BEST engines.....
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Mercedes OM616/617 and 617 turbo, Toyota 1C, 2C, Accord V6, Lexus LS 400/420 V8, Nissan Patrol 4.2L in line 6, Toyota Supra inline Yamaha designed 3L six, Taurus SHO V6 Yamaha designed, Suzuki 1.3L are some of the few that come to my mind.
Best engines for what?
I will say I absolutely love the 2.5L turbo in my wife's Subaru Legacy GT with 250HP/250ft-lbs of torque. Its a "detuned" yet very civilized version of the Subaru STI's 300HP engine. It has won a few awards over in Europe's motoring press. It really put a smile on my face and my wife's driving it.
22RE??? I drove this for year in my parents 89 Toyota 4x4 PU. Reliable yes but besides that anemic and ran out of breath past mid range in RPM.
I will say I absolutely love the 2.5L turbo in my wife's Subaru Legacy GT with 250HP/250ft-lbs of torque. Its a "detuned" yet very civilized version of the Subaru STI's 300HP engine. It has won a few awards over in Europe's motoring press. It really put a smile on my face and my wife's driving it.
22RE??? I drove this for year in my parents 89 Toyota 4x4 PU. Reliable yes but besides that anemic and ran out of breath past mid range in RPM.
I would have to agree with some of the ones already mentioned. The mercedes diesels, cummins 5.9, fords inline 6 300, BMW's inline 6, the Volvo red blocks those things had so much nickel in them you cant destroy them, Jeeps 4.0, Notice one trend? They are all inline designs. Inlines will always be the best design.
I like the Toyota 1ZZFE and the GM L32(3800 Series III). The L32 has a lot of pickup and go.
jeep 4.0 engine
VQ35 in my 2002 Altima. Smooth, quiet, and powerful at any RPM. Had to replace the factory Turanzas at 12,000 miles due to my excitable right foot, and the presence of a 5-speed transmission. The ECU held this engine back at times and had to be re-flashed, but other than that it ran flawlessly.
Everyone bashes the GM 3.1 but my girlfriend's mom has one in a 94 Lumina APV van (those ugly dustbuster looking things) and it has 564,000km's on the original untouched 3.1. She always changes the oil herself with whatever is cheap and never uses synthetic. The last OCI was well over a year and probably about 15,000km's. It was blacker than #@$%! and she drives it half an hour to work every day. That was the TBI version with a 3 speed tranny.
As far as best engines it depends what the criteria is, the best I can think of for longevity is the 1984-1995 305ci version of the small block Chevy. It had less reciprocating mass than the 350ci while using many of the same bottom end parts such as crankshaft, main caps, etc. Also the 1980's versions had medium duty cylinder head castings while most of the other smogger SBC's of that time had light duty ones . End result being that a lot of 1980's 305's that got severely overheated and run with no coolant when a rad, hose or thermostat problem occured. Blown headgaskets were rare even after severe overheating.
Those 3.1s are the same as the 2.8s in the respect that when you get a good one, they're really good. A friend of mine in WY had a 1st generation Cavalier Z-24 with the 2.8 and I think he's still driving it. At last check, he'd only put an alternator in it. The digital dash is another story.
^Sorry meant to say the engines ran fine after overheating. In one case an 84 Caprice Wagon with 300,000km's on it had the thermostat fail on the highway and the coolant boiled out. The owner drove it several miles with no coolant since he didn't think he was gonna keep the car much longer anyways, pulled into a parking lot engine just knocking like crazy. Replaced the thermostat the next day and drove it, the car still ran fine and an ongoing pinging problem was gone likely cause the heat burned all the carbon out of it. That engine lasted to over 600,000km's with no major repairs when the car was finally in a major accident.
If your talking about best engine overall as far as power, efficiency and mileage go a couple other engines come to mind. Some of them are in songs:
Giddyup Giddyup 409, and no its not a 409 Ford, its a 409 Chevy.
Rocket 455, I know theres a song about this one but I can't bear to listen to it since its country. I have one of these engines I'm rebuilding for a hot rod project.
Other engines I consider some of the best are:
Oldsmobile 350
Oldsmobile 425
Chevy 327
Ford 427
Chrysler 383
Really the list could go on forever. I admit to not being much of an import fan but if I have to nominate one I know of a local demo derby driver that runs Volvo wagons with a Hyundai Pony engine in them. Apparently these engines can be overheated badly enough to seize up, then still run fine the next day.
If your talking about best engine overall as far as power, efficiency and mileage go a couple other engines come to mind. Some of them are in songs:
Giddyup Giddyup 409, and no its not a 409 Ford, its a 409 Chevy.
Rocket 455, I know theres a song about this one but I can't bear to listen to it since its country. I have one of these engines I'm rebuilding for a hot rod project.
Other engines I consider some of the best are:
Oldsmobile 350
Oldsmobile 425
Chevy 327
Ford 427
Chrysler 383
Really the list could go on forever. I admit to not being much of an import fan but if I have to nominate one I know of a local demo derby driver that runs Volvo wagons with a Hyundai Pony engine in them. Apparently these engines can be overheated badly enough to seize up, then still run fine the next day.
Best engines for what is a good question. A light duty pickup has a different job than a commuter car. I think there should also be a time period specified as pre-emissions engines and post-1986 engines can have significant differences. And engines with industrial uses were yet another category.
