The Real Reason New Cars Have 4 Cylinder Engines
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Date: 2019-05-28
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Comments and reviews: 9
63DW89A
Four cylinder engines may be rough and unsophisticated, but in fast torque rise and long power band, the 4-cylinder is tops. Offenhauser 4 cylinder engines dominated Indy racing for FIVE DECADES, until rulebooked out of racing in the late 1970s. The Offenhauser (Normally aspirated 270/255 CID the first 40 years) ran head to head against V8s, jet turbines, formula one, etc and on a level playing field, simply could not be beaten. European teams refused to come to the Indy circuit while the Offy was running, and that is why the Offy was rulebooked out of competition. In the final 10 years, in its final form, the 2. 6L(159 CID) Offy-turbo could reliably run at 1250+ HP, was dynoed at 1400+, and is the most powerful engine ever run on the Indy Circuit. Incredibly, the Offy-turbo made that power without an intercooler, without electronic fuel injection, or electronic engine management. In the early 1970s Formula One drivers, accustomed to 500 HP cars, invited to run a few laps with an Offy-turbo powered car, called the engines Monsters and said the cars were too dangerous. Even today, you will sometimes hear an Indy driver refer to the days of the Monster Offenhausers.
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Four cylinder engines may be rough and unsophisticated, but in fast torque rise and long power band, the 4-cylinder is tops. Offenhauser 4 cylinder engines dominated Indy racing for FIVE DECADES, until rulebooked out of racing in the late 1970s. The Offenhauser (Normally aspirated 270/255 CID the first 40 years) ran head to head against V8s, jet turbines, formula one, etc and on a level playing field, simply could not be beaten. European teams refused to come to the Indy circuit while the Offy was running, and that is why the Offy was rulebooked out of competition. In the final 10 years, in its final form, the 2. 6L(159 CID) Offy-turbo could reliably run at 1250+ HP, was dynoed at 1400+, and is the most powerful engine ever run on the Indy Circuit. Incredibly, the Offy-turbo made that power without an intercooler, without electronic fuel injection, or electronic engine management. In the early 1970s Formula One drivers, accustomed to 500 HP cars, invited to run a few laps with an Offy-turbo powered car, called the engines Monsters and said the cars were too dangerous. Even today, you will sometimes hear an Indy driver refer to the days of the Monster Offenhausers.
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Roger Sheddy.
The planned self destruct on these four cylinder engines is like the way Northstar engines are made that go in Cadillacs. I was looking at buying a very pretty Cadillac that had a Northstar engine and something like 143, 000 miles but then I found out the spark plugs were not meant to be replaced and also that they were designed to last 111, 000 miles. So you see the difficulty I would have faced with the spark plugs alone. Then when it comes to replacing the engine it turns out that they changed this and then that and then the other thing from year to year so that no Northstar engines from the newer cars can go in the older cars or the other way around without major work to rig up parts that will interface properly. So I got a 2001 Buick that I had to put 600 more into just to make it run safe. and this was in a joint called spot-check Auto where the guy had his own inspection station. He had inspected the car just before putting it up for sale. Of course these guys always sell cars as is so you know there was no recourse.
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The planned self destruct on these four cylinder engines is like the way Northstar engines are made that go in Cadillacs. I was looking at buying a very pretty Cadillac that had a Northstar engine and something like 143, 000 miles but then I found out the spark plugs were not meant to be replaced and also that they were designed to last 111, 000 miles. So you see the difficulty I would have faced with the spark plugs alone. Then when it comes to replacing the engine it turns out that they changed this and then that and then the other thing from year to year so that no Northstar engines from the newer cars can go in the older cars or the other way around without major work to rig up parts that will interface properly. So I got a 2001 Buick that I had to put 600 more into just to make it run safe. and this was in a joint called spot-check Auto where the guy had his own inspection station. He had inspected the car just before putting it up for sale. Of course these guys always sell cars as is so you know there was no recourse.
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David Santiago
Caveat to your oil response that ties into your 4 cyl engine one: If you have a Direct Injection, turbo 4, use a good synthetic and check the certifications (get Dexos2 and SN plus) and use the severe maint. schedule in your manual (3-5k oil change intervals. With Fuel dilution, lowered flashpoint, LSPI and other issues prevalent on these types of engines, it is better to spend a little more than to risk your engine or trans. oh and with these engines coolant, oil and trans temps go up, so monitor these if you can, and if you find all your fluids spend alot of time in the low 200s, replace them using the severe schedule as well.
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Caveat to your oil response that ties into your 4 cyl engine one: If you have a Direct Injection, turbo 4, use a good synthetic and check the certifications (get Dexos2 and SN plus) and use the severe maint. schedule in your manual (3-5k oil change intervals. With Fuel dilution, lowered flashpoint, LSPI and other issues prevalent on these types of engines, it is better to spend a little more than to risk your engine or trans. oh and with these engines coolant, oil and trans temps go up, so monitor these if you can, and if you find all your fluids spend alot of time in the low 200s, replace them using the severe schedule as well.
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Tom Servo
Its the same thing thats happened with agricultural tractors-many are using turbo-charged 4-cylinder diesels and farmers arent liking them because of no low-end pulling power. (Plus a small to mid size newer tractor will run up to 200, 000) The older ones with inline 6-cylinder diesels that would run forever are holding their value for this reason. Plus the older ones with minimal electronics would last multiple generations on the farm and will still be doing an honest days work when the ones made today go to the scrap heap. Youre right-they dont want anything to last today.
