150/180's use a KO3 turbo and a single SMIC and 210/225's use twin SMIC and a K04 turbo.

simple remap will see 215/220 on the 150/180's and anywhere between 260-300 on the 210/225 motors.stock internals can take up to around 350bhp to be driven daily safely.plenty of 400+ skodas and seats out there 👍
 
There's no doubt bout that question:
38549170-1.jpg
 
NismoR34Ztune
how can i stop when i not began......and eh....of course it does.....of course....
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yep :D RB26 can only take up to around 850BHP on stock internals,2JZ can take over 1000bhp on stock internals,also the most powerfulest RB26 is around 1600 @fly were as there is several 2JZ running over 1500@ the rear wheels ;)
 
...Why is it always "stock internals" this, "stock internals" that. A good number of engines can take plenty of add-ons with "stock internals," but I cannot guarantee that they will stay running too long...
 
YSSMAN
...Why is it always "stock internals" this, "stock internals" that. A good number of engines can take plenty of add-ons with "stock internals," but I cannot guarantee that they will stay running too long...
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Well I suppose stock internals numbers mean something to people because they can run big and reliable horsepower numbers for many years with care. 2JZs and RB26s can run up to 4-500whp without expensive internal modification and still maintain driveability and retain reliablity for many years, something that many engines cannot do.

Speaking of big numbers from internally stock motors, FJ20ET!

I don't know much about it, it was used at first as a racing engine but it was detuned for road use but retained the massive strength of the race block. I've read about them making reliable 350whp with fairly simple mods, a nice acheivement for a 2L 4 cylinder.
 
YSSMAN
...Why is it always "stock internals" this, "stock internals" that. A good number of engines can take plenty of add-ons with "stock internals," but I cannot guarantee that they will stay running too long...
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not true :) marc's 1520RWHP supra was daily driven,so was this guy from chircargo(sp) who had the record for the most powerful stock internal supra,that was daily driven too :)
 
So I take it that when I have a 1000 WHP Corvette, thats no big deal, because it isnt a Supra with a straight-six...?
 
Its no doubt the 2JZ can handle a huge deal of power, great for import drag engines. The RB26 can take a huge amount itself (1000+ no sweat) but it was designed for track use and high revving endurance. Im curious how much power a sliced RB30DETT could make with the extra 38mm deck height but I have never seen anyone go for outright power with this setup.


YSSMAN any car with a 1000WHP is a big deal. 👍


Revheadnz
Speaking of big numbers from internally stock motors, FJ20ET!

I don't know much about it, it was used at first as a racing engine but it was detuned for road use but retained the massive strength of the race block. I've read about them making reliable 350whp with fairly simple mods, a nice acheivement for a 2L 4 cylinder.
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Ah yes who could forget the FJ20, was a very popular engine over here for swaps into Datsuns before SR20's became so popular. Nismo did sell a 2.4 stroker kit for the FJ20, the same stroker that the race engines had, very rare.

Yes they have strong stock internals but the biggest problems is they don't have standard rev limiters and when you came on boost hard and wheelspin it could over rev really easy and damage the engine. Another common problem was with the sump and oil pickup, a small dent (from a rock or something) in the right place caused the oil pickup to become blocked and starve the engine of oil causing damage.

CA18DET is another tuner engine that could be included in the discussions but is often just overlooked due to the SR20DET.
 
While I'm a rotary lover myself, I don't think it's a contender. I think, to really take the prize, the motor has to be in some way influential, like the way the SR kicked off the 200+hp four craze. While the Rotaries are awesome motors, they've never really left the Mazda brand, and they've always remained a very narrow niche application.

I think the ACVW four probably should take the prize. It nearly singlehandedly created the four-cylinder and compact car tuning markets, starting to be heavily tuned in an age where people were focusing almost all the attention of the large V8 motors. Additionally, the VW motor found its way, highly tuned of course, into the back of the first Porsches, and therefore can be regarded as the direct ancestor of today's boxer Porsche motors, as well as being the inspiration for the Subaru 360's powerplant, which developed into the modern EJ-series Subaru motors.