So, to look at pre-1978 designs:
INDUSTRIAL:
Chrysler V8-413-3 in a HD application. These were used in medium duty line haul trucks in the 1960's. V8-440-3 in motorhomes and gas well pumping through the 1970's. Many were run at 2800 rpm for years at a time without shutdown. Any INTERNATIONAL V8. 391 and 534 V8 FORD. Obviously, the INTERNATIONAL engines.
LIGHT DUTY
For cars, a V8-383 Chrysler in any medium or full-size. Big block torque and revved like a small block.
For a small/medium car or a pickup, a DODGE/PLYMOUTH V8-318 or the famous Slant Six. Ran forever with gearing spec'd to the job.
The I6-240/300 FORD
V8-390 FORD in big cars.
GM didn't put HD engines in their standard passenger vehicles, they could afford a separate line if they wanted one. And their pickup/car engines were not up to the jobs of those above.
With that said, any V8 by BUICK was about as good as engines got. OLDSMOBILE and PONTIAC were okay, (Chevys were designed and produced dirt cheap; not nearly as good), CADILLAC tended to build oil burners, but a BUICK V8 was always impressive.
So, to look at pre-1978 designs:
INDUSTRIAL:
Chrysler V8-413-3 in a HD application. These were used in medium duty line haul trucks in the 1960's. V8-440-3 in motorhomes and gas well pumping through the 1970's. Many were run at 2800 rpm for years at a time without shutdown. Any INTERNATIONAL V8. 391 and 534 V8 FORD. Obviously, the INTERNATIONAL engines.
LIGHT DUTY
For cars, a V8-383 Chrysler in any medium or full-size. Big block torque and revved like a small block.
For a small/medium car or a pickup, a DODGE/PLYMOUTH V8-318 or the famous Slant Six. Ran forever with gearing spec'd to the job.
The I6-240/300 FORD
V8-390 FORD in big cars.
GM didn't put HD engines in their standard passenger vehicles, they could afford a separate line if they wanted one. And their pickup/car engines were not up to the jobs of those above.
With that said, any V8 by BUICK was about as good as engines got. OLDSMOBILE and PONTIAC were okay, (Chevys were designed and produced dirt cheap; not nearly as good), CADILLAC tended to build oil burners, but a BUICK V8 was always impressive.
I wasn't around when the 60's and 70's V8's were still very common so when it comes to those engines I'm mostly going by what I've heard from other people on different car forums but I always thought it seemed like Pontiac and Buick had more oil pressure spun bearings than Olds engines. At least the small block Olds seemed to be very reliable. The early 330 Olds had forged cranks even in light duty low hp applications. Same with the 425. My uncles best car was a 78 Delta 88 with the 350 Olds which was the later 77 and up windowed mains engine (lighter duty) and he drove it hard to over 300k miles and it still didn't even burn a drop of oil. I know you had to get the nylon timing gear replaced before pieces of it broke off and went through the oil pump. Can you elaborate on what the pros and cons of each engine are? I'm interested and it looks like you do know quite a bit. Thanks
An engine with a 10% premature failure rate is a POS by modern standards. I doubt the 3.1 is that good. It's easy to get a good example of most POS engines.
I will also agree the Jeep 4.0 just keeps runing. the dodge 318 (5.2) and the 360 (5.9) are also great engines. also the Ford 2.3 4cyl is a great engine. I had a 95 ranger and never burned oil and always ran great. no power what so ever but it got me to where I wanted to go. I will even say the ford 351 Winsor are very good. my mom had one in a granada and the thing always ran great. she loved to race the older ford mustang 5.0 and dust them.
I am hoping the dodge 4.7 is going to get in that list over time. so far I am impressed with it but too soon to say yea or nay.
I am hoping the dodge 4.7 is going to get in that list over time. so far I am impressed with it but too soon to say yea or nay.
I've owned a 2.8 iron v-6 and a 3.1 aluminum v-6. Both were great.
Ford 4.6L
Chevy 350
I'm wondering if anyone here has first-hand experience with the Oldsmobile 3.5L V6? This is not the run-of-the-mill 3.5L, but the one based on the Northstar engine. I think they were only used on the Intrigue from 1998 to around 2002.
Chevy 350
I'm wondering if anyone here has first-hand experience with the Oldsmobile 3.5L V6? This is not the run-of-the-mill 3.5L, but the one based on the Northstar engine. I think they were only used on the Intrigue from 1998 to around 2002.
Another vote for the 242 I6 4.0L Jeep engine!
I have family members who have had great experiences with the Jeep 4.0 lasting a lot of miles. The rest of the vehicle is junk (in my opinion) but the engines run well and last a long time.
Personal experience, we had several Datsun engines in the early to late 70's the 1.6 and 1.8 L4 that ran a lot of trouble free miles. My Mom had a 81 Datsun 510 (she bought new) with the 2.0 engine (2 spark plugs per cylinder) and it went to 300K miles with very little maintenance. It usually got a once a year oil change (when I went to visit) and they put about 15-20K miles a year on it.
My Ford 4.0 OHV engine has been very reliable for 190+K miles - still runs as good as when I bought it, and uses very little oil between OCI - about half to 3/4 quart every 5-6K.
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