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Its the same thing thats happened with agricultural tractors-many are using turbo-charged 4-cylinder diesels and farmers arent liking them because of no low-end pulling power. (Plus a small to mid size newer tractor will run up to 200, 000) The older ones with inline 6-cylinder diesels that would run forever are holding their value for this reason. Plus the older ones with minimal electronics would last multiple generations on the farm and will still be doing an honest days work when the ones made today go to the scrap heap. Youre right-they dont want anything to last today.
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MrSparklespring
We ve driven four cylinder engines for ages in Europe because of tax reasons (anything more or less above 2000cc is heavily taxed) and because our gas is much higher priced than it used to be in the US. I dont agree that -per definition- they wear out faster than a V8, especially when it is not turbo-boosted and high reving. I ve driven Peugeot/Renault cars most of my life and the petrol engines did easily 150. 000 miles without any problem or oil consumption. My brother drives Alfa Romeo with diesel (four cylinder) engines, easily 200. 000 miles without any problem
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We ve driven four cylinder engines for ages in Europe because of tax reasons (anything more or less above 2000cc is heavily taxed) and because our gas is much higher priced than it used to be in the US. I dont agree that -per definition- they wear out faster than a V8, especially when it is not turbo-boosted and high reving. I ve driven Peugeot/Renault cars most of my life and the petrol engines did easily 150. 000 miles without any problem or oil consumption. My brother drives Alfa Romeo with diesel (four cylinder) engines, easily 200. 000 miles without any problem
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Lily Pot
Hello Scotty, I have been watching your useful videos. They are very helpful especially a person like me who doesnt know that much about the mechanical side of a car. I would like to ask you, I bought a second hand used car(Nissan Qashqai 2007) a month and a half ago. The car frequently revs high. Especially, when I go on a 70mph it does 3500revs and on 80mph 4000 revs. The fuel consumption is high although the clutch is new. I got it checked by the (Nissan) dealer, they couldnt find any fault code. Do you have any idea what could be the reason for this? Thanks.
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Hello Scotty, I have been watching your useful videos. They are very helpful especially a person like me who doesnt know that much about the mechanical side of a car. I would like to ask you, I bought a second hand used car(Nissan Qashqai 2007) a month and a half ago. The car frequently revs high. Especially, when I go on a 70mph it does 3500revs and on 80mph 4000 revs. The fuel consumption is high although the clutch is new. I got it checked by the (Nissan) dealer, they couldnt find any fault code. Do you have any idea what could be the reason for this? Thanks.
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Amelia Lopez
Ive had many 4 cylinder engines and never had a problem maybe a lack of HP/tq but nowdays you got lots of option to make it fast, like all motor, boost. Just depend on how you like your set up I stay allmotor and engine last long for me. Never spun a rod or bearing either. I had a b18c1, b20v, d15b, d16z6, d16y8. And before I sold them they all ran good. I use to bang gears all-day and hit vtec all day only problem I had was the z6 it had a camshaft leak because the previous owner never fixed the car which had 300k miles but the VTEC was still working lol.
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Ive had many 4 cylinder engines and never had a problem maybe a lack of HP/tq but nowdays you got lots of option to make it fast, like all motor, boost. Just depend on how you like your set up I stay allmotor and engine last long for me. Never spun a rod or bearing either. I had a b18c1, b20v, d15b, d16z6, d16y8. And before I sold them they all ran good. I use to bang gears all-day and hit vtec all day only problem I had was the z6 it had a camshaft leak because the previous owner never fixed the car which had 300k miles but the VTEC was still working lol.
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Jude F.
Are you talking about four-cylinder engines or four-cylinder turbo-charged engines? You dont need a turbo to get 180 horsepower from a four-cylinder. And a standard four-cylinder doesnt have the extra wear on it that a turbo-charged one does. Also, you say cars are getting smaller. A new Subaru Imprezas pretty much the same size as my 2006 Legacy, and the new Legacys about six inches longer than the old one. Same phenomenon with Hondas, Toyotas, Mazdas, etc. Even with the bigger mid-size sedans, theyre using four-cylinder engines.
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Are you talking about four-cylinder engines or four-cylinder turbo-charged engines? You dont need a turbo to get 180 horsepower from a four-cylinder. And a standard four-cylinder doesnt have the extra wear on it that a turbo-charged one does. Also, you say cars are getting smaller. A new Subaru Imprezas pretty much the same size as my 2006 Legacy, and the new Legacys about six inches longer than the old one. Same phenomenon with Hondas, Toyotas, Mazdas, etc. Even with the bigger mid-size sedans, theyre using four-cylinder engines.
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Saud A. F.
The fact is that we do not hate 4-cylinder engines. They do have a niche market where a smoother running (and better) V6 engine would be impracticalFor instance, it would be impractical to install a V6 in a daily for City driving, or a riding lawn-mower. Id hate to expose a V6 engine to the mechanical stresses involved with stop-and-Go traffic encountered in City driving. Additionally, it would be a hassle to replace six (6) spark-plugs on your lawn mower while you are desperate to trim the over grown grass in your backyard.
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The fact is that we do not hate 4-cylinder engines. They do have a niche market where a smoother running (and better) V6 engine would be impracticalFor instance, it would be impractical to install a V6 in a daily for City driving, or a riding lawn-mower. Id hate to expose a V6 engine to the mechanical stresses involved with stop-and-Go traffic encountered in City driving. Additionally, it would be a hassle to replace six (6) spark-plugs on your lawn mower while you are desperate to trim the over grown grass in your backyard.
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