And the less-direct, but still major, ripples that led to the introduction of the four-cylinder import tuning market can't be disregarded, either.
 
BMWs M10 engine, debuted in the mid 60s as a 1.5 liter engine powering their "neue klasse" sedans. most commonly sold in the BMW 2002 making about 100hp. also had a fuel injected 130hp version in the BMW 2002tii (in 1971, way before the GTi) while tuners like alpina and schnitzer could coax out an additional 20 hp to get about 150.

bmws own 2002ti models could achieve 130hp simply with twin carbs, a slightly higher compression ratio, hotter cam, and different exhaust manifold. the tii model listed above had fuel injection and a tamer cam.

this is also the engine that BMW used in turbocharged form to power thier formula one cars to over 1200hp.

the engine was the basis of the BMW inline six cylinder engines, a layout which it still uses to this day. the four cylinder engines were produced until 1982. thats 20 years of production. the last car to use and engine directly related to the original M10 was the 1989 BMW 735i. so it had a 27 year long productive life.


of the japanese motors

nissan SR hands down.

what other four cylinder powerplant can make 500hp prett easily and survive?
comes in crazy turbo applications and screaming VVT versions.

front, rear and all wheel drive..

and everywhere you look in various models of nissans.

the B series might have kickstarted the whole shebang into overdrive here in the states, but the SR is the king of import engines.
 
Right now, used RB's in the Asian region are available for not much more than SR's or B's. But they're still not the kind of motor your average backyard tuner can get his hands on... not to say that those kids don't have posters of it up on their wall. :lol:

I'm starting to see a lot of RB25DETs and the occassional RB26DETT making their way around here, and ours is a notoriously poor market for import engines.

@neanderthal: What other 2 liter? The 4G63T and FJ20 come to mind, with 600hp possible, but I'm an SR fan myself... :D ...heck, if I could swap out this crappy Mazda motor for an old SR, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

----

Still, my official vote is firmly with the VW flat-four. :lol:
 
Holdenhsvgtsr
not true :) marc's 1520RWHP supra was daily driven,so was this guy from chircargo(sp) who had the record for the most powerful stock internal supra,that was daily driven too :)
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Do you have any articles on these cars? I would be intrested in reading how someone daily drives a 1500whp car.

My only thinking is that the turbo lag is so rediculous that there is very little power down low so it's not spinning the tires much.

YSSMAN: When you get a 1000hp Vette can I get a ride? I will try not to make a mess of your front seat. I just want to know what a 1000hp sounds like from the cockpit.
 
IMADreamer
Do you have any articles on these cars? I would be intrested in reading how someone daily drives a 1500whp car.

My only thinking is that the turbo lag is so rediculous that there is very little power down low so it's not spinning the tires much.
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just turn the boost down :)
his car was up for sale a while ago but i dont think he did sell it in the end
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4574824399

and theres plenty of 1000+bhp vettes and vipers about out there being used as daily drivers (hennessy and lingenfelter come to mind)
 
Holdenhsvgtsr
just turn the boost down :)
his car was up for sale a while ago but i dont think he did sell it in the end
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4574824399

and theres plenty of 1000+bhp vettes and vipers about out there being used as daily drivers (hennessy and lingenfelter come to mind)
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Just going through this, how is it a 1500 hp daily driver if you've turned the boost down? There is a bit of a difference between having the 1500 horse only at the dragstrip and trying to live with that kind of power on a daily basis. Also, the ad states it's been used as a daily driver several times. How exactly does that work? It's either a daily driver or it's not.

And as a (part-time - just driving the old mans GTB wagon since mine got the old pole treatment) Subaru person, I'd throw the EJ20 into the 2 litre mix as well. Too bad about the mega-fragile gearboxes though.
 

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